# Silverfish everywhere!!!



## Termite

I've got a lot of silverfish in my house. I mean a lot. Basically anytime I look around a room, I can find a silverfish. And, I can probably find several very small baby silverfish. 

I've considered bug-bombing the attic. I have a wood shake roof, and I've heard they live in there. Would spraying the perimeter of my ceilings help? What should I use?


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## Nestor_Kelebay

I doubt there'd be any silverfish in your roof. Silverfish feed on polysaccarides, which is anything made out of sugar molecules repeated over and over again, like starch and cellulose.

Wood is about 75 percent cellulose, but silverfish do not feed on wood because it is simply to strong for them to cut into with their tiny mandables. If silverfish did feed on wood, then they'd be a much more sinister pest to have because they would wreck your house just like termites.

What silverfish do eat is all the other stuff made out of cellulose and starch. Cotton is nearly 100% cellulose, and you'll find plenty of cellulose dust under your bed. Paper is processed cellulose, and the softest paper is toilet paper. You'll generally find piles of toilet paper dust on the floor under your bathroom toilet paper dispenser. Books and magazines are also food for silverfish. Starch is also made from sugar. Any bread crumbs or cereal (like corn meal) left in kitchen cupboards or on the floor is also food for silverfish. Bathrooms are a favourite place for silverfish because they drink the water that forms on cold water pipes in humid conditions (such as when you're having a shower or bath).

You should basically give your house a good cleaning, focusing on removing as much dust as possible. Remove any old books and magazines you don't want as well. Don't donate those books and magazines as they may be infested with silverfish eggs. Put them in a paper recycling bin where the paper will be shreaded (and any silverfish killed) before making new paper out of it.

Probably the best pesticide to use against silverfish (and most bugs) is no longer available to the general public in Canada. It was called "Diazinon". See if you can still buy it in the USA.


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## DangerMouse

Cyonara 9.7 worked well for a friend of mine. (don't remember where we got it though) hope this helps!

DM


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## Termite

Thanks for that info! They sure do like my ceilings, that's for sure. 

I think my wife is ready to move in with her parents until I get these little SOB's under control! 

Spraying tonight...I'll let you know how it works.


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## DangerMouse

spraying with the Cyonara 9.7 or something else? let me know how it turns out!

DM


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## Bugzilla

Silverfish usually live close to their food source. They eat a wide variety of foods containing proteins and carbohydrates. Rolled oats, dried beef, flour, starch, paper, cotton, certain synthetic fibers, sugar, dead insects, glue, paste, and linen are all normal items of their diet. Also, in attics or damp basements they can live on surface mold. Silverfish often feed on wallpaper paste and can be found behind the paper where it has released from the wall. A green alternative to Cyonara 9.7 is EcoExempt IC2. The "Exempt" in its name signifies it is a "minimum" risk and exempt from EPA registration. It is safe and very effective.

Bugzilla out --
http://www.youdoitpestcontrol.com


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