Earwigs
If you are an avid gardener, and you know what earwigs are, then you’ll know that typically they are more of a nuisance than an actually problem. They are about a half to one inch with long antennae and pinchers on their abdomen. They can pinch, though they are not poisonous. Earwigs love dark damp cool places, especially if they can hide there during the day. They feed on plants, garbage, insects and very ripe fruit. Their favorite plant is Marigolds, though they will eat other plants. They normally don’t do any harm to the plants they feed on unless they are in large numbers. And of course I would be the one to acquire a freak infestation of them! All three of my hanging baskets of Lobelia died very suddenly after flourishing for a month. I went to clean out the baskets to reuse them, and found tons of earwigs
in each one. It was quite frightening to see that many in one place. All I had to do was shake or knock the basket and they came falling out the bottom and crawling over the rim. Lobelia is a shade loving plant that likes moist soil and has a bushy cascading effect that shades the soil and keeps it cool. Perfect conditions for earwigs. And to top it all off, I had rectangular containers of Marigolds, their favorite plant, under each basket, as you can see here in a previous picture before the Lobelia died. Fortunately my Marigolds have not died but they did stop blooming and are receiving treatment for the earwigs.
If you are in a similar boat, or just want to get rid of the creepy little things, there are a few things you can do. Since Earwigs are typically a garden helper, the best thing is to simply stem the tide to a manageable number. You can place a damp rolled up newspaper near the area they are infesting. They will crawl in to escape the heat of the day. In the evening simply put the newspaper into a tightly bound bag or sealed container and throw out. Or for something more satisfying, shake them out and squash the little buggers. If your plants can handle it, let an area dry out. Also cleaning up leaves and other debris will help significantly. Earwigs have an unusual attraction to vegetable oil as well. Leave a pie tin or other low sided container filled with oil buried up to the rim, or placed next to the problem area, and they will find their way in and drown. To keep them out of the house, insecticides are your best bet. Spray window sills and doorways. Most insecticides that kill earwigs are not intended to be used in planters or directly in soil where you are gardening, but you can find them. Check with your local garden center.
15 Comments
Ohhh, I hate those little buggers. They’re creepy! They rank right up there with long-legged centipedes. Good article, Rebecca.
Yuck. I actually don’t mind any creatures except spiders but earwigs are a little creepy — how they’re longish and the ear association is icky. The newspaper idea is great advice though. I never would have thought of that — although I’ll stick to not grossly squishing bugs thanks…Maybe just relocate them.
[...] week. I blogged about my hanging baskets full of Lobelia, and they all got a freak infestation of earwigs. My weeping fig tree shriveled up and died shortly after doing a post on repotting, and my Aloe [...]
Another thing that works is Orange juice. In the evening before bed just set a mug or small bowl in the problem area, it attracts them and they crawl in and drown. Or a quick way is to get some water in a squirt bottle, mix in a few squirts of liquid dish soap, and squirt it directly on them. The soap film acts like a plastic bag and suffocates them.
I think earwigs are interesting. I have a whole family in my bug jar right now. We found them this morning,and they had tiny white eggs too. That’s all!
“Earwigs are typically a garden helper . . . ” Not for me! They eat my rose buds from the inside.
Any suggestions on companion plants, other than garlic, for roses? Garlic works, but the whole garden smells of it; it even drowns out my jasmine.
try onion or put a jar in the roses and a bit of carrot and in the morning check the jar and see what you coute
i killed one by dumping shampoo on it.
it was in my tub, ew.
Why do they call them Earwigs. My sister had to have one taken out of her ear as it apparently crawled in at night. Hospital used some oil to kill it but it didn’t it crawled out and then they killed it. Do they like ears of animals? She has a outside cat which does come in and could hav gotten on the bed.
I hate those little things! They are always in my house and they are creepy.
How do I get rid of these pesky creatures that have invaded my home? I have found them everywhere, bathroom, kitchen, etc. Used insecticide to no avail. Anybody with any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the article. I was looking on line to find the name of these bugs. We have our house sprayed inside and out every 3 months (don’t like idea of chemicals in house but husband has arachniphobia). Most of the time we see 0 bugs of any kind inside of our house. For the last month the earwigs have taken over our house. The only thing I know that is different is that we have had a LOT of rain here in TN this year. I have lifted many flower pots and found 30 or 40 at a time outside this year. Maybe they have years where they flourish more than others. Our bug man is gonna have to get rid of them. We pay too much to put up with them. I also like the newspaper idea.
I can’t stand these little guys. I’ve been woken up in the middle of the night being attacked by Earwigs. I didn’t think that they fed on humans, but it turns out that they do. Should I get my house sprayed? Is there any pathology between Earwig and human?
I wonder if people would still hate earwigs so much if they were beautiful or cute.
It’s kind of pathetic that a giant human will kill a tiny living creature on purpose that is defenceless and harmless to people. Especially when the earwig (or earwigs) is outside in its environment, aka its home. When they enter someones home that is a different story. However, I still don’t kill any bugs, I just put them outside. Look at it this way, if you kill the bugs, more will come in to fill their space. And the new bugs that come can be worse! Earwigs eat spiders, so that is one benefit to keep them around.
Margo Kasprzak: No, earwigs don’t go into peoples ears. There are only rare occations of that, unfortunately your sister was one of those cases.
I believe we are all lucky to be born as humans and not as bugs! They, like us, cannot change the way they look and the reputations given to them by ignorant or unnecessarily frightened people.
Hey Bobby, Do you have kids? If you do then you know as a parent you can’t allow your home to be infested with any of the good Lord’s creatures. These little buggers HURT! I have stepped on one in the middle of the night, they pinch and bring blood. I have a daughter thats still in the crawling stage, and puts Everything in her mouth. So Yes, it IS necessary to kill and get rid of them. Beautiful or cute, as you put it, If they pinch, sting, bite, or bring any kind of blood from me or my family, they will be squished.
I have used the raid bug bombs in my home, everytime there are several of these bugs afterwards laying around. You think you get them all untill that night or the next day, you see another one crawling around. IS THERE ANYTHING TO GET RID OF OR PREVENT THEM FROM ENTERING MY HOME?