EARWIGS
PEST CONTROL

While earwigs prefer to live in moist soil, feeding on dead or live vegetation, these creatures can occasionally wander indoors, and have been known to infest various areas of a home. Unlike many other insect species, earwigs are not social critters, so their means of survival does not depend on a colony or nest. However, handling an infestation can be challenging and frightening, as the earwig is quite intimidating in appearance. With earwigs being primarily outdoor insects, only sometimes making their way inside, you may be wondering how these insects manage to enter.

An earwig is an elongated insect of about 2,000 species found in the Americas, Africa, Eurasia, Australia and New Zealand. As far as their typical behavior, the insects are active at night, living under rocks, logs, and in flowerbeds, feeding on plants and insects. They occasionally become annoying to humans, as they are attracted to light and are often spotted on porches or patios during summer nights. In some instances, earwigs move into homes to find food or because of a change in weather.

Home and business owners dealing with an earwig infestation are likely to find these pests in areas of the premises located near water, but the bugs will continue to every corner of the property. A few precautionary steps to avoid this situation is to move organic materials, such as logs and firewood, away from the structure. Also, arrange irrigation systems to water in the morning, allowing the landscape to dry during the day, and consider using yellow bulbs, since white lights are more attractive to insects. Finally, get in touch with a pest control professional regarding any questions or to take action against an earwig infestation, as these creatures can and do maneuver their way into households.

Here are a few ways earwigs can get inside a home:

Crawling inside through cracks:

Earwigs can get inside a structure by moving through cracks, gaps, and holes.

Common entry points:

Common places of entry include spaces around poorly sealed doors and windows, through crevices foundations meet siding, through unscreened attic and foundation vents, and through access doors leading into crawl spaces.

Homeowner activities:

Earwigs may get inside with bundles of newspapers, boxes, lumber, books and plants that are moved inside a home or business.

Light:

It is common for earwigs to move inside when lights attract them.

Accidentally:

For example, if boxes were stored in a wet garage area, earwigs might infest the boxes, which would later be brought inside.

Plants:

Sometimes earwigs live between a plant pot and the saucer. If people bring these in for the winter, the earwigs will be brought inside.