5 household items for combatting silverfish
Preferring warm and damp places, silverfish creep out of their hideaways as soon as it gets dark. Despite being an annoyance, they're actually harmless and can even get rid of mold and dust mites — great for people who suffer from allergies. Even so, most of us prefer not to have these tiny creatures within our own four walls. That's why we've come up with five tips for combatting silverfish...
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1. Potato
Silverfish like to eat wallpaper paste, dandruff, hair or mold since they prefer a diet containing plenty of starch. That's why potatoes are great for luring these creepy crawlies out from their hiding places.
Cut a potato in half, hollow it out a little, and make a small indentation on its side. Place the potato on a piece of foil with the indentation facing downward. The silverfish will crawl underneath the potato so that they can feed off it. As soon as enough of these insects have been attracted to the potato, you can pick up the foil and throw it away.
2. Honey
Silverfish also have a weakness for sweet things, so honey or syrup work just as well as potatoes. Spread some honey on a piece paper or baking parchment and leave it out. The insects that eat from it will be stuck to the honey.
3. Baking powder
If you don't want to show those little silverfish any mercy, prepare a mixture made up of baking powder and sugar. Lured by the sugar, the insects will unknowingly eat the baking powder that then expands inside them.
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4. Lavender
Instead of catching the little bugs, you can also scare them off. To do so, leave out lavender fragrance sachets around your home or add a few drops of lavender oil to the water when you're mopping the floors. The silverfish will soon make themselves scarce upon smelling the lavender.
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5. Glass trap
Here's another bug trap: fill a Mason jar with oatmeal and wrap it with crepe tape. Alternatively, you can lean a wooden stick against jar up to its opening.
Attracted by the oatmeal, the little critters will crawl into the jar, but won't be able to find a way out as they can't get a foothold on the glass.
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Beyond being a nuisance, silverfish are usually a sign of problems in your home, indicating too much humidity, mold or poor insulation. That's why it's important to find out what's causing the little bugs to appear.