Content:
- Earwigs: The Dual Nature of These Creepy Crawlies
- How to Figure Out If You Have an Earwig Infestation in Your Garden, Yard or Home
- Earwig Prevention
- What to Do If You Get Bitten by an Earwig
- Natural Earwig Remedies
When it comes to hearing about an earwig you probably immediately think about the myth associated with them. The myth goes that if you lay on the ground an earwig will crawl into your ear, lay eggs, and then tunnel into your brain. Now before you panic and go on an earwig hunting spree, let’s all calm down for a minute.
Don’t worry, earwigs won’t lay eggs or tunnel into your head, but they can crawl into your ear for warmth. They are actually pretty harmless insects and will only bite you out of self-defense. If you do end up finding a bug in your ear, then you will need to go to the doctor to have it removed or wait for it to leave on its own.
The reason the earwig myth exists is due to one simple fact, earwigs love narrow warm spaces. This means even the human ear seems like a nice little crawl space for the creepy earwig to inhabit. While some find earwigs to be massive pests in the yard or garden, the earwig can be considered one of the few creepy crawlies with true dual nature.
To learn how to rid your yard, garden, and home of these little pincher bugs you must first understand the earwig. Learning what the earwig eats, where it likes to live, and how to use natural remedies for earwigs will help get rid of these bugs quickly. Use this simple guide on earwigs to find your favorite natural remedies for earwigs today and have a bug-free yard tomorrow.
Earwigs: The Dual Nature of These Creepy Crawlies
Earwigs may seem like a typical garden pest but they can actually be quite helpful. The best part is that despite their scary appearance they are actually fairly easy to get rid of when you use one of the few natural remedies for earwigs.
These insects tend to be nocturnal. There are over 2,000 species of the earwig, 22 of which live in the United States.
An interesting behavior of female earwigs is they are one of the few insect species to rear their young. Female earwigs typically have 50-80 eggs and they stay with them till the baby earwigs reach their first molt. Until then the female earwig will protect her eggs and young.
Earwigs have five molting cycles before they finally mature into adult earwigs. This typically takes about 20-70 days to reach full maturity. Their rate of development usually depends on temperature.
Oddly enough, the earwig actually doesn’t like to live with people.
Its major hibernation preferences are logs, composts, leaves, lawn clippings, and living six to seven feet underground. If they do enter your home it is usually through any cracks or crevices in your home’s exterior or underneath your home.
How to Figure Out if You Have an Earwig Infestation in Your Garden, Yard or Home
First and foremost, earwig infestations are actually quite rare. You are more likely to see just a few in an area where they have recently hatched and developed than actually have an infestation.
Earwigs aren’t like other bugs pests which makes them very easy to get rid of or simply let live in a place where you need them most.
But if you are still concerned about having an earwig problem there are ways to tell if you have a few crawling around where they shouldn’t.
Generally, earwigs love to eat potatoes, bean and beet seedlings, dahlias, hollyhocks, butterfly bushes, roses, lettuce, and sweet corn silk. So check around these plants for any creepy-looking bugs around an inch long.
The Benefits of Having Earwigs Infestation
Earwigs are definitely one of the stranger insects to have in your garden. From their scary pincers to their fast speeds, they leave many gardeners and homeowners feeling a bit squeamish. But there is really nothing to fear about the little earwig.
This insect is actually pretty useful in the garden since it loves to eat other insects, will eat up dead insects, eats dead vegetation, fruits, flowers, leaves, and even mold. While eating your plants may not seem like a great thing, having a bug that can break down those annoying yard clippings away from your home might be considered helpful.
Earwig Prevention
There are ways to prevent earwigs from your home, yard, and garden. It is rarer for earwigs to enter people’s homes unless there is a reliable source of food and areas that meet their humidity needs.
Sometimes harsh conditions outside such as winter chill or dryness will cause earwigs to seek out other types of shelter. Typically, earwigs will burrow six to seven feet underground during winters.
