Earwigs

Garden Problems , Home Pest Problems

Earwigs soil dwelling insects and rarely do much damage in the garden. However, they can be a nuisance in large numbers in a vegetable patch.

Identify the problem
Earwigs can eat live plants and can do damage to crops.
Female earwigs produce 20-60 eggs laid in burrows 3 to 4 centimetres under soil surface. Most species have one generation a year, over-wintering in the soil. Both adults and the young require moisture to live. Earwigs feed mostly at night, scavenging on dead insects, live and decomposing plant materials. Some earwig species are attracted to lights. In daylight earwigs will seek shelter under organic matter such as mulch, pea straw, leaf litter, and other debris. Earwigs prefer dark and damp areas.
Occasionally earwigs will wander indoors from the garden. This is usually when number outside have grown and they are forced to seek new food and shelter. They do normally survive long indoors.
How to solve the problem
To get rid of earwigs:
- Control earwigs using Kiwicare LawnPro Protect sprinkled on soil and areas around plants or the buildings to be protected. Make sure to water well in.
- Treat any affected crop plants with Organic Insect Control Pyrethrum and drench soil around them.
- If earwigs become a pest indoors spray the bases of exterior walls and interior floors in the affected areas with NO Bugs Super.
Did you know?
- Earwigs are members of the insect order - Dermaptera.