Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/12/13/getting-rid-of-silverfish-with.html
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Little bastards have been getting into my papers. I’ll have to try this.
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Silverfish are the speedsters of the Pest Universe. Easily squished if you can catch them, but you can’t.
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You can also use peppermint oil to deter mice, and eucalyptus oil to deter ants.
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Spiders too.
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I can’t find any studies that backup that lavender oil does anything to silverfish. I found studies that suppose that it may have beneficial use in some neurological conditions, but not as a repellent.
Can somebody post links to some science as to if and why this would work.
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But can I use silverfish to deter lavender?
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Waaay too much squick for me. If I ever see have another one of those little bastards crawl over me while I’m sitting on the couch watching TV, that’s it. I’m calling Fishbusters, and they can spray whatever toxins are fresh in the tank.
My boundaries for all-natural pest control end at silverfish. There’s the line, they crossed it with their very existence. I’m calling in a napalm strike.
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linalool may be the active ingredient:
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My son (6) calls them fishbugs, which is too cute for them.
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Not silverfish, but much appreciated. It’s nice to remove some of the woo-woo from something that people say works, but don’t post links to actual research.
I live near some lavender farms and I have heard of it talked about like snake oil or a nostrum and heralded as a panacea. I am allergic the sages and lavenders, a good chunk of the Laminaceae, and have heard paraphrased “You can’t be allergic to sage/lavender- it’s healing.” You can understand why I would be leary of another “natural” product recommendation without some good evidence.
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Teatree oil is a great pest deterrent, as is clove and cedar oils. Tea tree has antimicrobial properties that work well on acne. (IANAD, YMMV)
Eh, they’re too flat to even squish properly, methinks.
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When you manage to catch them they just sort of evaporate into a stain. It’s fairly disgusting, but they have the least structural integrity of any bug I’ve ever crushed. I especially despise them because they eat two of my favorite things: clothes and books. 
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If you’re allergic, I’d imagine living with silverfish healthier than living with lavender oil. Don’t know that you’d know the constituent of lavender that aggravates you, and there’s variety in how lavender oil is made, so even if one batch is fine, the next could set you off. While some plants are more noxious than others, imagine you’re allowed to be allergic to almost any plant. Nuts are quite healthy and natural too, so, yeah, “healthy” plants can kill you if your immune system is so inclined.
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Dilute in a carrier oil/water, pure strength can cause strong reaction. YMMV.
If that’s a standard-sized comic section from a newspaper, those silverfish are too big to be deterred by mere lavender.
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I just saw a silverfish on the side of my mattress two nights ago. It stood still long enough for me to grab some toilet paper and deliver it to the toilet. Nasty little things.