Earwigs generally will not crawl into bedrooms since it is too dry for them. They prefer places that have a humidity level or water source such as bathrooms, garages, kitchens, damp attics, mudrooms (laundry rooms), basements, spa rooms, and so on.
To negate this you can use a dehumidifier in your home which will also cut down on mold and help alleviate other conditions.
Generally, when it comes to preventing an earwig infestation it only takes a few simple proactive measures.
- Seal up all cracks and crevices in your home’s walls and roof.
- Maintain your lawn and move all debris away from the home. Move your wood piles and compost piles away from your home as well.
- Seal your compost since earwigs love to eat decaying vegetation
- Make a dry zone around your home. This means you need to have at least 6-12 inches where you have no mulch, leaves, vegetation, and other organic material near your home. This is to eliminate moist soil near your home’s foundation.
- Clean all gutters, downspouts, and make sure your irrigation systems are running without leaks.
What to Do if You Get Bitten by an Earwig
Typically, earwigs are actually very harmless creatures. It may seem unbelievable but the earwig is actually one of the safest insects. They don’t carry any parasites, diseases, and/or have venom.
This means the only thing to happen when bitten by an earwig is simply being in discomfort with a little redness at the site of the bite.
All you need to do is wash the area with soap and water. Once the area is clean you can add a little disinfectant and let the bite heal on its own over time.
You won’t need to worry about any doctor visits unless the earwig ended up sneaking into your ear for a place to hide. Earwigs crawling into the human ear are considered to be very rare so don’t worry.
Natural Earwig Remedies
Earwigs are one of the few insects that know when to take the hint and leave. All you need to do is use one of these wonderful natural remedies for earwigs and watch them vacate your home, yard, and garden fast.
1.) Cedar oil
Acts as a natural insecticide. All you need to do is add a little of this essential oil with some water and spray it where ever you have earwigs.
2.) Diatomaceous earth
Use a food-grade version. The diatomaceous earth causes cuts on the earwig’s exoskeleton (the earwig’s body) which effectively kills the earwigs. You can spread this stuff around your yard and garden to keep earwigs out.
After it rains you will need to reapply the areas you need the diatomaceous earth.
This method is also safe to use around any outdoor pets since it is non-toxic in nature.
3.) Switch out your standard white light bulbs for sodium light bulbs
Switching out the light bulbs it to keep other pests away that the earwigs prey on. By negating the prey you eliminate the earwig away from your home at least.
4.) Water and dish soap
Set up areas of buckets with water and dish soap. The earwigs love water so they will try to get to it only to fall in and drown. Clean up is as simple as dumping the bucket of dead earwigs away from your home.
5.) Neem oil
Acts as another type of natural insecticide. All you need to do is add a little of this essential oil with some water and spray it where ever you have earwigs.
6.) Attract the earwig’s natural predators
The earwig is like any other insect, it has many predators that love to eat it. These predators are definitely ones you may enjoy and are easy to attract. The earwig’s main enemies are frogs, toads, and birds.
You can easily set up a few bird feeders and birdbaths to attract birds. Frogs are even easier if you live near swamps, rivers, ponds, lakes, or in a humid place.
7.) Tuna can and vegetable oil
Set an empty tuna can with some vegetable oil near any earwig-infested plants. The earwigs will become attracted to the oil and fall in. Since the oil is heavy and sticks to the earwig it will cause them to drown in the oil.
Once the can either become too full of dead earwigs or there are no more nearby you can remove the can and throw it away.
8.) Use damp cardboard or newspaper and soapy water
Since earwigs love humid places to hide they will use damp cardboard or newspaper. All you need to do is set either a damp piece of cardboard or damp rolled-up newspaper near the earwigs. They will then crawl and use the damp material as a new hideout.
Once you see enough earwigs in the damp paper trap you can then remove the cardboard or newspaper and dump it into a bucket of soapy water. The soapy water will kill the earwigs since it causes them to drown.
