Posted By Struan Silverfish Insecticides:- Try this, it's worked for me(?). Boil a whole bulb of cut up garlic until its soft. Put it into a gallon of water and add 1 tablespoon of biodegradable detergent. Let it sit for a day, then strain and spray. Also, planting pots of parsley around your filing cabinets will help keep the blighters at bay------whato! Nobody will want to enter your little archive room and there's never likely to be a vampire nearby either!!

Posted By Bill Elliott Johnathan - as is the case with most "pests" you will need to deny the things they rely on to survive. Primarily this will include moisture, even condensation will do - if you can control that and any cracked damaged or defective surfaces where they will thrive - you may be able to control them with the additon of an aerosol spray for specific crawling insects. If you have access to a pest control contractor they will be able to advise further.

Posted By Jonathan Breeze Straun - A quick straw poll yesterday with staff suggested they would rather put up with the silverfish than the garlic smell. The parsley might work though. Paul - Does it have to be Des O'Connor or will Englebert Humperdink do? RP - Are you talking about the staff or the Silverfish? I've checked & milk does not appear to be on the list of preferred foods for Silverfish. Thanks to all the above for the laugh. Bill - That is the train of thought I was following yesterday and I concluded a full refurbishment of our basement kitchen area and dampcourse combined with removal and fumigation of potential food sources was likely to be the only solution. However the premises manager had a fit when informed. I have already suggested a pest control contractor would be more qualified to deal with the problem, but the idea has been slow to gain acceptance. I shall make the recommendation again.

Posted By Mark H Manser Silverfish - On the whole are generally pleasant little insects They are nocturnal and spend most of their time munching on carbohydrate substances and starch and therefore can digest cellulose (they also eat the dead members of their own kind). An old newspaper in a damp room is probably his idea of heaven. They are not considered Public Health Pests and present little risk to ones health, though personally I would consider controlling them as a good housekeeping measure. Reduction of the humidity levels in the affected area is often an effective control measure

Posted By Stuart Nagle Ho, Ho, Ho.... very good...great fun.... NOW BACK TO THE SERIOUS STUFF!! silverfish are associated with damp, and a lot of it so I am informed, so if you are going to store documents in this area for up to 40 years, it is highly likely that when you urgently need some of that paper for a legal defence that is going to save the company many, many thousands of pounds., Poof!!!! its going to be just so much mulch and unreadable as it falls apart in your hands whilst trying to retrieve it from the file storage box. I would suggest the company invests in getting the damp taken care of to protect those vital documents. This done the damm silverfish, monsters though they are, will disappear in search of other damp places to create other threads for latter day safety professionals!!! Stuart