[neilep (OP)]

Hi Naked Science Peeps,

What is it with silverfish in the house?..those little critters of silverbacked multi legged goodness !!

Are they an indication of damp ?..are they unhealthy and a spreader of disease ?

I don’t know…do you ?


Men are the same as women, just inside out !

[elegantlywasted]

we have some in our apartment, apparently they travel through the pipes, they live in sinks and eat carbs (how those two facts are related im not sure) I know they are nocturnal, and run really fast. As far as I know they arent dangerous, but have been known to eat clothes and live in cereal boxes

-Meg

[neilep (OP)]

Thanks Meg,

I really appreciate your answer. It's relieving to know that silverfish are international little critters. They do run fast don't they ?

Well, I will just have to make sure I stop either 1: putting my boxer shorts away in the cornflake box and then 2: storing the cereal box in my wardrobe ! []



Men are the same as women, just inside out !

[Karen W.]

I have always heard they are attracted by moisture also. I know there are supposed to be ways to get rid of them, but It never worked for me . We used to get them in and house we lived in years ago. I haven't seen one for about 13 years. Its much warmer here and less damp as the house that we were in previously. I thought it had to due with damp closets where you might find mildew.
 What worked for me was to simply leave the closet open so the air would circulate through there also and the heat from the house could keep the moisture at bay. If you could leave a window cracked open for fresh air this helped get rid of them too. None of the powdered cures worked for us. They say Boric acid helped, but I had no luck with that. Nice air circulation did the trick. Keeping the moiture out of the walls. Our area, EUREKA was very moist, and it was damp and foggy most of the time, foggy even in the summer mornings till noon. so circulation was the best. Now we are back in Bluelake Fieldbrook area and it is much dryer here. So I don't see them anymore.

[neilep (OP)]

Thank you Karen. They don't really bother me that much ...it's not as if we have a swarm of them but it's amazing how sometimes I see one on the kitchen worktop near the sink !!..I mean ..how on earth do they get up there ?..I think they must paraglide up !..but as Meg says in her post above they kinda love sinks and are obviously good climbers.

Where I see them mostly is in the cupboard under the stairs and it's possible that it may be damp...well..perhaps therer is moisture in the air as there is no evidence of mildew. I think you're right about the damp air though...it must be that.....getting rid of the moisture from under there would be tricky though.......thank you Karen.

Men are the same as women, just inside out !

[Karen W.]

Your welcome, they are interesting little creatures! I really don't know if they can actually cause damage to anything, They were never that big og a deal for us either. You know we had a storage under the stairs where I would find them also. Something else, They liked the dark as well as not being to afraid to be out in the light. I always hear about them in conjunction with roaches. I don't know why.

It would be hard to leave the stair door cracked with baby about to be toddling around, so that method would not work, unless you could install a decorative ventilation plate to the cupboard door to allow more air circulation to and from said cupboard.

I have seen them crawl sideways on the wall so I don't think getting to the counter would be a great feat for them.All in a days work I'd say!
Have a great day!......Karen

[Jen1426]

Just went into my kitchen and found 6 of these little 'crawlies' heading for cover ...

ewwwwwwwww!!!!! [:p]

Jen