WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Silverfish

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, there, everybody, and welcome to the short Stuff. I'm Josh,

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<v Speaker 1>and there's shocking it's Jerry's here. She's just kind of

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<v Speaker 1>lingering quietly in the background. And this is short stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean there's hiss went away, and that means Jerry's gone.

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<v Speaker 1>That's right. When she was on, it was hissy and

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<v Speaker 1>now it's not hissy. She speaks like a cobra commander.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know what that means. Do from g I Joe.

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<v Speaker 1>If you watch the cover, watch had kind of before

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<v Speaker 1>his talk, you know, have you ever seen a silverfish?

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<v Speaker 1>That's my line? Oh sorry, Chuck, I thought we were

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<v Speaker 1>mixing it up. Chuck, have you ever seen a silverfish?

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know what his silver fish is? Yes, you do?

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<v Speaker 1>You lie? Is it from g I Joe? That's right,

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<v Speaker 1>he was cobra Commander's right here man, silverfish. It's actually

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<v Speaker 1>kind of no. I have seen I have seen silverfish,

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<v Speaker 1>and they I think a lot of people get freaked

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<v Speaker 1>out by silverfish and I don't, And I don't know

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<v Speaker 1>if I should. Well, I know I shouldn't, but I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know why people do. I guess I think just

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<v Speaker 1>because they're weird looking, they're very prehistoric looking, which makes

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<v Speaker 1>sense because apparently they've been around since the Devonian period

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<v Speaker 1>for four million years, and they haven't really changed much

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<v Speaker 1>since then. So I think that it probably is triggers

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<v Speaker 1>some innate, primal part of our evolved brain, that is

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<v Speaker 1>that that came from whatever those ancient silver fish used

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<v Speaker 1>to eat, you know what I'm saying. Sure, I do

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<v Speaker 1>know that they've remained pretty unchanged, largely because they haven't

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<v Speaker 1>really had to. I mean, I guess they were perfect

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<v Speaker 1>little beings. Um, And they're very hardy. I think they

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<v Speaker 1>can live six months with just water or just food.

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<v Speaker 1>I think as long as they have one of those two,

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<v Speaker 1>they're doing fine. Yeah, yeah, which is pretty interesting. But

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<v Speaker 1>I mean that's a long time to go without either one.

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<v Speaker 1>But it's a long time for an insect. A list

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<v Speaker 1>it is. Um. Yeah, and I didn't see how long

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<v Speaker 1>they live for in general, but they do seem fairly hardy.

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<v Speaker 1>But to kind of circle back to what you were

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<v Speaker 1>saying initially, if you know whether or not people should

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<v Speaker 1>be scared of them, you shouldn't. They're actually not at

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<v Speaker 1>all harmful to people, and the worst they can do

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<v Speaker 1>is maybe, um degrade some of your old books, eat

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<v Speaker 1>some of your favorite startch callers. Nothing really terribly untoward.

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<v Speaker 1>And they also, um don't really tend to break out

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<v Speaker 1>in infestations. And if they do, you've had silverfish a

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<v Speaker 1>long long time. If you've noticed that, you have a

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<v Speaker 1>silver fish infestation, because they reproduce very very slowly. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I don't think I've ever seen more than

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<v Speaker 1>one same here in a place. They're like lone wolves.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, I guess an infestation might creep me out

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit. But um, you did mention books, and

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<v Speaker 1>that that's because back in the day books, well there

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<v Speaker 1>are still books, like we just wrote one and are

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<v Speaker 1>selling a book, but it is not put together with

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<v Speaker 1>glues that use animal byproducts. We made darn sure of that, right.

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<v Speaker 1>Actually we didn't have to because that's just the old

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<v Speaker 1>way of putting books together. And the silver fish eat

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<v Speaker 1>these things, not because oh I love to eat books

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<v Speaker 1>or even like the paper. It's it's really kind of

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<v Speaker 1>the starchy, sugary glues and animal proteins used to put

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<v Speaker 1>this stuff together, right exactly, So there s o l

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<v Speaker 1>with new books. But you know the problem is if

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<v Speaker 1>you have an antique book collection, it's probably worth some

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<v Speaker 1>money in the silverfish love that stuff. But for those

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<v Speaker 1>of us who don't collect antique books like we said,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, um, they love starch that you would say,

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<v Speaker 1>spray on like a caller, and they can inadvertently ruin

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<v Speaker 1>your clothes, Like they don't set out to ruin your clothes,

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<v Speaker 1>but them just kind of sucking on and chewing up

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<v Speaker 1>that starch can can harm the fibers as it stands. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>we should just leave bowls of mashed potatoes in the attic. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>as an offering party, in offering to the silverfish gods,

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<v Speaker 1>should we take a break? Be sure? All right, well

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<v Speaker 1>let's take a break and we'll describe these things, because

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<v Speaker 1>we're going to start describing things and we'll be right back.

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<v Speaker 1>So chuck. Yeah, that was ah that that dude wrote

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<v Speaker 1>in to say, hey, um, not all of us can

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<v Speaker 1>go on the internet and look at pictures of what

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<v Speaker 1>you're talking about, so please do describe it. That's why

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<v Speaker 1>you were referencing. Sure, do you want to talk about

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<v Speaker 1>what a silverfish looks like? You're they're skinny, Uh, they're pointy.

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<v Speaker 1>Uh in the abdomen region, they got a little round head.

