Silverfish Pest Control in Chembur

What they eat, and where they live in a Chembur flat

Silverfish want two things: damp and starch. The monsoon gives them the damp, and a flat gives them the starch in the form of book pages, the glue in a binding, the paste behind the wallpaper, cotton clothes in a cupboard and the paper bags in the store room. The usual hiding places are the bathroom, the kitchen cupboard under the sink, a closed wardrobe against an outside wall and the loft nobody opens.

You notice the damage before the insect: ragged edges and yellow stains on pages, thin patches on a stored saree, scraped wallpaper. They come out at night and move fast, so one seen in the bathroom by day usually means many more out of sight. Shops with paper stock, chemists with records and offices with files on Station Road and Central Avenue get the same problem in the back room.

Keeping books and clothes safe

• Keep the books a little away from an outside wall, in a room that gets air.
• Fix the leak under the sink and run the bathroom exhaust fan after a bath.
• Store important papers and the clothes you wear once a year in sealed boxes or bags.
• Open the cupboards you rarely use and let them air, and fill the cracks round the pipes.

Photos: Silverfish Pest Control in Chembur

• How much does silverfish treatment cost in Chembur?

  It starts at ₹1,400 and carries a 1-year warranty. A flat with one damp cupboard is near that figure, while a shop or an office with a record room full of files is quoted on its area after the free inspection. The figure is written before work starts, and it is the same in every part of Chembur.

• Are silverfish harmful to people?

  No. They do not bite, do not sting and are not known to spread disease. The harm is to your things: book pages, the glue in bindings, cotton and silk clothes, wallpaper and stored food. Damage to documents and old books is usually found late, which is the real reason to deal with them early.

• Why do I see silverfish in the bathroom?

  Because it is the dampest room in the flat and it is often badly aired. Run the exhaust fan after every bath, fix the dripping tap and wipe up standing water. They may also be coming in through the cracks round the pipes, so fill those, and tell the technician which corner you see them in.

• Can silverfish damage shop records and files?

  Yes. Paper and the glue in the binding are food, and a closed record room in a shop or an office on Station Road is a good home for them. The back room is treated the same way as a flat, with the files kept away from the outside wall. A monthly contract can include a check of the record room.

• How long until the silverfish are gone?

  The first visit takes 1 to 2 hours, and the place is usually clear in 2 to 4 weeks, with a repeat where needed. Drying the room is the biggest thing you can do to help, because silverfish in a dry cupboard do not last, and it is also what keeps the result after the treatment.

• Should I throw away books with silverfish damage?

  Not unless they are falling apart. Take them out, brush off the debris on the balcony, and keep them in a dry room or a sealed box for a while. Scan or photocopy an important document, because a damaged page tears easily. Show the technician which shelves were hit, so the treatment goes there first.

• What attracts silverfish to a flat?

  Damp first, then starch: paper, the glue in bindings, cotton clothes, wallpaper paste and stored flour. A bathroom with no exhaust fan, a kitchen cupboard with a slow leak and a wardrobe against an outside wall are the usual spots. Bring the damp down and most of what keeps them there is gone.

• How do I get rid of silverfish in a cupboard?

  Empty it, wash or air the clothes, wipe the shelves and the corners, and let the cupboard stand open until it is dry. Fix the damp wall behind it if there is one. Put the clothes you rarely wear in sealed bags. If they keep appearing, the technician treats the cracks and the back of that cupboard directly.

• How does a technician get rid of silverfish?

  By putting a small amount of product straight into the places they hide, in the cracks, behind the skirting, under the sink and at the back of the cupboard, rather than spraying the room or the books. The technician then tells you which room to dry and how. The first visit takes 1 to 2 hours.

• Do silverfish come up the drain?

  They live round a drain for the damp rather than travel through it. Fix the leak, keep the cover on the drain, dry the floor after use and fill the crack round the pipe. Tell the technician which drain it is, because the treatment goes round that area and in the gap behind the pipe.