Earwigs are nocturnal insects feeding on a wide variety of plant material, nectar and some insects. They populate areas of high moisture such as potted plants, mulch, wet welcome mats or under a variety of things that may keep them cool while providing moisture. 
Earwigs grow via ‘gradual metamorphoses, in other words the babies look like the adults. Female earwigs will lay 50 to 60 eggs either while in hibernation or early spring. Generally just one new generation per year for these guys’. Earwigs have wings but rarely fly. They are easily recognizable by the forceps which look menacing but pose no threat to you or I.
As stated earwigs feed at night and it is not uncommon to find them in your home. No real spray measures are needed for the occasional pest but sometimes outside numbers are so high that homes may get many more than desired in living areas. Since earwigs hide during the day a thorough crack and crevice treatment might be in order. Such sprays as Demand CS or Suspend SC will work nicely for baseboard hiding spots. For void areas such as where plumbing pipes are you could use Delta dust. It has some ability to hold up under moist conditions making it ideal for theses spots.
Your best bet is to alter the exterior near your home since this is where they’ll be coming from. If possible elevate potted plants, remove wet ‘welcome’ mats or alter any such thing that allows moisture to be contained under or in it. Rake mulch turning it to allow for some drying, point sprinklers away from home and regulate them so you are not over watering. In areas where it’s not possible to alter use Talstar PL granular insecticide, simply lift up the mat or pot and sprinkle the area. The same can be done in soil or mulch around the foundation of the home creating a barrier. Niban bait is also a good choice and should be used as the granules.
If you should experience a sudden influx of earwigs do a little investigation before you reach for the sprays. It may be a wet rug, a trim board on your door frame that is constantly soaked and perhaps rotting. Maybe it’s been cold so you’ve brought some plants inside. Look for the moisture source first and you’ll find your earwigs. Remove the source a maybe a touch of spray at the entry point and your problem will be solved.
There are rare occasions of mass earwig invasions and if you find this is happening to you please leave a comment with some details of your situation and I’ll see if I can help.
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
You mentioned rare occasions of mass earwig infestations…well, I’ve got one. My whole yard is full of them. I have them all over the lawn and garden (especially a few grassy flax plants that are crawling with them), my patio is covered with them and they come pouring out of my kids’ plastic play structures. I have been using an Ortho spray product around the house and patio which works a bit – leaving the ground covered with the bug carcasses…but more come the next day!!! I’m not sure what my next move is, so I’m hoping you can help. I live in Southern California in a typically dry climate and irrigate my lawn.
Matty B,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write and being very descriptive. On first read of your comment I would venture to say that the earwigs are ‘migrating’ towards your yard for the moisture. The play structures and things like that provide some safety as well as hold moisture (I’m guessing). While the Ortho treatments do work it’s unlikely it has any residule effect especially once the irragation comes on.
I would suggest baiting the yard with Niban FG as mentioned in the article and cutting back the water for a week or so. You don’t have to turn it completely off but if it is set for 3 x’s per week see if you can do just once. The earwigs should slow down tremendously and the bait will eliminate a huge section of the population. Depending on how big the play structures are, see if you can put them on their side or some way that only a few small points contact the grass. This reduction in hiding spots will help too. Use the Ortho on the patio still and near the home and this should be enough to claim back your yard. If this sounds as though it may be to much then you can call a pest control professional and have them treat the entire yard which would pretty much do it all in one fell swoop. The Niban is available at any ‘do it yourself store’ or you can find something comparable at Lowes or Home Depot probably for less.
Please let us know how you make out and if there is any other way we can help.
Thanks for reading
The Bug Doctor
pestcemetery.com
I have a BIG problem with earwigs (ewww), and a smaller problem with (for the lack of proper name) “piss” ants. I just moved into this house (last week), it was vacant for nearly a year, over the winter, in Ohio… I thought the biggest problem I would have would be with spiders. HAH! I have earwigs coming out of places I had no idea about!