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<v Speaker 1>Some people say they look like little carrots that that

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<v Speaker 1>mate it with the fish because they have these little

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<v Speaker 1>silvery tiny gray scales and they kind of shimmer and

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<v Speaker 1>they kind of wiggle like a fish swimming, and I

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<v Speaker 1>think that's where they got their name. Plus also if

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<v Speaker 1>you look at their tails, they have those like three

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<v Speaker 1>little kind of pointy appendage. I guess is that what

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<v Speaker 1>they are. They're not. They look they look stingy, but

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<v Speaker 1>they're not. But I don't know if they could sting

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<v Speaker 1>other things that aren't humans, I don't know. But yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>they definitely don't sting or bite or anything like that.

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<v Speaker 1>And they don't want to be anywhere near you. So again,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't need to to be worried about them. But

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<v Speaker 1>if you, if you kind of use your imagination and

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<v Speaker 1>just kind of connect those three stingers and fill it

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<v Speaker 1>in a little bit, it looks a lot like a

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<v Speaker 1>fish's tail. Yeah, you know, all the more reason to

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<v Speaker 1>call them silverfish, and all the more reason to fry

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<v Speaker 1>them up with somehow puppies and tartar sauce and have

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<v Speaker 1>mushy peas. Maybe if you're from England, yeah, I guess

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<v Speaker 1>I have a little party. So um, you're going to

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<v Speaker 1>find silver fish in places like we said that have

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<v Speaker 1>a high starch content, but also very humid places and

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<v Speaker 1>at a certain temperature. They apparently prefer high humidity like

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<v Speaker 1>between um and then temperatures of around seventy eight degrees

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<v Speaker 1>fairre at heights, so they kind of like it a

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<v Speaker 1>little tropical, you know what I mean? Yeah, like in

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<v Speaker 1>the summertime in your basement or crawl space, you might

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<v Speaker 1>see them. Um, I think the things that freaked me

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<v Speaker 1>out of those I don't know what they are. They're

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<v Speaker 1>not crickets, but they are cricket, like in the ones

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<v Speaker 1>that jump in very unpredictable directions. Spiders, No, there, crickets

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<v Speaker 1>sort of that they but they leap up in the

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<v Speaker 1>air and you never know which way they're gonna go,

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<v Speaker 1>Like usually cricket will just leap forward like in a grasshopper,

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<v Speaker 1>like they're trying to go somewhere. These things are just

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<v Speaker 1>a little unhinged, right, So, um yeah, I read a

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<v Speaker 1>really good description of how silver fish move. They move

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<v Speaker 1>really really fast and then stop and just kind of

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<v Speaker 1>hang out for a little bit, and then they move

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<v Speaker 1>again really really fast, and it's almost like this, um weird,

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<v Speaker 1>kind of disjointed movement from one place to the other.

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<v Speaker 1>But again, usually when they're moving and they see you,

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<v Speaker 1>they're trying to get away from you. They're not coming

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<v Speaker 1>at you. Yeah, and you know, their reproduction cycle is

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<v Speaker 1>pretty long, so you're probably not gonna see infestations. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>I think if you do have them, they say, you're

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<v Speaker 1>probably you probably have too much junk lane around or

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<v Speaker 1>maybe you've got a bunch of storage and cardboard boxes,

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<v Speaker 1>which is not a good for many reasons, not a

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<v Speaker 1>good way to store things. And uh, they definitely suggest

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<v Speaker 1>that you store things in plastic bins. Um now that

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<v Speaker 1>we have these sort of modern things available to us

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<v Speaker 1>with lids, and it's a lot harder for I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>it's just a better way to store things, period. And

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<v Speaker 1>one reason I also saw why it is hard to uh,

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<v Speaker 1>why it is hard to end up with a silverfish

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<v Speaker 1>infestation is because, like you were saying, it's a long

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<v Speaker 1>reproductive um time. But also silverfish um. Female silverfish only

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<v Speaker 1>lay about a hundred eggs over the course of their lifetime,

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<v Speaker 1>which seems really low, um as far as insect eggs go,

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<v Speaker 1>don't you think it seems like it? And I guess

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<v Speaker 1>they only lay about three or six at a time,

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<v Speaker 1>and it takes about three to six weeks for them

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<v Speaker 1>to hatch. So if you see a silverfish, you probably

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<v Speaker 1>don't have much to worry about. But if you do

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<v Speaker 1>want to get rid of them, chuck, what do you do?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, surely you have to like tape up your

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<v Speaker 1>house and like go get a fogger and like get

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<v Speaker 1>all the furniture out, and then it's a real problem, right,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, you know me, I tend to just leave

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<v Speaker 1>them alone. But they do say that you can just

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<v Speaker 1>vacuum them up and get ready or clutter reduce the

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<v Speaker 1>humidity if you can. Um But I say, don't really

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<v Speaker 1>sweat it so much because there's probably not many of them.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you do have a real infestation, you can

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<v Speaker 1>call a professional, right, But I mean, but I don't

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<v Speaker 1>recommend it. If you don't have a like an antique

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<v Speaker 1>um book collection at steak, then yeah, maybe just coexists,

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<v Speaker 1>right yeah. And if you're storing your antique collection in

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<v Speaker 1>a cardboard box in your Carls stage, then you don't

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<v Speaker 1>care about it exactly. You got anything else about silverfish?

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<v Speaker 1>Nothing else? Leave him alone, everybody? Uh? And since I

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<v Speaker 1>said leave him alone, I guess that means that this

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<v Speaker 1>short stuff is apt. Stuff you should know is a

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