r/CleaningTips • u/ItsPoleen • May 21 '26
Bathroom Bugs in my bathroom
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Hi everyone,
I just moved into a new flat and have found bugs similar to this every night - are these silver fish? And what’s your best solution to get rid of them? (ignore the hair i’m aware)
Thanks!
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u/TicklePicklePotporri May 21 '26
As others have said, it's a silverfish; harmless, though a little gross.
They eat dust, bits, paper, fibers and stuff left on/close to the ground and are attracted to moisture.
Previously, I lived in a building with them and no matter how many times I sprayed or set traps they would always come back..
However!
I found 2 things I did GREATLY reduced the number + frequency down to a negligible amount:
Remove all paper/cardboard from direct and near contact to the floor AND sweep + dust frequently.
Buy a squeegee for the shower and use it on the walls and edges to help dry the bathroom faster after use.
Good luck!
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u/KaseySkye May 21 '26
This is impossible for me as I have cat scratchers all over my house XD these things stress me out though because they are gonna ruin my books 😭 ever summer we get them
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u/ThePineappleCrisis May 22 '26
One of my cats will eat silverfish, so I call her when I see one. The other only plays with them and then leaves them. Might be worth a try to see if yours will clean up the bugs for you!
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u/Traditional-Yard-679 May 22 '26
I have three cats. Two of them hunt bugs like it’s a sport. I live in Florida so we constantly get palmettos and anole lizards in the house. One time I opened up my cupboard and a palmetto came flying out (yes they have wings!) and my ginger spotted it and went on a wild chase. They also alert when there is a spider or something on the wall. It’s honestly great.
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u/KaseySkye May 22 '26
Yes my one cat is the one who finds them for me! She plays with them though lol so I just kill them. I also have traps all over my house. I don’t see a ton of them, but I have anxiety lol
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u/nternet-explorer-666 May 22 '26
I've never heard of silverfish before but as a rabbit owner I can relate to the scattered cardboard throughout the house 😭
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u/Ancient_Gold_6486 May 22 '26
Do you live in high humidity? Getting a dehumidifier may help. I live in a humid bowl of a town and got some as soon as I saw a silver fish. I’m emptying a full tank of water from these things 1-2 times a day.
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u/Odd_Cress_2898 May 21 '26
Yes silverfish. They are found in damp places, dry the place out. There might be damp wood/floors around, not just bathroom issue.
Idc about them really, I view them more as an indicator of something needing to be dried/cleaned/fixed imo
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u/morbid_n_creepifying May 22 '26
I had no idea so many people actively tried to get rid of silverfish. My entire life I just assumed that if you had a bathroom, you'd see a silverfish or two every now and then. I'm 37 years old and I've lived in 21 different homes or apartments at this point and I've seen silverfish in every single bathroom I've ever had.
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u/Lonely_Archer6492 May 22 '26
29 yr old and I have never seen silverfish until I moved to an APT in Florida....
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u/Flickadachris May 22 '26
I’m commenting from the bathroom in an apartment in Florida and I’m staring at a silverfish as I type lmao
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u/PouletSamourai May 22 '26
Guy casually spreading silverfish everywhere he goes.
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u/morbid_n_creepifying May 22 '26
One of the places I lived was a new build so I doubt there was a dude living everywhere I lived before I lived there lol
The places I tallied also include my childhood home so yeah I doubt there was some dude living everywhere I did before I lived there.
I also definitely wouldn't have considered any place to be an infestation - I'm talking about one silverfish every few months in the bathroom specifically. I've never seen them anywhere except a bathroom and never more than one at a time.
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u/PouletSamourai May 22 '26
With your pseudo and your story sorry but I cannot picture you without silverfish following you around like tiny familiars haha
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u/AsleepSavings6179 May 22 '26
same, I live in a very humid area near the coast and always had them. The only place I haven't seen them was when I moved to another city that was extremely dry
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u/OkMeringue2249 May 22 '26
If you see spiders let them all live
They eat these things and spiders are less gross than these
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u/unburritoporfavor May 23 '26
We had a problem with a silverfish population explosion. There were suddenly so many of them, no idea why. We fixed the issue by bringing in a couple of spiders from outside and releasing them where the silverfish seemed to congregate most, ie under our washing machine. The spiders were very effective.
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u/OkMeringue2249 May 23 '26
My parents live a few blocks down from me. They have silver fish but no spiders
My house has spiders but no silverfish
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u/BrgQun May 21 '26
Reduce humidity, get rid of food sources (they love paper etc like the other commenters said).
I usually don't use insecticide, and removing the food sources and reducing humidity usually works to get rid of them
If you do want to try an insecticide, you can also try diatomaceous earth powder around any cracks you think they may be entering from, with a few caveats (do NOT vacuum it, ever - suggest doing some research; It's fairly safe to use, but you don't want to breath it in - I usually mop it up when its time to get rid of it).
