Help me get rid of earwigs!

June 6, 2006 8:33 PM

How can I keep earwigs out of my house? I never want to see them again. I get them every year, and it seems as if no "over-the-counter" bug spray affects them. Please tell me any fail-safe methods you may have to ensure that my house becomes as unappealing to these things as possible.
posted by foxinthesnow to home & garden (3 comments total)

Well, I can't say I know how to -prevent- them for sure... But for a short time last year, I lived in a place that was absolutely infested with the critters -- and I have a special hatred in my generally insect-loving heart for earwigs.

What I did was get a set of 3 roach/flea foggers (it was a small area) and set 'em off while I went to work one day... I came home to find literally hundreds, if not perhaps thousands, wriggling their death throes on the floor. They continued to come out from their hiding places and die on the floor for the next three days or so (I assume they were trying to save themselves by getting to fresh air, but to no avail), after which I repeated the treatment and killed yet more. Two seemed to do the trick; I did it again four days later and there were none to be found, so presumably they were all dead. I can't say for sure that they didn't come back this year, though, as I don't live there anymore.

http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/diaglab/hilites/a3640.pdf has some good information, and http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/4DMG/Pests/earwigs1.htm lists a few ways to make traps, though I've not tested these myself. I've also heard that diatomaceous earth makes for fantastic long-term insect control indoors, but again haven't tried it personally (though I plan to soon!).

Good luck!
posted by po at 1:15 AM on June 7, 2006

My grandfather used to buy diatomaceous earth and do a perimeter around his house, every spring. If they eat it, it slices them up. If they touch it, their exoskeleton gets punctured and they die eventually. Worked great.

In the late winter (late March in Southern Ontario) around the farmhouse, we used to go cross-country skiing on the property near the house and would see earwigs freshly hatched and coming out of the ground, hundreds and thousands of them walking on top of the snow. It was a major issue there to say the least.
posted by chuma at 5:57 AM on June 7, 2006

When we adopted a couple of puppies from the animal shelter, they were covered in fleas. Since I'm not a fan of pesticides in general, we tried this stuff made from boric acid:

http://www.fleabuster.com/Services/RxforFleas.html

It worked like a charm and had the additional benefit of eradicating our yearly infestation of silverfish. Seems likely that it would kill earwigs too.

Thanks for the tip about diatomaceous earth, chuma. That sounds like something handy to have around too.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 12:59 PM on June 7, 2006