Fishmoth Control across Cape Town

Three types turn up in the Western Cape. The common silverfish, Lepisma saccharina, is shiny silver-grey, carrot-shaped and moves like a fish wriggling; it prefers cool, damp places like bathrooms and laundries. The grey silverfish, Ctenolepisma longicaudata, is larger and greyer with long tail filaments, and is very common in Cape Town homes, roof spaces and bookshelves because it tolerates drier conditions. The firebrat, Thermobia domestica, is mottled brown and lives in hot spots around geysers, ovens and boiler rooms. All of them are slow-breeding but long-lived, so a small population can build up quietly over years.

Fishmoths in different kinds of Cape Town buildings

Fishmoths need three things: food made of starch or cellulose, a bit of moisture and somewhere nobody disturbs. Every type of building in Cape Town offers those in a different way, which is why the problem looks so different from house to house.

Older homes in the Southern Suburbs and City Bowl

Houses on the mountain side of the city, in places like Newlands, Bishopscourt and Oranjezicht, get more rain than most of Cape Town and sit in the shade for much of the winter. Add timber ceilings, deep cornices, built-in cupboards and decades of stored papers, and fishmoths have had generations to settle into the walls and roof.

Seaside flats and holiday homes

In Sea Point, Muizenberg, Fish Hoek and along the West Coast, the problem is often condensation rather than leaks. Salty, humid air, a bathroom without an extractor fan and a flat that stays locked up for weeks between visits create exactly the still, damp conditions the common silverfish likes. Built-in cupboards on the wall that faces the sea are usually the worst, because that wall stays cold and collects moisture.

Newer homes in the northern suburbs and Blaauwberg

These houses are usually drier, but the grey silverfish does not mind. It lives happily in roof spaces among the insulation and in garages that have quietly become storerooms. The giveaway is a fishmoth on the bedroom carpet in a room that has no damp at all.

Offices, schools and archives

Filing rooms, basement stores and school libraries combine paper, glue and long periods without anyone moving things around. Archive boxes stacked against an outside wall in winter are a common starting point. If your records sit on mobile shelving or in a basement, mention it when you call, because access and timing need planning around your staff.

Protecting books, photos and documents that matter

Treatment stops the population, but it does not repair what has been eaten. If you have found grazing on things you care about, deal with those items first:

1. Go through the affected shelf or box outdoors or on a table, and brush each item gently with a soft, dry paintbrush to remove eggs, scales and droppings.
2. Put aside anything with active damage, like fresh grazing or droppings, and keep it apart from the clean items.
3. Small items such as a single book or an album can be sealed in a plastic bag and left in the freezer for about a week. Museums use this method to kill insects and eggs in paper. Let the bag come back to room temperature before you open it, so no condensation forms on the pages.
4. Store irreplaceable photographs and certificates off the floor and away from outside walls and the bathroom wall, in a room you actually use every day.
5. Scan or photograph documents you could not bear to lose. It is the only protection that is completely permanent.

If clothing or linen is also damaged, compare it with moth damage before deciding what you are dealing with. Our moth control page explains the difference.

Before the technician arrives

Most fishmoth work starts in the roof, so the most useful thing you can do is clear the space under the ceiling hatch and make sure it can be opened. Write down the rooms where you have seen fishmoths and any spots where you know there has been a leak or a damp patch. Leave the damaged items where they are until we have seen them, since the pattern of grazing tells us a lot. If you rent, let the landlord know about the visit too, as roof access and any damp repairs we recommend will usually need their go-ahead. For more on how we treat fishmoths, see the fishmoth control page.

Quick answers

Fishmoth Control by suburb