The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Ahhh! Silverfish! Stopping the ones I currently have & Preventing more?
Lucky Cynic
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Okay, so I just had a guest this evening. A curious Silver fish was crawling up my wall and what a doozy. He really was maybe about an inch and a half end to end, including antennae. I failed in slaying the fell beast and now he is scurrying away somewhere. But this is the second one I have spotted in about a week and I think I have a bit of a problem. Is there any effective way to remove these fuckers without calling an exterminator? I think I may have a bit of a problem on my hands...
Here's the deal. My house is about maybe 20 years old, if that. so it is kinda eh. I guess the best way to combat these fuckers, at least in the bedroom for starters is to seal shit up. Less cracks for them to scurry about in the night, less I have to deal with I suppose. Now here is the deal. I have hardwood floors that my dad put in place (so there are small, maybe 1/6th of an inch gaps sometimes on the edges of the hardwood where it meets the walls. That and the frames on the walls don't look too solid. I suppose I need to do some DIY work to seal those gaps up with some wood filler?
Next up, I do have an aging window that may feature some breaches from the outside world... Not sure what I can do here. And finally to top that all off, I have an air duct high on my wall. Perhaps I should unscrew it and stick something in to undust it?
As far as best I can tell, the best way to treat these fuckers is to prevent them. I hear that regular dusting of a room really helps, which I have been doing. But if you guys can toss in some real tips on this, I would greatly appreciate it.
Here's the deal. My house is about maybe 20 years old, if that. so it is kinda eh. I guess the best way to combat these fuckers, at least in the bedroom for starters is to seal shit up. Less cracks for them to scurry about in the night, less I have to deal with I suppose. Now here is the deal. I have hardwood floors that my dad put in place (so there are small, maybe 1/6th of an inch gaps sometimes on the edges of the hardwood where it meets the walls. That and the frames on the walls don't look too solid. I suppose I need to do some DIY work to seal those gaps up with some wood filler?
Next up, I do have an aging window that may feature some breaches from the outside world... Not sure what I can do here. And finally to top that all off, I have an air duct high on my wall. Perhaps I should unscrew it and stick something in to undust it?
As far as best I can tell, the best way to treat these fuckers is to prevent them. I hear that regular dusting of a room really helps, which I have been doing. But if you guys can toss in some real tips on this, I would greatly appreciate it.
Lucky Cynic on
0
Posts
Wow. So this is something to consider instead of spraying the whole house with Raid.
Definitely take care of those gaps.
Kill them upon sight and do it fast, they are sneaky buggers. I just squooshed them in a tissue whenever I saw them and they eventually disappeared after weeks of slaughtering.
Murdering them, and getting some filler for any gaps will restore peace. Make sure to check around skirting boards and doorframes in particular.
Well, not actual cracks between the boards, but there are some half inch gaps where another board should have started to go end to end, but my father decided it wasn't worth the trouble to cut a tiny piece the thickness of a dime to reach the wall. I'm sure this is large enough for these critters to skitter by with... :<
Let loose 2 or 3 praying manti (mantises?) in your house! They'll take care of all the pests, you just have to put up with them.
But realistically, a mantis is kind of cute, while silverfish are pretty creepy looking. Think of it as a bug "upgrade".
edit: it's "mantises"
And if the mantids get to be a problem, you can always pick up a few finches.
That is the most horrifying thing I have ever seen and now I hate you.
Silverfish are nasty, but pretty easy to make 'em go away via judicious application of squooshing.
Real silverfish, I mean, not those Lovecraftian horrors that terrorize poor Funkula.
*edit - it's a basement apartment, so that's probably why there are so many intruders. Raaaaaaaaage.
Then some red-tailed vipers to get rid of the finches.
And the obvious final step is to get rid of the snakes with some giant centipedes
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=ooFSFR2s7Ig&feature=related
Then Wolfpidgeons?
More seriously, I've had to kill a few of these little buggers, though I think the spiders in my apartment have done a decent job of keeping them at bay so far... thankfully it doesn't seem to have been getting any worse
(The one crappy thing about living in a converted old-ish house as opposed to a new apartment complex, it's like a haven for spiders)
Sounds like you don't have any base molding?
Silverfish enjoy wet, moist areas. They are actually living outside and coming inside to look for food. Eliminate the wet spots outside near the house and they won't be living nearby any more.