Earwigs are common nocturnal insects, often identified by the prominent pincer-like appendages extending from their abdomen. Though generally harmless, large populations can damage garden plants and become a nuisance when they seek shelter indoors. Control requires a comprehensive approach targeting preferred habitats, using immediate removal techniques, and establishing protective perimeters. The most effective long-term strategy focuses on making the environment around your home inhospitable to these moisture-loving creatures.
Eliminating Attractive Habitats
Earwigs are strongly attracted to dark, moist environments and organic debris where they hide during the day. Reducing their populations involves controlling moisture sources and eliminating these potential daytime shelters. Start by inspecting for and repairing leaky outdoor faucets, air conditioning units, or poor drainage areas that allow water to collect near the home’s foundation. This practice reduces the localized humidity that earwigs require for survival and reproduction.
Modifying landscaping practices is important, especially regarding mulch and leaf litter. Earwigs thrive in thick layers of organic material, so maintain a six-to-twelve-inch dry zone of bare soil or gravel directly adjacent to the foundation. This simple buffer strip creates an area too exposed and dry for earwigs to comfortably cross. Regularly clean up fallen leaves, grass clippings, and other yard debris, as these materials provide ideal harborage spots.
Moving stored items away from the house removes shelter opportunities. Firewood stacks, landscape timbers, and piles of newspapers should be elevated or relocated to a drier area away from the structure. For indoor exclusion, seal any cracks, gaps, or crevices in the foundation, around utility entry points, and beneath door and window frames using caulk or weatherstripping. Sealing these entry points prevents earwigs from moving inside when outdoor conditions become too dry or hot, which is a common trigger for indoor invasions.
Immediate Trapping and Removal Solutions
For existing populations, direct trapping offers an immediate and non-toxic reduction method. The oil-pit trap exploits the earwigs’ attraction to certain scents. A shallow container, such as a tuna or cat food can, is filled with about half an inch of vegetable oil mixed with a small amount of an attractant like soy sauce, fish oil, or bacon grease.
The container is then buried so its rim is flush with the soil surface, allowing foraging earwigs to easily fall in and drown in the oil. These traps should be placed near areas of high activity, such as mulch beds or damaged plants, and checked daily to remove trapped insects. Simple harborage traps can also be created using materials the earwigs naturally seek for shelter.
Rolled-up newspapers, corrugated cardboard, or short sections of garden hose can be placed on the ground overnight. Earwigs will crawl into these dark, moist spaces before dawn, and the traps can be collected in the morning. The trapped earwigs are then shaken out into a bucket of soapy water. For stray earwigs found inside the home, the simplest removal method is to use a vacuum cleaner with a hose attachment to physically suck them up.
Creating Protective Barriers
Once habitats are modified and immediate populations are reduced, establishing physical and chemical barriers can stop new earwigs from crossing into vulnerable areas. Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is a powder made from the fossilized remains of diatoms. Food-grade DE works by absorbing the waxy, protective layer of the insect’s exoskeleton upon contact, leading to fatal dehydration.
A thin layer of this powder should be applied in dry conditions along foundation walls, window wells, and around the base of vulnerable plants. DE loses its effectiveness when wet, requiring reapplication after rain or irrigation. For inaccessible indoor voids or crevices, specific insecticidal dusts, such as boric acid, can be lightly puffed into the spaces where earwigs might hide or enter.
Creating a perimeter barrier using residual insecticides labeled for earwig control is another option. These products, often containing active ingredients like bifenthrin, are sprayed onto the foundation and the surrounding ground, typically extending two feet up the wall and three feet out. This creates a treated zone that kills earwigs attempting to cross into the structure. These targeted applications are best performed in the late afternoon or evening when earwigs become active.