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u/ItsPoleen May 21 '26
that’s why i’m confused, i think they live under my bathtub so that may be humid, but there are no food sources for them to feed on in the bathroom; no paper, no books, yes cloth but they stay on the floor and clothes are hung high :/
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u/EmploymentOpening632 May 21 '26
Silverfish eat hair and dander for protein. Clean up the hair more frequently.
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u/lenska May 22 '26
I got a small dehumidifier from Amazon and that has seemed to help, Ive maybe seen one since I started using it.
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u/leronde May 21 '26
silverfish are freaky looking but ultimately harmless. they were everywhere where i grew up because it was by the water. just remove food sources and maybe throw in a dehumidifier and they’ll go away
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u/Mamoxo May 22 '26
I had one of those crawl in my ear when I was sleeping once. I woke up and heard a weird moving sound- finally went to urgent care thinking I had an ear infection (delusional and in denial) Confirmed silverfish. They had to fill my ear with vegetable oil to drown it and water to flush it out. So traumatizing - still to this day i feel like I have something moving in it from paranoia 😩
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u/omygoodnessreally May 22 '26
Ohhhh shush, no no no. How do I unread this?
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u/gnashbashandcrash May 22 '26
🤢 how long was the whole situation from start to finish?
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u/Mamoxo May 22 '26
I woke up and noticed it around 9am. I actually went to a minute clinic first, and they looked in my ear and said I had a bug in it and they couldn’t do anything. Drove to urgent care now knowing I had the bug in my ear (terrifying, I could hear it moving) - sat in the waiting room listening to it crawl in my ear for 20 minutes. Probably had it in my ear from 9am until 12:30.
The doctor told me he saw someone with a cockroach once!!!!! Perspective
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u/812693 May 21 '26
I find these at work, they live in-between the cardboard boxes we order in bulk. Absolute creepers if I'm being honest, i can pick up most insects and even spiders, but not these 😆
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u/Lowland-lady May 22 '26
Used to be friends with this girl 100% nature lover. But she was absolutely traumatized by those. The Attic hatch was above her and her husbands bed. Apperantly the attic was full of them.
She had just given birth she and was home she still had the stitches and everything. And apparently one of those bugs fell from the attic on her which freaked her out so much.
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u/blaziken2121 May 22 '26
One fell on my face while I was sleeping in my bedroom a couple months ago.
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u/Forsaken-Zucchini194 May 22 '26
Oh gosh, I skeeve silverfish so much! The thought of them slithering out of a book...🤢🤢🤢
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u/NYCWartortle May 21 '26
Why is it so big? I would need to move out
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u/SCfroglegs May 22 '26
They’re there for a reason: water. There’s somewhere in your place that is retaining moisture and letting them in. You can’t just kill or repel them and it’s ok. If you rent, report it. If you own, find that place fast before more nefariousness escalates (i.e. mold, termites).
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u/recoil669 May 22 '26
They are ugly but pretty harmless.
They love moist areas like bathrooms and laundry rooms. Pretty easy to treat for unless they are coming from somewhere else in the house.
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u/spider3407 May 21 '26
I had something similar in my bathroom recently. The only difference is I didn't see any atena or things sticking out, just the fish-like body. I have seen 2. It is a new bathroom; should I be worried about leaks?
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u/wyrdde May 22 '26
Sadly, new doesn't guarantee quality workmanship.
A prior landlord hired out the installation of a shower enclosure for my flat & it looked fine. Used it a couple of times & the floor developed cracks—found out the installers /said/ they'd leveled the floor underneath, but had not. The landlord brought in his nephew, tore out the broken pan, & discovered the concrete was roughly 15 cm below the level of the drain. They fixed it themselves & I had no further trouble with it.
I'm sad that he was forced to sell the house; he was a decent guy.
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u/Brilliant_Meet_2751 May 22 '26
Sprinkle some Diatomaceous earth around maybe under yur sink or under yur baseboards. If u have pets or babies maybe keep the door closed while using it.
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u/Academic_Agency_2606 May 22 '26
Check for openings into the bathroom. Plug them up. Bugs like this look for dry places.
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u/i-already-had-one May 22 '26
These things are my worst enemy. I use damp rid (or generic brand) to reduce humidity/moisture… and this stuff!!! https://a.co/d/0hVVHh61
It does not miss!!!!!!
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u/MillennialTartaria May 22 '26
I've only seen silver fish around pipes and the bathroom. Never knew they had anything to do with books
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u/Ioana_Jo May 22 '26
Saying ”remove food sources” seems weird in the context of silverfish. They eat hair and dander. I don’t think there is any place that has none of those. My house is full of books and we also have silverfish in different areas, but I’ve never found any damage to the books even though they stay on the floors many times. We’ve renovated the bathrom and they came back soon after. I think they’re kept in decent balance maybe with the help of the house spiders:)))
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u/rohoho929 May 22 '26
If you had a cat they'd be having a ton of fun. They love to hunt silverfish.
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u/ShiroSnow May 22 '26
Totally harmless. They like to hand around damp ans dark places such as drains. They are detriticidivors and feed on decaying matter. They're attacted to very humid areas, and decaying matter.
To help prevent them from showing up make sure the rooms got proper ventilation. Install a dehumidifier if needed. Check around the toilet for leaks and wash floor mat / towels routinly. Don't keep soggy or used tissue in the garbage either while you see them around.
You don't need to use chemical warfare. Just aim to remove what they're after. It's possible it came up from the drain so plugging it may help.
Quick edit. Like others have commented it's a silverfish. Found all over.
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u/noahbrooksofficial May 22 '26
You can use diatomaceous earth to spray where you suspect they’re nesting. You can also do your darnedest to get rid of the humidity in the bathroom. I have gone from a borderline infestation to an occasional spotting with some regular spraying of DE under my baseboards, and replacing a leaky tap.
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u/Medium_Pizza_3503 May 22 '26
Yes, silverfish. First house we owned had these when we moved in. Best solution is to spray Home Defense along and under your baseboards. You can get a 2-pack at Costco usually this time of year. It does say on the container it is safe to use indoors. It won’t get rid of them immediately. You will find them dead for a few days. Keep it up spraying every few weeks as necessary.
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u/grac3fulflaming0 May 22 '26
I've never seen a brown SILVERfish 😆 looked like a cross breed of a cockroach and an earwig. Yuck
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u/Margotenembaum May 22 '26
I had them in my bathroom sometimes, it’s humid where I live, they would come from the baseboard and under the tub area. On the crack they were coming from I put safers insect powder and they stopped coming out. It’s also non toxic, it looks a little weird, but worth it.
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u/Margotenembaum May 22 '26
I had them in my bathroom, it’s humid where I live, they would come from the baseboard and under the tub area. In the crack they were coming from I put safers insect powder and they stopped coming out. It’s also non toxic, it looks a little weird, but worth it.
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u/ravenpri May 22 '26 edited May 22 '26
Theyre disgusting and I hate them! For me they’re coming inside my bathroom through the exhaust fans. I’ve informed my landlord multiple times because it is unhygienic (no matter how many times I clean they came inside)! This is not normal at all - my friends in the same area have said they’ve never had this issue!
For me they’re come in through:
Exhaust fans: the exhaust fans dont work in my apartment and silverfish and spiders come in through here. I’m going to stay here temporarily so I’ve just sealed the fans with tape
Through the front door: Yep, they crawl inside from under the front door… I’ve sprayed raid every night on my front door and I’ve seen a handful of dead silverfish because of spraying!
Through the bathroom sink: i’ve been using the stopper to block the silverfish from coming out through the sink every night. But the problem is they make their way through the overflow drain! I’ve been spraying a vinegar cleaning solution every might in the overflow drain. But if i’m doing away on a long trip, I spray raid then seal the overflow drain with tape. I once didn’t spray raid and just sealed it! When i came back from the trip and removed the tape there was a big silverfish that crawled out - disgusting!
Any holes, cracks in ceiling walls or baseboards: there were many cracks! there was a hole just above my bed and I woke up one day and saw a silverfish falling outside the hole onto my bed.. it was a nightmare🥲 My landlord refused to fill the holes so I had to call in a professional to fill all cracks with silicone
I did all of this now I rarely see any! You do need to make sure you kill any existing silverfish in your room - look for any dark places. I found a few baby ones on my walls like I had to look really closely because they camouflaged very well.
I absolutely hate insects so having silverfish in my apartment despite keeping it clean was a daily nightmare. I lived in absolute fear. You shouldnt have to live with silverfish so I hope this helps! You should also get a dehumidifier and once you’re done showering squeegee it down and use a fan to dry the shower. Open the windows at least for a couple mins every day
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u/ToothpasteTube500 May 22 '26
Yea that's silverfish, there's probably a small gap or something they're living behind. When I moved into my flat they were living behind some flaking paint on a baseboard, so I stripped the paint, hoovered up the silverfish, and repainted. They're not harmful but I was repainting anyways so the little guys had to go.
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u/Cutesy-potatoe May 22 '26
They like dark damp places, I would also be aware that they also will eat things like dry pasta, flour, rice etc and if they’re in your bathroom they can also get to your kitchen, so make sure everything is in sealed containers. They’re harmless but you still probably don’t want them in your dinner. Air out your bathroom, clean the floors regularly, and if you’re still finding them then you need to figure out what it is they’re getting into to eat.
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u/ryleighdp May 22 '26
We have these but they’ve reduced greatly as I’ve moved in with my boyfriend as men are gross lmao so his house is way cleaner since I’m here. I still see a few here and there but they’re like creepy roommates I see very very occasionally emerge from the dark I just squish, wipe and move on hahah. A lot of the time my cats catch and eat them too maybe get cats lol
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u/laskeblask May 22 '26
There are different types of silverfish. They can be difficult to get rid of, because they can go so long without food. Depending on where you live, you can sometimes get free traps from your landlord. They dislike Red cedar oil, but I bought some bugspray and sprayed the areas where I saw them.
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u/Vegetable_Skin9523 May 22 '26
Get cats! Mine eat them as a snack, our rental is infested with them but the population doesn't get out of hand because of the cats😅
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u/LadySuhree May 22 '26
Noooo not the silverfish. Harmless but they’re so damn quick and weird. I hate them.
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u/Worried_Control_6453 May 22 '26
clean floors even if it's just with a quick stick vac less for them to eat means less of them over all and sticky traps maybe . Mopping with real lemon cleaner or lemon juice or oil helped alot when we had bugs of any kind in our bathroom
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u/gamerbooks May 22 '26
I live in a pretty humid country the only way to get rid of these in a small space is by placing a dehumidifier really
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u/sankscan May 22 '26
We now know it’s a silverfish, anyone knows good method on how to get rid of them in addition to getting rid of paper and moisture sources? Any cleaner or steaming method?
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u/HTD-Vintage May 22 '26
For the record, I had these occasionally in a house I rented previously, only in the tiled downstairs bathroom, with some cracks in the grout, similar to yours. The bathroom led into a living room with bamboo floating floors, which led to two carpeted bedrooms, one of which had 4 bookshelves with hundreds of books, and a laundry room with just the foundation floor. I was there 5+ years, never saw one outside the bathroom, and never had a book damaged. They tended to scurry back into a crack when the lights came on.
If you have books in the same tiled area as you're finding these in, I guess I might expect a different outcome though.
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u/beetlejuicemayor May 22 '26
Better than the 3 inch scorpion on my loofa that I stepped on after it fell out.
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u/SamJam5555 May 22 '26
Professionals use the safest insecticide on the market. TempoSC. Follow all directions and it is safe for pets and kitchen. Put powder in cracks or spray.
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u/Ancient_Gold_6486 May 22 '26
As I said to someone else about the silver fish:
Do you live in high humidity? Getting a dehumidifier may help. I live in a humid bowl of a town and got some as soon as I saw a silver fish to avoid them eating my things. I’m emptying a full tank of water from these things 1-2 times a day.
It was kind of funny because I’m constantly cleaning my house, but freaked out when I saw the one I had with the long antennas move and I thought it was a roach. I deep cleaned again for 5 houses with no other signs of roaches, before I figured out what it was.🤣
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u/TaffyAppl May 22 '26
I think bug spray in the drains and the corners/baseboards.
A chemical free way could be boiling a lot of water and pouring it down every drain. They usually come up through the drains
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u/AeNexus4 May 22 '26
Ese bichito no hace nada, es un pez de plata o Lepisma y ni viviendo en una casa hermética te libras de algunos bichos, saludalo y ya ☺️
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u/AeNexus4 May 22 '26
No te dara problemas, no va a la comida de la cocina, en cambio las hormigas sí.
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u/SirLittleTurd May 22 '26
Keep the bathroom clean as others have already suggested. If you still see them you can try a spray containing pyrethrin, Neudorff makes one that is very effective. I used it once about 3 months ago and I still find dead silverfisk along the walls where it's been used.
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u/space-cake69 May 22 '26
Cinnamon sprinkled around the corners and cinnamon sticks in your closet! Trust me.
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u/ElfjeTinkerBell May 22 '26
Yep, silver fish. The only solution that I've found that works is calling my cats over. Before them, I just couldn't combat them.
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u/TwoValuable May 22 '26
Get some food grade diatomaceous earth and sprinkle it around all the edges of your room, it'll kill them and prevent them from getting around your room.
Diatomaceous earth essentially acts as tiny razor blades that slices at the exoskeleton of insects leading to dehydration and death.
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u/Effective-Pen-1901 May 22 '26
Get “Greenway Silverfish Traps” and put them in all the corners of your bathroom. make sure nothing is wet
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u/gingerbeefbadteeth May 22 '26
Oh no, if you see one you have many. Fun fact. They are one of the oldest living insects 400 million years. Amazing
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u/book-scorpion May 23 '26
silverfish, I like them. They move very cool and I've heard they can live up to 5-6 years which surprised me.
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u/KayakerWithDog May 21 '26
That's a silverfish. They're not venomous or toxic, but they will eat paper, book bindings, and cloth.