Master Gardener Volunteer Series: What’s Up with the Earwigs?
By Carol Sitarski, Master Gardener Volunteer Cornell Cooperative Extension Allegany County
Have you noticed a larger-than-normal number of earwigs this year? Well, it’s not only your house, there’s a surge of them this year because of the mild winter weather we recently had, paired with a large amount of rain this Spring and Summer, it has been earwig’s heaven to reproduce.
Did you know there are twenty-two species of earwigs in North America? twelve of which were introduced into the country around 1900 and only four or five of them will invade homes. In this article, we will be learning about the European earwig which is the most common in our area.
Earwigs are about five-eighths of an inch long (around 15 mm), sort of carrot-shaped, dark brownish red in color, yellowish legs, forceps in the rear, and nocturnal habit. The male’s forceps are curved inward, and the females are only slightly curved. These forceps are used for protection from predators and to obtain food. But don’t worry, their muscles are not strong enough to hurt you. Females are excellent mothers collecting the eggs into a nest, cleaning and protecting the young as they go through their instar cycles. Also, there is usually only one brood a year.
Their preferred habitat is damp and dark places such as wood piles, piles of vegetation on the ground, inside corners of homes and basements, old newspaper piles, etc. No, they do not bite and do not crawl into your ear to eat your brain, that is only an old European superstition. Their diet varies from arthropods, plants, pollen, and decaying vegetation to food products in the home pantry. If you see damage to plants, make sure it is not from slugs as it looks similar.
Controlling earwigs is simple, with no chemical use required. Since they are nocturnal, place a piece of damp cardboard or a board on the ground in your garden and leave for a few days. In the early morning pick up the cardboard, scooping up any you see, and either squish them or put them in a jar with soapy water. If you have poultry, they will love them for a snack; chickens and ducks are natural enemies of earwigs, they can help you control earwigs from the garden.
