Earwigs are small black or brown insects with a tail, pincers and antenna. Earwigs are mostly found in damp places, in lawns, in crevices and amongst litter.

If you see these creatures moving items such as litter, damp clothes or damp cardboard that has been left undisturbed for a while, then in all probability, you have an earwig infestation. In case you are severely bothered by these insects, don’t worry, read the following set of instructions that are below to find out how you can get rid of these pests.

Step 1: Isn’t the age old adage – prevention is better than cure always true? Earwigs live in moist and damp areas outdoors. Therefore priority number one should be to ensure that the immediate area surrounding your house and foundation is moisture-proof. Ensure that the drainage system is in proper working order and is doing its job dutifully, which is to drain away all liquid and moisture, and making sure it does not seep into your house. Moreover, there can be other areas that are less visible to the naked eye but are perfect breeding spots for earwigs. Those areas can be the ground below stones, boards, cracks in trees, rooting plant debris, broken tree stumps or thick branches and twigs lying about on the ground. Clean up these areas and make sure they remain moisture-deprived, unless you want another infestation!
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Step 2: Make sure that all your doors are windows are properly sealed and shut and there are no gaps or openings between the frames and the walls around doors and windows. If at all gaps are found, you can find many sealing adhesives in the market with which you can patch them up, like caulking or putty.

Step 3: There should a lot of items in the market that promise to take care of earwigs in your house. These can come in various types and sizes – powder, pellets, sprays, solutions, etc. Most of them should be effective to take care of your earwig infestation but ensure that your choice takes into consideration your specific needs. Also, look for the proven effectiveness of such products.

Like mentioned above, prevention is always better than cure, therefore, ensure that you do not allow the earwigs to breed in your garden in the first place! Cleanliness is something earwigs do not like so ensuring your home and surrounding areas are clean, dust and water-free is the most effective way to prevent such infestations from affecting you and invading your space.

Step 4: Birds can also help you get rid of these earwigs. Encourage them into your garden by spraying bird feed around the surroundings of your house. Birds will soon get attracted to the feed, and naturally in the process, hunt and consume the various earwigs in your garden.

Step 5: Make earwig traps by copying their breeding places. In order to make a trap, roll some sections of newspaper, tie it with a rubber band and soak it in water it till becomes very wet. Then place these self-made traps in areas where damage by earwigs had taken place. Make sure you place these before nightfall. For more effective results, make several of the traps and place them in your garden.

Step 6: Wake up next morning, and pick up the self-made traps you had left there previously. Earwigs should definitely be present inside the rolls of newspaper as they like damp spots.

Step 7: Dispose of the earwigs and the newspapers in a plastic bag or any container that has a tight cover. Make sure you do not put them for composting as they can come back again.