Earwig Control and Recommendations
Removing earwig habitats is very important to the control of all insects, including earwigs.
As they are attracted to lights, it might help to reduce some of the lighting outside at night.
Most insecticide treatment should be done outside with application around the building foundation, flower beds, mulch areas and turf within a couple of yards of the building, as well as in the crawl space areas of the home. Treat in a three to six foot band around the building adjacent to the foundation (perimeter treatment) to stop or limit earwigs from getting indoors. Spring and Summer are the best times to apply insecticides
Earwigs are attracted to moist areas like the foundation around your house. If you want to get rid of earwigs, it is suggested that you clean and groom the areas immediately around the foundation of your home. Gravel and white stones can be layered around the foundation to help drainage around the sides of the home, thus limiting the attraction of earwigs.Earwigs can gain entrance to your home through ground level windows. To get rid of earwigs, you’ll want to make sure that screens on your windows are properly fixed and fitted to the window frame. If you find that earwigs are getting in through cracks between the window and the window frame, the problem is easily solved with weather stripping.Earwigs will enter your home through loose or drafty doors. If you’re going to get rid of earwigs, you’ll want to seal the more obvious entrances to your home—the doors. Doors and door frames are the most common access points for pests like earwigs. Be sure to examine each doorway into your home and address cracks and holes with weather stripping, caulk, or putty.Earwigs can be controlled with boric acid powder. To get rid of earwigs that have made it into your home despite proper sealing and landscaping techniques, spreading a residual insecticide like boric acid near baseboards, cracks, and hard to reach places is recommended. Boric acid is a natural insecticide and works only if the earwig is forced to travel through the powder.Large populations of earwigs can be controlled with a vacuum. If you find a large colony of earwigs in a concentrated area, the most effective way to get rid of them is to vacuum them up. Be sure to have the vacuum ready before disturbing their resting place because as soon as you get in there, they will scatter. Make sure to empty the vacuum or the vacuum bag in a sealed container and dispose of it immediately. Also, vacuum up any white, egg-like objects around the area.Killing Earwigs
There are a lot of insecticides and pesticides on the market that will kill earwigs. Sprays are generally not as effective as granule and residual earwig treatments. For basic earwig control and even treatment of large earwig infestations, both an indoor and outdoor earwig control regiment should be instituted. Boric acid powder, insecticide dusts, and other earwig powders and dusts containing
pyrethrins are effective earwig control agents in the home. Outside of the home, earwig control agents should be spread 6–10 feet from the foundation outwards, all the way around your home. This type of earwig control is made more effective if sprayed lightly with water to help the poison seep into the ground (2–3 inches) where earwigs generally lay their eggs.
