It’s crucial to know how to get rid of silverfish in the bathroom when an invasion happens. These bugs are small and harmless to people, as they neither bite nor sting, but a silverfish infestation causes damage to your home. What causes silverfish in the bathroom? Silverfish are drawn to humidity and a food source.
Large populations of silverfish harm soft construction materials and fabrics like bath towels. Since vintage garments and rugs are frequently composed of natural materials silverfish enjoy, they are often targeted. Silverfish can ruin books or paper documents. In some situations, silverfish increase sensitivity to other allergens in the house.
A couple of silverfish help balance the home’s bug population as they consume predatory insects, such as spiders. Pest control might not be warranted if you only observe one bug. However, if you notice several of them, it’s probably time to start getting rid of silverfish in the bathroom. Use a homemade silverfish spray and easy-to-follow home hacks to kick silverfish out of your bathroom and reclaim your space.
- Getting Rid of Silverfish in the Bathroom
- What are Silverfish Bugs?
- What Causes Silverfish in the Bathroom?
- How to Get Rid of Silverfish in the Bathroom
- Stop Silverfish in Your Bathroom with a Sticky Trap
- Silverfish Control with Naphthalene Balls
- Essential Oil is a Silverfish Repellent
- Kill Silverfish with a DIY Silverfish Trap
- Bay Leaves Help with a Silverfish Problem
- Commercial Treatments for Silver Fish
- Tips to Prevent Silverfish in the Bathroom
Getting Rid of Silverfish in the Bathroom
There’s no need to struggle to learn how to get rid of silverfish in the bathroom. Fortunately, though these pests are annoying and unsightly, they are easily removed with DIY techniques or commercial solutions. Understanding what causes silverfish in the bathroom helps you learn how to prevent and remove them.
Whether you reside in San Francisco or New England, your home is susceptible to silverfish, and they are most often found in places with high humidity and an accessible food source. If there’s silverfish in your bathroom, begin pest control promptly with budget-friendly tricks to oust silverfish from the restroom.
What are Silverfish Bugs?
Silverfish refers to the silvery or metallic brown hue of adult silverfish scales. The insects feature six long, fish-like legs, two antennae, and a long, fish-like body. Due to the three bristles on the end of their bodies, silverfish are also called bristletails. They are nocturnal insects, primarily active at nighttime.
Due to their timid nature, silverfish usually hide from people. Are silverfish harmful? Although they cannot fly or bite, silverfish move quite swiftly and might cause allergy issues. Additionally, they have a high rate of reproduction. The female silverfish lays many silverfish egg clusters, causing infestations to grow quickly.
What Causes Silverfish in the Bathroom?
Understanding what attracts silverfish to your home helps prevent them. Silverfish love cracks and broken seals, providing easy entry points into your house and bathroom.
These insect pests seek damp areas with high humidity and a food source. Silverfish often target rooms with more humidity, like bathrooms and basements. Open pet food dishes or crumbs and excess moisture make your home the ideal environment for them to feed and reproduce.
How to Get Rid of Silverfish in the Bathroom
Use boric acid in powder rather than liquid form to get rid of silverfish safely and effectively in your bathroom. Natural sources of boric acid include saltwater, volcanic ash, some plants, and almost all fruits. Hardware stores and pharmacies carry boric acid, sometimes referred to as boracic acid or orthoboric acid.
The powder is less likely to spill and is easier to handle and contain. To get rid of silverfish, sprinkle a fine layer of boric acid in the affected regions so the insects perish on contact. Sweep up dead insects and replenish the boric acid powder as necessary.
Stop Silverfish in Your Bathroom with a Sticky Trap
To manage or get rid of silverfish, use a glue board or a commercial sticky roach trap. It also kills centipedes in your house. Put a little piece of bread or another starchy object as bait in the middle of the sticky surface. Silverfish in the vicinity are attracted to the bait and become stuck in the glue. Once full, throw the trap away.