This house is very old (my 87 year old grandma said it was old when she walked to school past it), it has no basement, or real crawlspace(actually cannot find outdoor access to get under the house at all), it is built directly on the ground. I am close to town, but far enough outside, I can only see a few neighbors, and cant hear any of them. I have had the misfortune of having to take up a few floorboards, for replacement, and the dirt seems very dry, under the house, and is powdery, instead of hard packed (like I think it would be, if it had been wet on and off), and for as old as the house is, the joists(original as far as I can tell, not planed smooth on either side) are in very good condition, and no termite damage, as far as I could see, so I do not think moisture is the issue.
There is also a couple out buildings, a big shed, built after the house, seems to have no moisture problem, and even the (I think it is called) root cellar, that is a small area, built into the side of the hill, lined with brick, doesn’t smell musty, and has wooden furniture from the previous owners in it, that seems fine(haven’t got to the buildings yet, just working on house and yard, for now). We don’t have a sprinkler system or anything like that either. I guess the rule of thumb was, if it cant survive without human help, it didn’t need to be there. Seems to have pretty good drainage, no puddles of water anywhere(and it has been rainy for about a month).
I find the earwigs everywhere… I killed over a dozen on my door one night, in just one killing spree, and HUNDREDS more when I cleaned the fridge. I have found one pinching bug, that was the size of my pinky (I nearly had a heart attack), and just based on the body similarities I knew they were related, before coming here(took an entomology course in college).
The ants aren’t as big of an issue as I would have thought they would be. I pretty much have that problem taken care of (dish soap lining the counters at night, and scrubbing the counters in the moring, as well as taking trash out at night).
The people that lived here before me were NASTY, I found empty beer bottles in all the cabinets, home canned food that expired in 1997(!?!?!), and the likes. There were holes from the inside out, some big enough for a raccoon to come through(I was afraid of getting bit on the butt, lol)! I have patched all of the major holes, until I can really get to them), and continue patching the small ones, as I find them. The grass was about 3 foot high too, and the plants are out of control (although beautiful), but not too close to the house. I have cut the grass, and I am working on trimming the plants back, without killing them. Would have thought roaches would be a problem too, and in this cleaning endeavor, I have found none(*crosses fingers*), so far.
I have been trying to clean the yard, when I go outside to take trash out(which is about 25 foot away from the house), and make sure there isn’t any unruly plants around the house. So far, I haven’t found any concentration of bugs in any one place on the outside or inside, they are just everywhere.
I have a few questions;
I know there are certain plants some bugs do not like (such as, plant marigolds around your roses and you won’t have aphids). I also know that there is a pesticide made from “mums”. What are the type of “mums” AND if I planted them, would they have any effect on the earwigs?
The “sidewalk” is made of stone (which looks like they made it out of stone they found while leveling the lot for the house). Would taking up this sidewalk and replacing it (with uglier cement) possibly have any effect on the bug population? Honestly, there are plies of stuff in the yard, for now, and I know removing these will help, but that is waiting until I have a guy that will come out and pick it up.
My dad told me to do 2 things, that will help keep them away (he said), once I cut the population, get a mouser (cat), and find a gardener snake and throw under the house. I don’t really have a problem with snakes, I would much rather have a few non-poisonous snakes than thousands of bugs. But would either of these things work or even help?
I am not against chemical means either, I am just waiting for the boric acid to get here (I ordered it from town, along with supplies for the house), and I was also thinking of the diatomaceous earth, but would both be over kill? I think I would actually prefer to use diatomaceous earth, because I have 3 small kids.
I have always lived in apartments with a “bug guy”, so I never had any major problem like this, although, I got 4 toads one time while leaving the door open during rain:). The bugs aren’t the beginning of my nightmare, unfortunately, but getting them under control would greatly improve my sleep
Thanks, in advance for taking time to read this, I figured the more background info on the place the better.
Sarah
Sarah,
Thank you so much for reading my article and taking the time to be descriptive. let’s see if we can make your nights a little more enjoyable.
First it sounds like you have a lot of opportunities for the earwigs to enter the home and sealing them is great but I can see that this may take along time and with older homes you might never get it 100%. So let’s get them out with what we have!
