How to control Earwigs in your garden?
The earwig is one of the most ominous-looking garden insects. This insect is about 1/2 inch long and has a flattened brown body that looks like a cockroach. It has two pairs of wings and a fearsome-looking yet harmless pincher forceps. They’re frequently seen writhing in damp garden mulch or behind logs and other trash.
Common types
Earwigs, as unpleasant as they appear, are not significant garden pests, and can sometimes be more of a friend than an adversary. True, common earwigs (Forficula auricularia) may eat delicate stems and occasionally wreak havoc on foliage and blossoms, but the amount of damage they do in most gardens shouldn’t be a big concern. How do you get rid of earwigs?
The Garden Must Be Dried
How to control Earwigs in your garden? The first and frequently only technique is to remove the ground mulch from the area where they are congregating and allow the soil to dry out a little. You just need to do this for a short time till the earwigs go. The mulch may then be replaced to reap the benefits it provides to the garden soil. Slugs, snails, and other pests flourish in damp waste covering the garden floor, thus removing the mulch may help to reduce their numbers.
Make Your Own Traps
How do you get rid of earwigs? In the evening, place wet, rolled-up newspapers or tiny cardboard boxes (such as cereal boxes) in the garden area. Earwigs hunt for a wet, secluded location to spend the day after feeding at night. The next morning, you’ll find quite a few in the newspaper. If you’re having trouble attracting them into these homemade traps, the Cooperative Extension System suggests baiting them with oatmeal or bran.
Cat food or tuna cans
How do you get rid of earwigs? Set out traps constructed of shallow cat food or tuna cans filled with a thin coating of vegetable oil as another option. The insects will be drawn to the oil as a source of food, and you may be able to get rid of a significant number of them on a regular basis.
Sticky Barriers should be used
How to control Earwigs in your garden? Apply a sticky barrier at the base of woody plants, such as Tanglefoot, sticky tape, or even petroleum jelly. Earwigs are crawlers, so they’ll become trapped in the sticky mess before they can cause damage to the tree or shrub.
Diatomaceous Earth should be used.
How do you get rid of earwigs? To keep earwigs away, apply diatomaceous earth (DE) to the soil and reapply after one week if necessary. Diatomaceous earth is a mineral made up of the powdered remains of fossilized diatoms, which are a form of hard-shelled algae. DE functions as a pesticide by penetrating the shell or skin of animals like earwigs, slugs, and snails, causing them to lose bodily fluids. 1 Organic gardeners love it since it is a natural, non-chemical pest management method.
Pesticides
How to control Earwigs in your garden? Outdoor pesticides designated for crawling insects, such as Diazinon, might be used as a last option. Carefully follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Treatments are usually applied in the evening, before feeding begins.
What Causes Them?
Earwigs like moist, sheltered environments, such as mulched garden beds or spaces beneath potted plants. Earwigs will be enticed into your garden by these circumstances, as well as a supply of food. They are only regarded as pests when their damage becomes considerable, because they are considered helpful insects.
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What Is the Life Expectancy of Earwigs?
Earwigs have a one-year lifespan after hatching. Males and females can be seen living together in ground debris, crevices, or the soil during mating season in the fall. In late winter or early spring, eggs are deposited, which hatch into nymphs, which are smaller copies of adult insects, in approximately seven days. The nymphs eventually develop into adults, who will mate in the fall, through a series of molts. During the development of the nymphs into adults, the preceding generation usually dies off. Garden earwigs can have two generations each year in warm areas.
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