It’s about 2-3mm in length. Central European location.

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[–] 41 points 5 months ago (16 children)

It looks like a silverfish to me, but I've never seen them bigger than about 1cm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverfish

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  • [–] [S] 9 points 5 months ago (13 children)

    If I’m reading this correctly, they shouldn’t be harmful to humans, right?

    I’m wondering whether I should report them to someone or let them be

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  • [–] 21 points 5 months ago (8 children)

    They don't hurt humans or pets. They'll also tend to hide, given the opportunity.

    They do like to eat paper, however. One silverfish isn't a big deal, but if you see them often it's worth looking into deterrents or pest treatment. When there are lots, you'll start to notice holes in notes, books, etc — most particularly (in my experience), loose pieces of paper left undisturbed for a length of time.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (7 children)

    I've had a few in my apartment. I sprinkled dichotomous Earth where I saw them and haven't seen any more for a while.

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  • [–] 9 points 5 months ago (6 children)

    dichotomous Earth

    Sounds like a cool book title or band name.

    I think autocorrect screwed you and you meant diatomaceous?

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    Sounds like a cool book title or band name.

    But not both!

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago

    They are indeed harmless, but they can multiply a lot and ruin furniture if left undisturbed. My mom spent this winter dealing with an infestation in her house.

    If you keep seeing them, you should take action before they can get out of hand

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  • [–] 25 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (7 children)

    This is NOT a regular silverfish but a longtailed one or paperfish (Papierfischchen when you live in Germany)

    Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ctenolepisma_longicaudatum

    They are not as useful as silverfish but not dangerous - except for your books and paperwork. We've also have them in our flat. They like it dry and feed on paper.

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  • [–] 12 points 5 months ago (6 children)
  • [–] 16 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    They eat mold afaik. So if you see them, you know there's a source of humidity/mold you ought to check out.

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  • Silverfish. In Italy it is said they come out from hiding before rain starts. Normally, if you see one in your house, it should mean rains are coming today or the day after.

    They are harmless to us and pets.

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  • [–] 7 points 5 months ago

    Stop digging too high up in the nether!

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  • [–] 7 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    Silverfish or possibly a firebrat.

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  • [–] 8 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    I highly recommend submitting observations of unknown animals/plants to inaturalist.org: you can get a very reasonable software guess, informed identifications from other people (possibly those specializing in that kind of creature), and contribute to science at the same time!

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago

    Looks like a silverfish.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverfish

    Watch out, they will eat your books/paper products.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago

    Pee-hole bug

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  • [–] 0 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    If that's 2-3mm then the wooden tiles must be 1-2cm wide, which doesn't sound right to me

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