The ‘crawl’ may not provide the optimum place for moisture but the darkness alone may be enough in this case and my guess is that the space is being used for nesting sites. If possible try to get as much boric acid or DE(diamataceous earth) in under the home especially near the edges. You can also sprinkle Niban bait granules under there wherever you lift the boards. Look at my article for dusting and that should help. http://pestcemetery.com/kill-bugs-dusts/
A good dusting in the living areas will also go along way. Any void or crack big enough to ‘puff’ some dust in will be where you want to put it. Then a liquid residual spray of the base of the walls and thresholds should be fine. Nothing to expensive , any hardware store ‘rid a bug’ in a self contained ready to spray bottle will work for our purposes right now.
Outside I would use the Niban bait around the home and along the walk. You could also do DE around the house but don’t overlap the bait and realize it will wash away with the first rain or several mornings of dew. I would also try the rolled up newspaper trick listed on my other earwig article. Damp newspapers rolled up and set next to the home.
The ants probably will go away with this same treatment.
If you do not wish to get involved with all this work then I would suggest a professional. Someone who can power spray the lawn and has the tools to treat the space under the floor as well as treat inside. Karl is a frequent reader of this blog and he is in Columbus Ohio. Not sure if you two are close but here is his site.
http://www.myenvirocare.com
I’m thinking you are planning to do it yourself however since you ordered the Boric acid and that is fine. The Niban you need can be found at any do it yourself pest control store and you should pick up a duster as well. Be advised that the Niban is about $45.00 for a 5 lb bag. You may be able to get something comparable at say Lowes or Home Depot, just make sure it is a bait that has Earwigs listed as a target pest on the label. You don’t need to put a ton of it down all at once. A medium type sprinkling and they will find it.
About a week or so after your baiting put out some more and things should be better. Keep trying the news paper traps and you could even put them inside too.
As far as the cat and snake, I really don’t know. Never heard of that and I think the cat would be wanting to eat the snake.
Again thanks for being so descriptive and maybe read the other articles on earwigs I’ve written to see if there is something that may help. It’s so hard to try and put it all out in one writing.
Let us know how you do.
Thanks for reading
The Bug Doctor
I have earwigs really bad on my rhubarb. They have been eating my rhubarb and I am afraid they are going to go over to my squash. What can I do that would be safe for my vegetation? We have had a high amount of rain here in Colorado lately, but I don’t want my garden to be ruined by these pesky little creatures. Can you help?
Lisa,
Gardens are a lot of work so to have earwigs sharing in the crop is not good. Here’s a trick that you can use and see if you get results.
Take an old garden hose and cut a bunch of 8 inch sections. Wet the inside by putting them in a bucket and place them around the garden or areas where you have earwigs. The next morning fill that bucket with soapy water and go around to each hose section. Hold the hose up over the bucket and tap it. The earwigs will drop out into the soapy water and drown. You may need to do this a few days in a row. The other trick is fill empty but not rinsed tuna or cat food cans with 1/2 inch or so of cooking oil. Set those out in the garden for the same type of results. Niban bait will also work wonders and is not something that will ‘leach’ into the plant systemically. Just sprinkle it up and down the rows. They’ll find it.
Niban is available at any DIY pest control store or something similar at Lowes and Home Depot.
I hope all works out so you can enjoy some rhubarb pie this fall. Let me know how this worked or if I can help further.
Thanks for reading
The Bug Doctor
Thanks for this article and your replies to the comments – this is going to help a lot, I think. I am another with a yard full of earwigs and I find them just horribly gross and want them gone. They are everywhere out there and I do not enjoy my yard at all. And this is weird so thought I’d write about it. I just opened my black, hot street-side mailbox to find it lined with earwigs. They were even crowded in under the flag! I banged on the side of the box and they fell out like rain – gives me the willies just to think about it. So, for our mailman, I cleaned that up and sprayed the ground around it. And then hit the internet to get advice.
