silverfish things and some sort of mites (merged threads)

sarah_skint

I live in a 2 bed coucil flat, there are 6 of us here and a budgie lol, I have my suspicions on the place being extrmely damp but the council are having none of it, they have said the damp is my fault for not having the windows open, well if you lived where i did there is no way you could even leave your windows on the vent! I have them open though when i am in. we seem to be swarmmed with silverfish(es) of all sizes and little mite things that are really quite small and are a yelloy brown colour and they are everywhere, it is getting ridiculous.
Please if anyone knows how to get rid of these or why we have them, what causes them and how to get rid please let me know, I'm fed up with the cleaning it really doesn't help! All answers welcommed i don't offend easily :rotfl:

thescouselander

We had these in our old house. As far as I know they like damp environments. I dont know how to get rid of them but they are harmless. The best thing to do would probably to try and stop the damp. If you cant open the windows maybe a dehumidifier would be the answer.

JCD_Capulet

The little brown mite things, have you noticed that they have a tiny little horn like thing sticking out the front middle of their heads? I've got theese things in my flat, rice weevils aparently. They get into your property by being transported in grains and dry pulses ect, once they're in they're hard to get rid of. I've had them for a number of months now and although they don't generally bother me, I don't want guests who don't contribute to the rent!

What's a silverfish?
good luck in finding a way to rid your home of them.

Infact, it should be the council who get someone out to spray your home and to deal with the damp! If left too long the damp can affect your health and you might need to get moved to another flat as means of emergency housing! Dont take any cr*p from the housing, you're the paying tennant, get them told!

Joanne x

milkydrink

6 people in a two bed flat is over crowded (I'm not having a dig at you).
The amount of condensation just from the air we breath out, added to that if you have any clothes drying (& the clothes, towels & bedding for 6 is a lot), steam from cooking (again for 6), the tumble dryer if you use one also lets out loads of steam.
Do you have "trickle" vents in your windows (I'm assuming they are double glazed)? Trickle vents are little vents (usually) near the top. They may have a little open 7 close bar across them.
I have taken ALL the lids/covers Compleatly off my trickle vents, because I like maximum air flow. Even in the winter you NEED trickle vents open to allow damp air to escape.

grex80

silverfish:

beckiem

i had silverfish in my flat i also had bad damp. right get sticky pest control traps and put down (not sure where to get them i got mine off my father-in-law he runs his own business in pest control)keep all clothes off the floor (they eat them)put all cereal etc in plastic container coz of the beetles will eat them.and as for the damp its for the council to sort out them told me the sameand my now my daughter has acute asthma shes only 2 im out of there now!!!!!!!!!!

sarah_skint

thanks for the replies, i am trying to get my daughters in the doctors this week as they are both coughing all night now, we had this a while back before the damp had spread to where it is now.......... Silverfish eat clothes OMG, I must do the ironing tommorrow i've left it in a heap! i just squash them when i see them, as for the mites they have no horns, they don't bother me just everyone else! Once I have been to the doctors, then i will get on to the council as it has been 3 weeks since i was promised a letter for an update, they just fob us off - well not no more, no more misses nice lady!!

beckiem

hiya if its chest problems(mine had bronchiolitis which caused her asthma) see if they can write you a letter confirming this and give to your landlord they never treated my damp they just moved me two weeks later!

gardnt1

Silverfish are probably quite common in a lot of places......they are nocturnal creatures who do like the damp/humid areas. Whilst they are harmless, they are annoying! We have a newish build, and get them in the downstairs loo which is not a noticably 'damp' place.

I went online and searched for various ways of getting rid of these and ended up buting a spray and a powder. The spray stays for weeks in the area you sprayed and has cut down the amount we were getting....we may find one or two sometimes, but no more.
http://www.pestcontrolshop.co.uk/acatalog/SILVERFISH.html

may be of use

squibbs25

Does anyone know what causes silverfish and if they are dangerous.

My cousin has just moved, and she keeps finding them. Saying that, i have noticed the odd one here and there on our kitchen floor. (we have laminate flooring downstairs)

How do we get rid of them?

Many thanks,

Squibbs

LandyAndy

What a blast from the past.:D

We used to have silverfish in the house when I was young (the 60's:eek: )

I haven't seen them for years.

I don't remember them being thought of as a big deal though.

I have a feeling they are connected with damp.

How to treat for them? Don't know but flea spray might be a good start as I suppose it kills lots of creepy crawlies.



EDIT: Wikipedia (where would we be without it) has a useful article on them.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverfish