Earwigs are spread primarily by transportation of products. Thus, items purchased at yard sales should be checked, as should cardboard boxes in damp outside areas. It is possible that most areas around homes are likely to be infested with earwigs. While it is unlikely that they can ever be completely eliminated, you can keep populations at acceptable levels.

Earwigs are reddish brown and up to 3/4 inch long when fully grown. Earwigs have a pair of forcep-like pincers extending from the back end. The pincers are used for defense and also to catch the insects on which earwigs sometimes feed.

Young earwigs resemble adults but are smaller. The female mothers her eggs and young until they are big enough to wander away from the nest and obtain their own food. Usually, earwigs are first noticed in the spring around the outside of the home near the foundation. A certain percentage of adults and eggs last through the winter.

Management

A. Sanitation is most important. Avoid providing earwigs with ideal nesting and hiding places, that is any place an earwig could hide in, under or between.

Removing these hiding places is a continuous job, but the most important time to discourage is spring when plants are not yet sprouted and most outdoor items can be moved. Any items left outdoors overnight; for example: laundry, lawn furniture, flowers, or vegetables-- should be checked for earwigs before they are brought into the home.

B. Carbaryl (Sevin) and malathion can be used to control earwigs outside by spreading the insecticide in a 10-foot band around the home. Include the foundation, especially by basement doors and windows, where the sill of the house rests on the foundation, and where the siding starts. Sprinkle enough water on the sprayed ground to wash the insecticide off the plants and onto the soil (but not into the soil), where the earwigs will have the greatest exposure to the insecticide. Insecticide labels will tell you on what garden plants they can be used and how to mix them.

Deodorized malathion (Cythion) or propoxur (Baygon) may be used to control earwigs inside the home. Use only household formulations of insecticides and only for cracks and crevices. There is no need to do more. In fact, if earwigs are controlled outside, it is quite unlikely that inside control will be necessary, other than using a fly swatter, rolled newspaper, or vacuum cleaner to kill or clean up strays.

C. Traps made from two pieces of grooved wood placed together and leaned against a tree or the foundation, or 18 inch lengths of old garden hose cut at a slant to allow greater exposure of the opening and laid in the area where earwigs are present, trap many earwigs at night. Placing boards or other items on the ground, giving the insects a hiding place, also makes an effective trap. A rolled up, moistened newspaper also functions as a good trap. Shaking the earwigs out of the traps or hose into a pail with a small amount of hot soapy water ends the pests’ travels.