I think your mailman will appreciate your efforts. It’s hard sometimes to understand the mind of an earwig but it sounds to me like you have more than your share. If so the mailbox may have offered at least a dark spot in which to hide which they may have been crowded out of elsewhere. I have found them in bird nests, feeders, car trunks you name it. Based on what you’ve read what is your strategy?
If it were me, I might be looking for a local bug company for help. If you are going to attempt it on your own then load up on baits such as Niban and then whack them with a residual spray a few days later. Or vice versa-just make sure to hit all the hiding spots you’ve read about.
Good Luck, Keep us posted
& Thanks for reading
The Bug Doctor
Hello,
We too have earwigs all over our backyard. We suspect because it rained for the entirety of June and part of July, they are here to stay for the summer – and our backyard is damp and moist because it is (so we thought) nicely shaded. It puts a damper on my children playing with their backyard toys, as they hide in the slide, in the crevices of the playhouse (along with the spiders) and hang out on the picnic table. We just don’t go back there anymore. Reading above I saw mention of Niban bait, but research showed me it’s not recommended for use near children. Is there anything that would work to get rid of these pests that would also be safe for my children to be around?
Thanks,
Chris
Chris,
Been raining a lot here too and the earwigs are loving it. That is one good reason to use Niban because it is weather resistant. The other is that it is only a 5% boric acid solution. I’m not great with math so bear with me. But a pound is 16 ounces. 5% of that is the amount of the actual ingredient that is in the bag you buy from the store. So that is 0.8 ounces per pound. I guess my point is that you are really only putting out less than 1 ounce for every pound of Niban you spread out on the yard or around the foundation. The label calls for 6 ounces per hundred square feet so in reality that is not a lot of exposure. I have kids too and 1000’s of them on our routes so I’m in no way diminishing your concern–In fact I applaud it.
The label does say to keep children and pets off area until the treatment is completed but that’s about it for precautions.
If you’re still concerned you could try a bucket of soap and use a pressure washer on ’soap’ mode. Spray the yard and this will drive them up and out but you still need to collect them and kill them.
Insecticide sprays would be a very quick way to reduce the population but the precautions are more for this method and I would recommend a professional for a full yard spray.
http://www.nisuscorp.com/pdf/products//niban40lb_label.pdf Here is a link that may help set your mind at ease. Granted it is from the company itself but there is a pdf of the actual label and that is something that is Federally governed.
Man, I can turn a quick question into a book, can’t I. Good thing I found this blog business when I did so I could release all this stuff in my brain.
Chris, let me know if I helped at all and feel free to ask or voice any other concern. I’d love to help you get rid of your earwigs and if you don’t feel comfortable with using the baits we’ll find another way. I’m here for you.
Thanks for reading
The Bug Doctor
we moved into our home last year and now when it got cold .they started upto 30 in a two hour period…in kitchen,bathroom,laundry,living room and such were invaded,,,,,,i have used tottal kill all over the base boards. and all around the kitchen were most of them are…all the doors and windows are sealed good outside i used tottal kill granuals with no aval…..some help but going nuts,,,,,we live in south carolina,,,,,greenville…ive checked my plants i brought in from outside with roughing up the dirt and looking but cant find any,,,,plus i sealed around pipe,toilets and such with caulk,,,,and used granuals under stove and stuff to help….but wow here they come again…………….. is it true thier in the roach famely???? ive never had them and am mortified if they are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i do have small kids and a boxer dog that eats everything!! so what can i do? how do i find the nest??? and wear? any idea’s thanks so much kenneth
Kenneth,
The plants you brought in may be the answer because earwigs will burrow pretty deep to escape the cold. Perhaps a plastic bag tied around the bottom will reveal your answer. ie; if any are in the bag after a night or 2 you’ll know the plant is hiding some. Earwigs are not a roach so don’t worry. It sounds like you’ve done well with your efforts so more spray may not be the answer. Try the newspaper trick or other traps described in the comments above. In the pest control world there is always a common denominator and just from what you said the plants are the prime suspect.
I hope this helps & do not hesitate to contact me for further help.
Thanks for reading
The Bug Doctor