David, my earwig problems are primarily in the dahlias. They will go after the flower petals like a drunk barber with a dull pair of scissors.

I've read some advise about putting Vaseline on the dahlia stems. Since I came up with a figure last year of 300+ dahlia plants, I can just see me out there putting Vaseline on every stem. It's spray, spray, spray . . . and they are really, really hard to deter.

In the veggies, they love the lettuce. Banty hens enjoy eating earwigs but I know they also love eating the lettuce. A lot of folks put down newspapers, trap the bugs inside and haul Âem off to the garbage.

I've found that the worse earwig damage is either near an old board fence or bushes. The farther away from this cover I go, the less problems with earwigs eating holes in the plants.

Since the critters travel some distance (witness their fence and bush forays mentioned above), IÂd think that your traps could work fairly well. But, you gotta leave those yellow jackets alone in the garden . . . they eat the cabbage loopers. Maybe the earwigs would go for some other kinda bait like stale beer.

Steve

I had never heard of earwigs until I saw this thread.

I looked up earwigs and I think I dislike them as much as or more than earworms.

I'll have to tell my wife that they don't harm people (according to wikipedia). That'll make her feel much better about the pinch/bite/whatever she got from one.

I'll have to try one of the home made traps on them. I've used similar traps that hang to trap yellow jackets (sorry, Steve, but we get so many that it's a necessity).

I saw plans for one trap that included putting vaseline on the inside of the bottle and putting a strip of paper leading into it, as well. Are either of these needed?

For what ever reason, we had true yellow jacket wasps, which I thought, initially, were bald faced hornets. They are nasty. I had 2 nests within 50 feet of the back porch and the humming bird feeders. They have the big, closed off, basketball sized nests, not the open, small ones, and they are about twice the size of the other, more common yellow and black wasp that I can't recall its name right now. Anyway, I didn't catch too many wasps, perhaps a couple of dozen or so, but a whole lot of earwigs. I tried (obviously) to leave the nests alone, but the humming bird feeders are right on the porch where we spend a lot of time in the summer, and these things were snorking down the sugar water from the feeders, and they are aggressive, like they come after you when you get too close.

bp, my traps were those fat, 2 liter plastic Gator Aid bottles, which we had been using to make ice for the cooler, and I cut them off at the part where it starts to curve in for the lid, using a serrated bread knife. I drilled some 3/8" holes around the top half, but I don't think thats necessary. I just used sugar water, and emptied it out about every third day. Fairly easy. Also caught a lot of house flies.

They usually snarf my chard pretty badly, but other than that, they haven't caused that much damage until this past summer, when a whole lot of the tomatoes were harboring them. They do get around. I find them in apricots at the top of the trees.

Earwigs are nasty bugs. When I lived in California they ate everything, especially flower petals. I love pansies and used to plant them all over the place in the fall and they'd eat every last flower petal. Any new seedlings were certain to be eaten if they weren't protected. They'd hide deep inside the roses and when I'd cut a bouquet to bring inside they'd wait to come out later and then be in the house. Yuck. Gives me the jeebies just thinking about them right now. If you left your shoes outside by the back door you had to dump them out because they'd be in your shoes for sure (black widows too).

I haven't had as big a problem here in Colo. so far. They were eating my sunflower seedlings to nothing, though, until I put a plastic cup cut in half over them.

I used to capture some with a shallow pan of vegetable oil dug level with the soil.

I guess I am lucky in that I have never had a true investation of earwigs. There are always some around, but they have done relatively little damage to any of my plants. I must not grow the kinds that they prefer.

Good luck to you folks who are definitely having an investation problem. I will certainly keep an eye on this thread for future reference.

Holly

Here's what WA State Coop Ext had to say about earwigs. Note that they can actually be a beneficial bug because they eat aphids . . . ! I'm not cutting 'em much slack for that.

"Earwigs, a Nuisance or Beneficial? Active mainly at night, earwigs are primarily outdoor insects. They feed on other insects and on living and dead plant material. Earwigs aren't a serious problem in most years, they are a nuisance, especially when they find their way indoors. . . . Earwigs are beneficial because they eat aphids, mites and insect eggs. They only do significant damage to plants when present in large numbers. Some of their target plants can be leaves of beans, potatoes, beets, cabbage, peas, marigolds, dahlia, sweet williams, zinna. Many flowers are injured by earwigs feeding on the petals and stamens. Typical injury of earwigs appears as numerous, small, irregular holes in the leaves. Earwigs occasionally eat numerous holes in the leaves of orchard trees and berry bushes. Adults tunnel into ripe apples, prunes, and peaches. . . "

". . . protect your vegetables and berries, try setting rolled-up newspapers in the edges of your beds. The earwigs will crawl inside at night and you can dump them out in the morning. If you plan to spread out an insecticidal bait, set a board on top of it to keep it fresh. Or, lure the earwigs into empty tuna fish or cat food cans filled with vegetable oil or beer."

Steve

Hi David!

I build a similar contraption to yours (from properly-shaped 1 liter(?) plastic bottles and hang them on supports to "catch flies"). It REALLY does the job BETTER than the ones you can buy! (I use stale beer to "bait" them.) WORKS GREAT! No more housefly problem on the "deck" or elsewhere!

