Earwigs are common garden insects that sometimes become pests due to their feeding habits, damaging seedlings and soft fruits, and their occasional indoor presence. Understanding the specific times when earwigs are most active, both daily and seasonally, provides the most effective strategy for managing their populations.
The Daily Cycle: Why Earwigs Prefer the Dark
Earwigs are fundamentally nocturnal creatures, with their activity cycle driven by a need to avoid heat and dry conditions. Their exoskeleton is sensitive to desiccation, meaning prolonged exposure to sunlight can cause them to dry out. This limitation dictates that they spend daylight hours in cool, dark, and damp locations.
During the day, earwigs retreat to tight, sheltered spaces such as under mulch, stones, woodpiles, leaf litter, and garden debris. These spots provide a microclimate with the high humidity and low light required for survival. They emerge to forage only after sunset, when temperatures drop and ambient humidity rises.
Nighttime activity is primarily for feeding, as they consume a varied diet of decaying plant matter, fungi, and other insects. While they may occasionally be seen during the day on cloudy or rainy days, movement and feeding peak after dusk. Targeting this timeframe and these hiding spots is the most direct way to intercept earwig activity.
Seasonal Peak Activity and Reproduction
The yearly calendar of earwig activity is governed by their life cycle. Adults overwinter deep within the soil or under protective cover. In the fall and early winter, females mate and construct small earthen cells where they lay eggs. The female remains with the eggs, exhibiting maternal care by cleaning and protecting them until they hatch.
Activity rises noticeably in the late spring and early summer as the nymphs emerge from the ground and begin to grow. These juvenile earwigs look similar to adults but are smaller, passing through several molting stages before reaching maturity. Population levels increase rapidly throughout the warmer months, leading to the highest visibility and nuisance activity during mid to late summer.
This summer peak is when earwigs are most likely to enter homes, often seeking moisture or shelter from hot, dry outdoor conditions. Effective control efforts should be initiated before the population reaches its maximum density in the mid-summer months.
Using Timing to Control Earwig Populations
Effective earwig control leverages their daily and seasonal timing. Because they are nocturnal foragers, traps should be set out in the evening, just before dark, to intercept them as they emerge. Simple oil traps or rolled-up newspapers placed near plants can capture large numbers of earwigs overnight.
For maximum effect, these traps must be checked and disposed of in the morning, before the earwigs retreat back to their hiding places for the day. Seasonally, the best time to proactively manage populations is in the early spring, targeting overwintering adults before they reproduce. This involves eliminating potential breeding and hiding sites, such as clearing away debris, leaf litter, and woodpiles near the home foundation.
If chemical control is necessary, applying insecticides is most efficient when targeting their daytime retreats, rather than spraying open areas at night. Treating cracks, crevices, and areas under mulch or foundation plantings disrupts the earwigs in the cool, moist spots they rely on for shelter. Sealing entry points around windows and doors should also be done before the hot summer months when earwigs are most likely to seek refuge indoors.