Earwigs
- Latin Name: Forficula auricularia
- Length: 12 – 15mm
- Color: brownish
How to get rid of Earwigs?
To get a pest problem under control, inspection is the first and foremost step. Earwigs are generally nocturnal and can be seen patrolling household walls and ceilings. Interaction with earwigs at this time results in a defensive free fall to the ground below, and the subsequent scramble to a nearby cleft or crevice.
Earwigs are also drawn to damp conditions. During the summer, they can be found around sinks and in bathrooms. Earwigs tend to gather in shady cracks or openings or anywhere that they can remain concealed in daylight hours. Picnic tables, compost, and waste bins, patios, lawn furniture, window frames, or anything with minute spaces (even artichoke blossoms) can potentially harbor these unwanted residents.
Upon gaining entry to the basement and living areas of the home, earwigs can easily find cover in undisturbed magazine and newspaper piles, furniture/wickerwork, baseboards, carpeted stairways, pet food dishes, and even inside DVD cases and keyboards. Earwigs are exploratory creatures and are often found trapped in poison baited cups or buckets of soapy water.
Earwig Pest Control
The name comes from the old wives’ tale that earwigs burrow into the brains of humans through the ear and therein lay their eggs. Earwigs are omnivores that are predisposed to hiding in warm humid crevices and as such one may crawl into a human ear canal. This is not, however, a location where they are frequently found.