Diatomaceous earth, or DE, is a white crumbly powder consisting of the fossilized remains of diatoms, a class of algae. When silverfish come in contact with DE, it destroyers their outer waxy coating, causing them to lose moisture and die. You can sprinkle it around the baseboards in your home and other places you’ve seen silverfish. Norton recommends applying it in the evening, since silverfish are nocturnal, and for several nights in a row in order for it to work.
There is also a lot of advice online about using natural repellants like bay leaves, cedar oil and cinnamon to prevent silverfish infestations. However, there’s no scientific evidence that this strategy works and none of the experts we spoke to recommended it.
5. Try Some Traps
To speed up these management strategies, add a few traps into the mix. You can buy small packets (like these) designed to trap and poison silverfish with boric acid.
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