Though glue boards catch silverfish, note that they pose a risk to people, children, and pets. Bare feet, little hands, and paws all stick to glue traps, as well as innocent wildlife like birds. Place sticky traps inside boxes with small openings to minimize accidents.
Silverfish Control with Naphthalene Balls
Naphthalene balls, or mothballs, repel silverfish thanks to their pungent aroma. Though these balls are efficient in forcing the pests out of your bathroom, they’re toxic for you and your pets and should be used with caution.
Read and follow the guidelines carefully for using naphthalene balls to avoid harm and ensure the best results. Set out mothballs anywhere silverfish have been sighted or where their feces is found. Naphthalene balls have a strong smell some people find objectionable and must be kept out of reach of pets and children.
Essential Oil is a Silverfish Repellent
Making a spray with cedarwood essential oil is an effective natural preventive measure for silverfish because they don’t like the scent of cedar. It’s one of the best home remedies to get rid of silverfish and other unwanted bugs that like your house.
Combine the ingredients for this easy homemade silverfish repellent spray and spritz the mixture under the sink, near bookcases, closets, and wet places, and rugs and upholstery.
Another technique is to place an empty glass container where the aroma will diffuse through the air, drop the cedar oil onto a couple of cotton balls, and put them in it. Shavings of cedarwood are another deterrent option.
Kill Silverfish with a DIY Silverfish Trap
There are several ways to catch silverfish on a budget. Mason jars serve as both an efficient trap and monitoring system.
Use masking tape to completely cover the outside of a Mason jar or other glass container. Insert a scrap of bread in the base. The silverfish’s feet hold onto the roughness of the masking tape as they rise to the top and enter the jar.
The glass is too slick to climb back out once they fall inside. Put the glass in an infested area of your bathroom, and empty and replenish the bread bait as required. You may find this works as a simple homemade earwig trap and that you catch a few other bugs with it, too.
Bay Leaves Help with a Silverfish Problem
Add dry bay leaves wherever you notice evidence of silverfish. The oils of bay leaves are effective insect deterrents and repel silverfish. To find a good silverfish repellent, look in your pantry.
If you don’t have bay leaves in the pantry, try cloves or cinnamon sticks instead. Any strong, powerfully scented spice is adequate to irritate the delicate olfactory system of the silverfish and cause them to avoid your bathroom to help stop a silverfish infestation.
Commercial Treatments for Silver Fish
Commercial silverfish control products such as Dekko Silverfish Paks are an excellent idea if you don’t want to use a DIY technique. Silverfish eat the entire bundle and consume the poison. Place two to three packs in your bathroom, depending on the product label.
Use in basements, attics, drawers, garages, and other areas where silverfish have been spotted or where their feces have been discovered. It could take days to a few weeks to eradicate silverfish, depending on the situation. Prevent dogs and small children from accessing the packets.
Tips to Prevent Silverfish in the Bathroom
Avoiding silverfish in the first place is easier than trying to get rid of them later, as is the case with many other insect pests. Take simple measures to stop a silverfish invasion with little work and expenditure.
Old papers, magazines, cardboard, and books are great places for silverfish to hide and eat. Make sure to store wallpaper paste or adhesive projects in totes or boxes, as white glue and paste are popular foods. The most efficient cleaning techniques and ways to keep silverfish away include vacuuming and maintaining clean kitchen and bathroom counters.
After cleaning the counters with soap and water, spray them with mild bleach after they dry. Insects won’t be as eager to live with you after you take away their food source.
One of the most pressing things to get rid of silverfish is to reduce humidity in your home. Clean a moldy shower, fix faucet leaks or drips, and look for leaks in the pipes around the hot water tank, toilet, and under sinks. Maintain good ventilation in the restroom, and use dehumidifiers where moisture is abundant.
Like bird control and other pest control, getting rid of silverfish in the bathroom might take time, and no one wants cockroaches in bathroom or other home areas. If you implement DIY pest control or use commercial solutions and don’t see an improvement within a few weeks, reach out to the National Pest Management Association for support.
Silverfish are inconvenient and damage to your possessions. Trust a straightforward home remedy to eliminate them from your house.
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