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Earwigs

Earwigs

Order Dermaptera

Insectalso: Pincher bug

Familiar reddish-brown insects with a pair of pincers at the tail, earwigs are a mixed bag in the garden: they eat aphids and decaying matter, but in numbers they also chew ragged holes in seedlings, leaves, soft fruit, and flowers, feeding at night and hiding by day.

🔎 How to spot it

Earwigs are flat, elongate, shiny reddish-brown insects about three-quarters of an inch long, with a distinctive pair of forceps-like pincers at the rear; they are harmless to people despite the look. They hide by day in dark, damp, tight places, under pots, boards, mulch, and debris, and forage at night. Hunt with a flashlight to confirm them, since the damage alone can be mistaken for other chewers.

🥀 Damage it causes

Earwigs chew small, irregular holes scattered across young leaves and clip the edges of older leaves into a ragged look; they also feed on flower petals (zinnias, marigolds, and dahlias are favorites), seedlings, soft fruit, and corn silk, which can interfere with pollination. Seedlings can be set back severely, while established plants usually shrug off the cosmetic damage.

🛡️ Prevent it

Reduce their daytime shelter and the moisture they love: clear away leaf litter, boards, and debris, thin heavy mulch near vulnerable plants, and water in the morning so beds dry by night. Because earwigs also eat aphids and other pests, tolerate modest numbers and act only where they are clearly harming seedlings, flowers, or fruit.

🧯 If it is already here

Trap them with low cans baited with a little oil (a drop of bacon grease or fish oil added) sunk to soil level, or with rolled damp newspaper or short pieces of hose laid out at dusk, then collect and dump the hidden earwigs each morning. A few nights of intensive trapping sharply cuts the population. Protect seedlings until they are large enough to outgrow the feeding.

💡 Good to know

Earwigs are genuinely both friend and foe, so the goal is to thin them around vulnerable plants rather than wipe them out. The pincers are for defense and mating, not for harming people, and the old tale about them crawling into ears is just a tale. Trapping plus drying out their hiding spots is far more effective than spraying.

🌱 Plants it attacks

714 plants in the library can be attacked by this pest

Acorn SquashAdirondack Blue PotatoAdzuki BeanAfrican Blue BasilAfrican MarigoldAgapanthusAgeratumAgrimonyAji Amarillo Pepper🍓Albion StrawberryAlice du Pont Mandevilla🥔All Blue PotatoAlmondAloe VeraAmbrosia CornAmerican BasswoodAmerican Beauty Dragon FruitAmerican BeechAmerican PersimmonAmethyst Falls WisteriaAmish Paste TomatoAnaheim PepperAnemoneAngelique TulipAngeloniaAniseAnise HyssopAnjou PearAnnabelle Smooth HydrangeaAnnual VincaApeldoorn TulipApple MintApril Tryst CamelliaArbequina OliveArizona Sun Blanket FlowerArkin CarambolaArmenian CucumberAroniaArp RosemaryArugulaAshwagandhaAsian PearAsian PersimmonAtemoyaAtlantic Giant Pumpkin🥕Atomic Red CarrotAucubaAugust Beauty GardeniaAunt Molly's Ground CherryAutumn Joy SedumAvocadoBachelor's ButtonBalsam FirBalsam PoplarBanana PepperBarbara Karst BougainvilleaBartlett PearBay LaurelBayberryBeach PlumBeauregard Sweet PotatoBecky Shasta DaisyBee Balm🍅Beefmaster TomatoBenarys Giant ZinniaBengal Tiger CannaBetter Boy Tomato🥬Bibb Lettuce🍅Big Beef TomatoBig Boy TomatoBilberryBing CherryBitter MelonBlack BeanBlack Beauty EggplantBlack Beauty ZucchiniBlack Beluga LentilBlack Cherry TomatoBlack CrowberryBlack Currant🍉Black Diamond WatermelonBlack Kabouli ChickpeaBlack Krim TomatoBlack RaspberryBlack Sapote🥬Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce🥕Black Spanish RadishBlack Tartarian CherryBlack WalnutBlack-Eyed PeaBlack-eyed Susan VineBlood OrangeBloomsdale SpinachBlue Bird DelphiniumBlue Bird Rose of SharonBlue FescueBlue Lake Green BeanBluecrop BlueberryBocking 14 ComfreyBok Choy

For educational and informational purposes only. Pest control advice is general guidance drawn from university cooperative extension sources; always identify a pest positively and read and follow the label on any product before use, especially around food crops, children, and pets.