How to get rid of earwigs in the garden

Earwigs are reddish-brown insects with a pair of pincers on their back end. They hide during the day and come out at night to feed. In a bad year, they can chew holes in dahlias, lettuce, seedlings, and corn silks faster than you can figure out what is happening.

Earwigs are not all bad. They also eat aphids, insect eggs, and dead plant matter. The goal is to keep their numbers down, not to wipe them out.

How to identify earwigs

The European earwig is the one most gardeners see.

• About 5/8 inch (15 mm) long
• Reddish-brown, flat body
• Short wing covers and long antennae
• Pincers at the tail end, curved on males and straight on females

The pincers look scary, but they are harmless to people. An earwig may give a small pinch if you handle it. The old story about earwigs crawling into ears is a myth.

Signs of earwig damage

• Ragged holes in leaves and petals
• Seedlings chewed down overnight
• Corn silks chewed back, which leaves ears with missing kernels
• Holes in soft fruit like strawberries, peaches, and apricots
• Earwigs hiding in flower heads, under pots, and in folded leaves

Slugs cause similar damage. To find out which pest you have, go out with a flashlight an hour or two after dark. Earwigs run fast when the light hits them. Slugs leave slime trails.

Plants earwigs love

Earwigs often go after dahlias, marigolds, zinnias, hostas, lettuce, basil, beans, and young seedlings. They also chew corn silks and soft, ripe fruit.

How to get rid of earwigs

1. Set newspaper traps

Earwigs hide in tight, dark, damp spaces during the day. You can use that to trap them.

1. Roll up a sheet of damp newspaper and secure it with an elastic band. A short piece of garden hose or a cardboard tube also works.
2. Lay the traps on the soil near damaged plants in the evening.
3. In the morning, pick up the traps and shake the earwigs into a bucket of soapy water.
4. Set the traps out again each night until you catch few or none.

2. Set oil traps

1. Sink a shallow can or plastic tub into the soil so the rim sits at ground level.
2. Pour in about 1/2 inch (1 cm) of vegetable oil mixed with a splash of soy sauce.
3. Empty and refill the traps every few days.

The soy sauce draws them in, and the oil traps them.

3. Remove hiding spots

• Clear away boards, piles of pots, and plant debris near beds.
• Pull thick mulch back from seedlings until they are bigger.
• Trim back plants that hang over the ground.

4. Water in the morning

Earwigs like damp spaces. Water early in the day so the soil surface dries by evening.

5. Use bait as a last resort

Some slug and snail baits also control earwigs. Look for baits made with iron phosphate and spinosad that list earwigs on the label. Scatter the bait thin around damaged plants in the evening, as the label directs.

Earwigs in the house

Earwigs sometimes wander indoors in late summer and fall. They do not breed inside and do not harm people, food, or your home. Sweep them up and put them outside. Seal gaps around doors and windows to keep more from getting in.

Should you keep a few earwigs?

Earwigs eat aphids, mites, insect eggs, and decaying plant matter. In an orchard or a bed with lots of aphids, they can do some good. If you are not seeing much damage, you do not need to treat for them.

Here is more on beneficial insects that eat garden pests.

More garden pest help

• How to get rid of slugs in the garden
• How to get rid of cutworms
• Aphids
• How to grow dahlias
• Garden pests