I noticed on the hot pepper forum that you are prone to grow peppers and tomatoes.....my favorites!

I may have some seeds that you might like to try (I've not got a super-long list).

My favorite "hot" (?) pepper is the Anaheim (Big Jim, etc.) not so much for the heat, which isn't much at all, but for the flavor. It doesn't "pay" for me to use much garden space for these, although I always plant some. (We can buy the "Hatch chiles so 'cheap' at the "harvest-time", that I prefer to do that and then package them for the freezer.)

I have had very good luck with "Better-Boy" tomato here. Also very pleased with "Matina". I always grow Brandywine, but it is such a long-season tomato that I don't get great results. Also, VERY HAPPY with a "cherry tomato" named Golden Nugget (not to be confused with SunGold).

I mention this because we are not so very far apart (distance). We have the same "short-season" and probably very similar "high-altitudes".

I live on 1/2 acre near Gallup, NM. I used to garden almost 1/4 acre of it, but now it is down to about 3000 Sq. Ft.

I would like to "compare notes" with you occasionally re: gardening vegetables, if you would feel similarly inclined.

Best Regards to you in Colorado! Although I was born and raised here, I lived in Loveland, Colorado for over 20 years.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Bruce
(Junkmanme on GardenWeb)
email: TwinButtes66@hotmail. com

Hi Junkmnme, there are several posters from Fourcornerstan that hang around here, all happy to share experiences and offer (using the term loosely) advice. Got snow yet?

HOME INVASION OF EARWIGS - HELP!!!

I'm a cabin in the foothills near Pikes Peak, the only veggie garden I am aware of is across the street/red dirt road. It's weeds all around.

They are everywhere, even between the ceiling tiles above my bed, ON my bed, where I got good and pinched last night - hurt and left marks! My kitchen window basil plant is getting munched on.
I must kill several every day in here.

Any info?? If they ate spiders I might lighten up on them just a hair, (only a hair -) but they've gone too far and I have to wonder what's accumulating on the tiles above me - that's just too nasty.

Has anyone tried the product Sluggo Plus? It is advertised as being an effective control for earwigs. We have had good success with the original Sluggo (for control of slugs). We plan on purchasing some Sluggo Plus to see if it works well. Thanks, Chris/eatsivy

If they're in the house, there must be some major source of food for them, somewhere, inside. I'd check the pantry, something that spilled under a counter.

I tried that idea of Steve's to use rolled up newspaper in the garden - left it two nights, and the morning after the 2nd night, there were hundreds in there. I wonder if some kind of bait inside would help.

Anybody having problems with earwigs this season? I was wondering if this year has been worse than others. I'm curious if this year is an anomaly of something we'll be dealing with at our new house.

My wife has planted lettuce, beets, and swiss chard for the FOURTH TIME! Each time they sprout, earwigs cut the stem at the soil line. Its beginning to be quite frustrating.

We are putting out soda and tuna cans filled with a vegetable/tuna oil mixture and have caught several. However, our dog seems to be favoring these as well. Has your dog ever drank a 1/2 cup of vegetable/tuna oil? Let me just say its something to be avoided.

OMG - we are getting killed with earwigs and chewing critters. Trapping only marginally successful...

Dan

Try damp, rolled up newspaper, maybe with some sugar or something as bait - it can't hurt......

If you are not opposed to the use of chemical controls, Bifen-G works great for earwigs. Just sprinkle around the base of the plants that are being chewed, and Viola!, no more earwigs. My buddleias were being torn to shreds and yet I never saw an insect on them. A friend suggested that if I went out at night with a flashlight, I would more than likely find that earwigs were the culprits. He was right. I googled earwig control and found out about bifenthrin granules.
Karen

Yup, done the newspaper trap. Oil and bacon grease. DE. Neem. We don't use petrochemicals on the property, so we get what we get...sigh...

Dan

I just went into my garden to do a major thinning, the radishes went **crazy** and pulled 95% of them (that's what happens when you get an overzealous friend to assist you who has never planted radish, and myself who is also a radish virgin)...needless to say they were 3' tall and were plenty of coverage for these disgusting earwigs. They have also made a nice little nest for themselves in my artichoke leaves (1st year experiment) AND in my salad box. Couldn't figure out why my lettuce hasn't grown and is being eaten by what appears to be wolves, well they are just wolves in earwigs clothing...buggers!!!

I will be trying both the rolled up damp newspaper and the upside down coke bottle with sugar water. I'll update as the funeral of earwigs proceeds.

Question: I have raised beds, should I place the newspaper inside the beds near the plants or outside?

You need to think as an earwig thinks, reflect as an earwig reflects, become one with the earwig.

I'd say inside the beds.

I tried the wet newspaper technique in my garden last night and didn't find a single 'wig in it this morning. Guess maybe I need to try putting some bait in it? I know I saw at least a couple of earwigs munching on my cukes last night, so they're definitely there. Might try the trap technique tonight, as I also need to trap some slugs that are devouring my basil and might be responsible for the little holes I found on a couple of tomatoes. Next stop, chemicals...

Hate these bugs. They hide by the zillions in every tiny crevice.