Earwigs are common insects often found in damp, dark environments, recognized by the distinctive pincers at the end of their abdomens. Their eating habits are more varied than many people realize. Understanding their diet provides insight into their behavior and presence in different settings.
What Earwigs Eat
Earwigs are omnivorous and opportunistic feeders, consuming both plant and animal matter depending on availability. Their diet primarily includes decaying organic material, making them contributors to decomposition. They feed on fallen leaves, rotting wood, and other organic debris in moist areas, helping recycle nutrients into the soil.
Beyond decaying matter, earwigs also consume live plant material. They feed on soft plant tissues, including seedlings, soft fruits like strawberries and apricots, flowers such as dahlias and marigolds, and vegetables like lettuce, corn silks, and cabbage. This plant consumption often occurs at night, as earwigs are nocturnal.
Their diet also includes other insects and invertebrates, highlighting their role as predators. Earwigs prey on small, soft-bodied insects such as aphids, mites, and insect eggs, and may consume small caterpillars and slugs. Earwigs also scavenge on carrion, including dead insects and other animal matter. Fungi, green algae, and lichens are additional, less common, food sources, particularly in moist habitats.
Earwigs in Your Garden and Home
In garden settings, earwig feeding habits present a dual role: they can be beneficial and problematic. They are beneficial when they prey on common garden pests like aphids and mites, controlling pest populations naturally. Earwigs assist in decomposition by breaking down organic debris, which contributes to soil health.
Earwigs can become pests when populations are high or preferred food sources are scarce, leading them to feed on cultivated plants. They can damage young seedlings, soft fruits, and tender leaves and petals of various flowers and vegetables, which can stunt plant growth or impact crop yield. Damage to plants, such as irregular holes in leaves, often occurs at night.
Earwigs sometimes enter homes, seeking shelter from unfavorable outdoor conditions like dryness or extreme temperatures, or by accidental entry through cracks. Once indoors, they do not cause structural damage to household items, furniture, or fabrics. Their primary food sources are outdoors, and while they might scavenge for crumbs or exposed fruits, their presence indoors is a nuisance.