Earwigs are common insects recognized by their distinctive pincers. These nocturnal creatures seek environments offering darkness, moisture, and shelter. Understanding their habitats helps manage their presence, whether outdoors or indoors. While not known to damage structures, their presence can be a nuisance.
Preferred Outdoor Havens
Earwigs thrive in outdoor environments providing consistent moisture, darkness, and protective cover. Common locations include areas beneath rocks, logs, leaf litter, or mulch. They also inhabit decaying wood, potted plants, and foundation crevices. These spots offer stable humidity and protection from predators.
Such habitats also provide readily available food sources, as earwigs are omnivores feeding on decaying organic matter, other insects, and various plant materials. They scurry away when disturbed, preferring undisturbed, shaded areas. Earwigs cannot tolerate dry or sunny conditions, making moist, sheltered spots ideal.
Indoor Infiltration Points
Earwigs may seek refuge indoors, especially when outdoor conditions become too hot, dry, or cold. They enter homes through small cracks in foundations, gaps under doors, and poorly sealed windows. Unscreened vents and utility openings also serve as entry points. Once inside, earwigs gravitate towards areas mimicking their preferred outdoor habitats, such as basements, crawl spaces, bathrooms, and kitchens. They are attracted to moisture sources, including leaky pipes, damp appliances, and high humidity areas. While they do not establish large, reproducing populations indoors, they seek dark, damp spots like behind baseboards, under sinks, or in damp closets.
Identifying Nesting Activity
Earwigs do not construct elaborate nests, but seek sheltered locations to lay eggs. A female earwig creates a short tunnel in the soil, often next to a rock, to deposit her eggs. These eggs are small, smooth, oval-shaped, appearing white or cream-colored when freshly laid, and measure about 1 millimeter. As they develop, eggs may become kidney-shaped and turn brownish.
A female earwig lays a cluster of 20 to 80 eggs and exhibits maternal care, guarding them until they hatch. She cleans the eggs to prevent mold growth and protect them from predators. Once hatched, young earwigs, called nymphs, resemble miniature adults but are lighter and lack fully developed wings or pincers. The presence of these eggs or small, pale nymphs in a damp, secluded area indicates nesting activity.
Managing Earwig Presence
Controlling earwigs involves modifying their habitat to make it less appealing. Reducing moisture around the home is a primary step, including fixing leaky pipes, ensuring proper drainage, and using dehumidifiers in damp indoor areas. Clearing outdoor debris like leaf litter, woodpiles, and excess mulch from around the foundation removes common hiding spots. Maintaining a dry perimeter around the house, ideally with an 18 to 24-inch gap between the foundation and vegetation, also helps.
Sealing entry points into the home is another effective measure. This involves caulking cracks and crevices in foundations, around windows, and under doors to prevent infiltration. Simple traps can also be employed, such as rolled-up damp newspapers or shallow containers filled with oil and soy sauce, which attract earwigs seeking shelter or food. These traps can be placed in affected areas and emptied regularly.