How to Get Rid of Earwigs from Your Garden

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Here is how to get rid of earwigs in the house and garden. Yes, I know they mainly live and feed on plants, but if they find some moist area in your house, a big cockroach or small dead insects, then they will come and disturb you.

Although they do not harm humans, but can eat your apples if it is ripped. The main freaky thing is that they scare you and make you feel unsafe.

You will see if there is an earwig infestation in your garden. They are eating those leaves like caterpillars.

Some earwigs can also damage your home structures if there is moisture in the structures, not like termites, but something close to them if you have not noticed them for years.

Whatever! So here are those ideas to repel earwigs from your house and garden as soon as possible.

1. Kill them with Diatomaceous Earth Powder

This diatomaceous earth powder is a pest killer. It is natural and you do not have to worry about it as it is made from fossilized diatoms. You can buy it online.

Just sprinkle the powder in the area where you have seen those earwigs roam around frequently.

If you have pets, then keep them away as it may also harm them if they swallow it.

earwig nest — Photo by Tom Oates, 2010, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In a few days, you will see that those earwigs are lying dead there.

And if you can create a bait with a dead cockroach and spread the powder on it.

When those earwigs come to eat the roach, they will eat the powder too and die in a day out of dehydration. Try it.

2. Prepare Rolled Newspaper Traps

Do not laugh! It is the simplest DIY trap idea that you can make at home using just a newspaper.

First, dampen a newspaper, roll it up, and place it near areas where you have seen earwigs.
The moisture in the newspaper will attract them as they are looking for shelter.

In the morning, you can throw the newspaper away.

Do it for a few days, and you will successfully repel them.

3. Mix Soy Sauce with Oil

You have soy sauce in your kitchen, and you may have loved it at dinner time. That sauce can become your weapon in battling with earwigs. Mix soy sauce with oil and put it in a bowl near their nest.

The soy acts as a lure and the oil will prevent them from escaping, trapping them inside. Place the bowl in the kitchen, bathroom, and garden and you will see results.

4. Light up the Dark Corners

Those earwigs are attracted to bright lights. So place your table lamp in the corner of the house and bait them with a trap.

Then you can kill them with any pest killer or use your home vacuum to remove them from the property.

5. Essential Oils Spray

earwigs in the garden — Pavel Kirillov on Flickr

Spray essential oil on them. Oils like lavender, peppermint, or citrus oils are known to repel earwigs. So mix a few drops of the oil in water and spray where they hang out.

The strong smell from the oil will force them to leave and also will give you a fresh feeling as the smell is present for humans. Try it.

6. Neem Oil Spray

Neem oil is the best natural remedy that you can use to repel those earwigs. If you have a neem tree nearby, then get some leaves, make a pest, and mix it with water and spray.

Otherwise, you can buy the neem oil online and spray it with water. Those earwigs will get suffocated and leave, or they will die on the spot. It is the best home remedy that I can give you.

7. Make a Cardboard Trap

Cardboard traps are super effective to kill termites but they can also be used against earwigs. Do the following to kill them.

First, cut the cardboard into small strips and dampen them.

Then place the strips in the area where they roam around.
The earwigs will get attracted to the moist area and take shelter inside the cardboard.
In the morning, you can throw those earwigs away.

It is easy but will only work if you have a good infestation. A few earwigs may not fall for the trap as they can not find shelter. But you can try it.

8. Rock and Straw Traps

Just like the cardboard, if you have straws, then you can use them to attract those earwigs. Just place the straw and a few rocks with it in a moist area and they will come for it as the straw offers shelter for them.

Then you can throw them away like cardboard.

9. Reduce Moisture Around Your House

This one is basic. You must clean all the moist areas in your house and garden so that do not make a nest there.

So fix all the water leaks in the kitchen, bathroom, and in the basement.
Clean your house daily and let the sunlight come in.

Clean your garden area and trim some trees so that the sun can heat up the place.

That way those earwigs will not have the shelter they are looking for and thus will leave the place soon.

10. Do Regular Cleaning

No matter how professional you are, if you do not clean your house and garden often those earwigs will never go away. A few of them will always stay and grow large in number day by day.

So clean your house and garden with some cleaning spray and make sure you do not have moist areas in the house. That is it.