apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I haven't had silverfish but I have used diatomaceous earth with success to get rid of fleas.

Silverfish need to live in an humid environment. Perhaps your appartment is too moist (I got them when I lived in Halifax, we bought a humidifier... I forget why, but a week later little creepy crawleys were in my floors, once the humidifier was gone they were too)

I've never used borax for getting rid of pests but I do love borax

I had silverfish in an apartment once. I tried everything and nothing worked. The last straw for me was waking up in the morning and finding two in bed with me. I ended up moving. I hope you have better luck.

i *love* all god's creatures. but that photo made me want to jump on a chair and scream. yikes (body shudders reflexively)!

My first encounter with a silverfish was while taking a bubble bath at my old apartment in Chicago. It slithered right out of the overflow drain and into the bubbles with me!

Not sure how to prevent them. What other creepy crawlers are lurking in our homes?? Wait... don't tell me!

I saw a few in my apartment during the first 2 or 3 weeks after I moved in, then I finally got my cat moved in and I haven't seen any since.
We have a don't ask, don't tell policy. I don't ask why I haven't seen them, he doesn't tell.

This reminds me of a camp I worked at when I was a teenager. Silverfish were everywhere and one bleary-eyed morning one came crawling up my hand out of my toothbrush case. EGADS!!

I have used borax mixed with a little 10x sugar to get rid of pests. There are different methods out there--mix it with flour, don't mix it with anything, spread it along all the walls of your house, dampen it and put it in drawers, etcetera, etcetera. The sugar is supposed to attract the bug (though I don't know about silverfish) so it can be placed strategically and not all over your house, a consideration if you share a home with animals. I put it in cupcake holders cut really, really low and placed it in drawers and the back of the cabinets and it worked. Good luck!

Thank you all for your comments! I love all of God's creatures, big and small, but these lil grotesque buggers are uninvited guests... and their time is up!! {evil laugh}

I have done some more research on natural repellants and here are a few more suggestions:
- equal parts baking soda (or Epsom salts) and powdered sugar
- one part molasses with two parts vinegar, place near cracks in damp areas
- lavender and rosemary
- aromatic cedar
- get a pet spider (uh, not for me thanks!)

Lola has some good suggestions on a previous AT pest post:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/good-questions-how-do-i-stop-a-really-bad-roach-infestation-001015

Thanks for all your help! Wish me luck...