Biggest silverfish I've ever seen!

[SmallSoupcon]

We've just come home from a weekend away to find the biggest silverfish IN THE WORLD just sat on our sofa, brazen as you like.

It was at least an inch long - I didn't even know they could get that big!

We find them (smaller ones) quite often around the house, so I'm wondering how many constitute a problem?

Do you have silverfish in your home?

Frank Skinner was only saying yesterday on his radio show that he thought silver fish had become extinct. Sorry not helpful

We have silverfish too. There when we moved in four years ago and we've never managed to get rid of them despite new carpets and decoration etc.
Will be following for tips!

How awful! I found one this year, and if there's one... I'm living in denial.

None in my house. Used to have then in the bathroom growing up and recently saw one in a clients bath. Never seen them in other parts of a house. The one I saw recently was huge!

We have a big one in the kitchen sink at work, he's relaxing there every morning then scurries off down the plug hole. We like old quicksilver. Reminds me of my childhood, they seemed to appear a lot back then.

Awful things. I’ve had them in 2 houses I have lived in, and both times was unsuccessful at getting rid of them. Interestingly, I did notice in my last house that they seem to spook quite easily… we were renovating and any time we did major work in the house they would disappear and we wouldn’t see them for a few months. Sadly, they always eventually returned! So if you could renovate your house every couple of months that should keep them at bay 😂

I'm now googling how to repel silverfish. Apparently cinammon or orange oil work because they don't like strong smells. Or I could set a trap! Not sure I'd like the outcome of a trap though... 😬

Our house is only 7 years old. Surely too young for these critters!

We have them. They are horrible. There must be so many too: see them zoom off when you turn the light on. I wish our floors weren't so pale so I didn't know they were there and could live in ignorance

I have protector C and regularly spray around my home ... HATE them

They are speedy fuckers!

So do you have a damp problem?

There are no signs other than the odd silverfish, so no I don't think so.

I had them many years ago. Came out of nowhere, if you turned the light on downstairs in the night the floor was moving 🤢
We had the landlord fumigate, no problems after that, thankfully

Silverfish like damp - I can guarantee there is somewhere in your house that has damp.

Finding one on the sofa is quite unusual so would think that there is damp somewhere near there or alternatively they have travelled there…

if there is one there are going to be many others somewhere and if it is a big one I would say it’s quite an established infestation.

I used to have them in a previous home and they drove me mad. They infested after a dodgy roof job…

I used talcum power, fullers earth, then had the place professionally fumigated… they were still there. In the end I sealed up every nook and cranny I could find and then sprayed skirting every 4 weeks. They drove me fucking mad.

I also agree they are brazen. If they don’t bother you that’s good - I swear the fuckers contributed to my marriage ending!!!

I found steam cleaning our carpets reduced the amount of silverfish to around none being noticeable. I did them every day for a week, then once a week after that.

God not seen one in decades ! Saw big ones in Spain . They like damp . You know they are prehistoric?

I lived in a second floor rented flat once which had firebrats under the cooker — like brown silverfish that like higher temperatures! Also harmless afaik as are silverfish but I still don’t much like them.

Have stayed in two ground floor holiday rentals recently that both had a lot of silverfish — they come in from outdoors IIRC. I hope we don’t have them but tbh I never use our downstairs loo at night so I wouldn’t know if we did.

They are quite comical little things when you turn the light on and they try to hide. Yeuch though…

How rude not to include a picture. Not sure I’ve ever seen a big one.

Sticking a few Poundland dehumidifiers around the place will help you work out if you have a damp problem.

We have them in apartment it looks like neighbours and well although is only 3 flats. I tried over the year everything but nothing helped. I spoke to pest control they said if they are everywhere all flats need to be treated and also they said they will be back is hard to get rid of them. I have them everywhere. We just renovated, new flooring furniture etc. I find one in my new beside table drawer at night. I hate them. They crawl on the walls and also love to hide in the lamps in bathrooms. In the morning is lots of them in the kitchen sink. Over this year I became obsessed with cleaning and decluttering.

They eat paper/card type materials. Remove them

You can buy silverfish killer to spray where you found them. Under kick boards etc. Ours like to hang out under the stairs in the cupboard.

I tried everything ants powder, diatomatecous earth and lots of bottles of dethlac spray. No damp we don't dry washing inside. All winter I used launderette. This year I'm getting dehumidifier as well. Airing the flat. No paper no cardboard boxes. I clean, clean , clean ...all the time. As soon as I switch the light off the f.. are out. I also have seen enormous ones. Recently they like windowsills.

Ooohh I got rid of ours!
Wet a newspaper and place it on the floor touching the skirting.

Leave light off for a few hours.

Peel back from the skirting in and squish.

Started at over 100 a night, floors crawling to none but took six months.

No reinfestation five years later.

Thanks for tip I will try ☺️