How to Get Rid of Earwigs
Earwigs or Forficula auricularia are typically not harmful to humans. However, when they decide to move in and start quite a large family in your home, it could get quite ugly. Instead of spraying your new tenets with harsh chemicals which they will track throughout your house you should try a few natural ways to eliminate these critters first. I will review what the earwigs like and why they are attracted to your home, then a few common household items they quite dislike.
By the end of this article you will know how to trick the earwigs into homemade traps for elimination. Before we go any farther, please note these little creatures are not totally bad. Earwigs in fact help devour other little bugs doing damage in your garden. Due to their attraction to dampness, they may show you where your home has water damage which could lead to dangerous mold.
Forficula auricularia are for the most part nocturnal creatures with a passion for dampness. If there is debris around the perimeter of your home attracts earwigs. Make sure to remove all debris. While outside set up bird feeders. Birds enjoy snacking on earwigs; helping you maintain the outdoor population. Within your home, bathrooms and basements are the favorite spots for earwigs.
If you notice a problem in other areas of your home such as the bedroom check thoroughly for water damage or leaks as to that may be their attraction. Also check your home for small openings around windows and doors and close them off to stop other earwigs from joining the party.
Earwigs despise two common household ingredients: vinegar and cayenne pepper. Separately they are effective but mixed together it is the earwigs worst nightmare. A sprinkle of cayenne pepper on windowsills or the perimeter of your basement will work to set the barrier. Take a spray bottle and fill it with white vinegar and cayenne pepper and viola you are now armed to take on an army of these little pinchers.
Another natural remedy to remove these unwanted guests is dish soap. Yes that’s right, regular dish soap mixed with water in a spray bottle. A couple sprays and earwig death is expected. When small children are present in the home this would be a better alternative. In research, I found a homemade trap of damp newspaper rolled into a tight cylinder which the earwigs go into and die from I guess the ink itself. I personally would add cayenne pepper to the newspaper just to make sure they die.
To sum it all up:
- Keep the perimeter free from debris
- Check for water damage and repair
- Keep home free of clutter like magazines, DVD cases, boxes, etc., which make great hiding places
- Seal off all the little openings around windows and doors
- Set up a perimeter with granulated cayenne pepper
- Keep yourself armed with spray bottles filled with soap water or vinegar and cayenne pepper
- If possible set newspaper traps
- Outside: set up birdfeeders and have nature take care of nature. Birds love to eat earwigs. Yum!
- Reclaim your home!
Run to your nearest Hardware store. Or Garden Center – get a lot of Earwig bug killer. Spray it everywhere. Actually – best call a Pest-control Company. This is probably to much of an infestation for a couple of spray-cans of bug-killer. Earwigs are hard to get rid of. They crawl into every nook and cranny. They are yuckiiiii!!!!! Call the builder and tell him of your problem. He might even pay for the Pest-Control guy to come out and exterminate those little buggers. Good Luck!
