• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Carla Burke
  • Nancy Reading
  • r ransom
  • John F Dean
  • paul wheaton
  • Jay Angler
stewards:
  • Timothy Norton
  • Pearl Sutton
  • Tereza Okava
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • M Ljin
gardeners:
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • Matt McSpadden
  • thomas rubino

organic solutions for silverfish?

 
steward & author
Posts: 45297
Location: Left Coast Canada
17897
10
art trees books chicken cooking fiber arts
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
What are some organic solutions to a silverfish infestation?  
 
pollinator
Posts: 393
Location: Virginia
155
2
books chicken cooking
  • Likes 6
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I have read that peppermint and tea tree oil is supposed to repel them.  I know they like to eat books and bindings, so maybe put some of the oils near your library.  

Edit: there is a website themiracleofessentialoils.com that lists ten oils silverfish hate and a diy repellent spray.  I havent figured out how to set a link to it. Sorry!

Edit 2:  webpage https://www.themiracleofessentialoils.com/essential-oils-for-silverfish/
 hope that is right link.

Also DE is supposed to work against them.
 
Steward of piddlers
Posts: 7384
Location: Upstate New York, Zone 5b, 43 inch Avg. Rainfall
4028
monies home care dog fungi trees chicken food preservation cooking building composting homestead
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I've seen one or two before, but I can only imagine what an infestation could look like.

One of the things that I have been told is that they are attracted to damp environments (Basements/bathrooms). Working towards removing the source of water can help limit the growth of an infestation.
 
Posts: 13
7
cat urban books
  • Likes 7
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I've seen a handful before, but nothing near an infestation. I believe common spiders will happily eat them, so if you've been dutifully evicting them you might want to keep a few around. A quick check says that spiders, earwigs, and centipedes are natural predators.
 
r ransom
steward & author
Posts: 45297
Location: Left Coast Canada
17897
10
art trees books chicken cooking fiber arts
  • Likes 5
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
A friend had an infestation of silverfish.  He didn't know it as he only saw a couple when turning on the bathroom light at night.  But there was some weird damage to his books and other paper products like the unpainted sheetrock paper in the basement.

The pest guy put down test traps and caught a few hundred the first night.  Although trapping didn't seem t be the way he wanted to go from there.  It was just to prove what kind of bug was doing the damage.

I often wonder if there could be an trap method that we could use as it seems to work really well to identify how many of these bugs are actually in a home.
 
Posts: 92
Location: Surrey United Kingdom
29
forest garden chicken bee
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Ive used cinnamon before scatter the sticks around in the dark spots they like to hide in.
 
Would anybody like some fudge? I made it an hour ago. And it goes well with a tiny ad ...
permaculture thorns, A Book About Trying to Build Permaculture Community - draft eBook
https://permies.com/wiki/123760/permaculture-thorns-Book-Build-Permaculture
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic