Why am I finding silverfish in my bathtub and drains?
Silverfish crawl up through dry or infrequently used drain pipes to feed on organic debris and find the moisture they need. This keeps happening even in clean homes because high ambient humidity and damp bathroom surfaces create an ideal breeding ground that repels standard cleaning efforts.
Overview
People affected2 accounts across 2 forums
Workarounds found5 items attempted
Community agreement4 total upvotes
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
5 items+ Contribute
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1showering with the door open and fan onDid this help you?
- 2scrubbing the shower every timeDid this help you?
- 3using cedar oil or shavingsDid this help you?
- 4putting the insect outsideDid this help you?
- 5Buying a dehumidifier to remove pests and reduce indoor humidity.Did this help you?
Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
r/CleaningTips1 person · September 2026
r/HomeImprovement1 person · September 2026
“I started to get silverfishes and booklices. Apparently the humidity even when I don't cook is 66%.”source ↗
Finite8_ · r/HomeImprovement
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 6Why does a white crust keep coming back on my bathroom sink?
- 18How to get rid of severe black mold on bathroom grout
- 8How to clean a really mouldy rental shower and fix the caulk
- 15How to clean decades of heavy buildup on bathroom hardware
- 14How to clean bathroom floors without getting on the hands and knees