How To Get Rid Of Earwigs: Stop Infestations in Your Mulch, Plants & Basement for Good

⚡ 60-Second Action Plan

1. Trap & Monitor – Set out rolled-up newspaper or oil-bait tins overnight, dump captures each morning.
2. Dry the Zone – Cut evening irrigation; keep soil surface & basement RH below 50 %.
3. Seal Entry Points – Caulk cracks ≥ 3 mm, replace worn door sweeps, fit screens.
4. Targeted Treatments – Deploy spinosad bait or beneficial nematodes only where catches stay high after 7 days.

Earwigs cluster where moisture, shelter, and decaying plant matter coincide—exactly what mulch beds, lush ornamentals, and damp basements provide. Break at least two of those three needs and populations crash.

Why Earwigs Show Up and How to Get Rid of Earwigs at the Source

Biology & Life Cycle

Female European earwigs lay 30–50 eggs per clutch (1–2 clutches yr-¹), guarding them underground until the nymphs molt once and begin foraging on their own. A full egg-to-adult cycle averages 56–70 days in warm weather.

Behavior & Water Dependence

Earwigs are hygrophilous: in laboratory choice tests they seek relative humidity > 70 % after even mild desiccation, yet may reverse that preference seasonally. They forage at night and wedge into crevices by day—a dual habit that makes mulch layers and basement sill plates prime real estate.

Key Pest Species

• European earwig ( Forficula auricularia ) – most common across temperate North America & Europe.
• Ring-legged earwig ( Euborellia annulipes ) – thrives in subtropical zones; up to seven egg clutches yearly.

Damage & Health Concerns—Myth vs. Reality

Concern	Fact Check	Evidence
Crop damage	True for tender seedlings, soft fruits, corn silks.	UC IPM field observations. ipm.ucanr.edu
Pinches are dangerous	Forceps rarely break skin; no venom.	Clinical injury reports negligible.
Ear invasion	Pure myth—no documented medical cases.	ENT literature review, 1960-2025.
Beneficial predator	Also true: consumes aphids, mites, codling-moth eggs.	Orchard studies (Journal of Economic Entomology 2025). bioone.org

Early Detection

Identifying an earwig infestation early is key to avoiding widespread plant damage or indoor invasions. Because earwigs are nocturnal and hide during the day, homeowners often don’t realize they’re present until populations explode. That’s why detection tools—paired with specific visual clues—play a vital role in managing this pest effectively.

Signs in Mulch & Plant Beds

In the garden, one of the first signs of earwig damage is irregular or ragged edges on plant leaves, especially those of young seedlings, lettuce, dahlias, and hostas. In fruiting crops like strawberries or peaches, you may find shallow gouges or chew marks on the skin, often near ground level. This damage is commonly mistaken for slugs or caterpillars, but here’s the giveaway: unlike caterpillars, earwigs leave no silky frass or webbing behind.

Because they hide under organic debris or mulch by day, infestations often go unnoticed until their numbers swell. You’ll find earwigs most active after a stretch of humid evenings—particularly if mulch is kept damp overnight or left piled thick near plant bases.

Where to Look Indoors: Basement Hotspots

When earwigs move indoors, they follow moisture and darkness—and basements provide both. The most common entry points include:

• Sump pump pits, where standing water and cool air attract earwigs year-round.
• Laundry rooms and utility drains, particularly if there’s poor ventilation.
• Door thresholds and window wells, especially when foundation-level entry points remain unsealed.
• Insulation gaps or rim joist voids, which often collect condensation and provide soft shelter.

If you turn on the light and catch fast-moving insects scurrying along the baseboards or behind stored boxes at night, there’s a good chance you’re dealing with earwigs—especially if they display distinctive forcep-like pincers at the tail end.

DIY Monitoring

1. Rolled Newspaper Trap – Shelter-Based Lure

Why it works:
Earwigs are nocturnal and thigmotactic, meaning they like tight, dark, moist spaces where their bodies touch surfaces on all sides. During the day, they hide in crevices, mulch, or leaf litter to avoid light and dry air.

️ How to use it:

• Roll up several sheets of damp newspaper into a loose tube or coil.
• Secure with twine or rubber bands.
• Place it in your garden, near mulch beds or plant bases, in the evening.
• By morning, earwigs will have crawled inside to rest.
• Shake the trap out into a bucket of soapy water or freeze it before composting.

Pro Tip: Replace the newspaper every 1–2 days to prevent mold and maximize effectiveness.

2. Oil Pitfall Trap – Scent-Based Bait + Drowning Mechanism

Why it works:
Earwigs are drawn to strong-smelling, decomposing organic material. Tuna, soy sauce, or fish oil mimics that smell and lures them. Oil traps work by breaking the surface tension—earwigs fall in and can’t climb or float back out.

If you’re wondering how to get rid of earwigs fast, starting with DIY traps like rolled newspaper and oil pitfall cups is one of the most effective first steps.

️ How to use it:

• Fill a small container (like a yogurt cup or tuna can) with 1–2 cm of vegetable oil and a splash of soy sauce or tuna juice.
• Bury it so the rim is flush with the soil surface.
• Leave it overnight. Earwigs will crawl in, attracted by the scent, and drown.
• Discard contents daily and refresh the mixture every few days or after rain.

Bonus: A study from UC IPM showed that oil-based traps can capture 25+ earwigs per night in heavy infestations.

Science-Backed Control Strategies (IPM Ladder)

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) promotes a step-by-step approach—beginning with low-impact methods and only escalating to chemical options when absolutely necessary. For earwigs, the IPM ladder starts with physical changes and ends with targeted pesticide use.

Physical control

At the physical control level, adjusting your irrigation timing can drastically impact earwig populations. Watering early in the morning instead of the evening allows the surface soil and mulch to dry by nightfall, which reduces the damp conditions earwigs rely on. In a 2024 irrigation trial by Washington State University Extension researchers documented a 55% decrease in earwig activity in mulched beds simply by shifting watering to dawn.

Mechanical control

Next comes mechanical control, with tools like corrugated cardboard traps proving both cost-effective and powerful. These traps, laid down overnight and emptied in the morning, achieved a 70% capture efficiency in a 2025 study published in the Journal of Economic Entomology (Vol. 118, Issue 2). This method is especially effective in basements, orchards, and flower beds.

Biological control

For biological control, beneficial nematodes—particularly Steinernema carpocapsae—have shown great promise. These microscopic worms enter the earwig’s body through natural openings and release symbiotic bacteria that kill the host within 48–72 hours. A 2024 review in BioControl reported up to 60% larval mortality after seven days when drenched at a concentration of 2.5 × 10⁵ infective juveniles per square meter. This is especially effective in organic vegetable gardens where chemical inputs are restricted.

Least-toxic chemical options

If trap monitoring continues to show high activity, least-toxic chemical options such as spinosad bait may be justified. Spinosad is a natural insecticide derived from Saccharopolyspora spinosa, a soil bacterium. According to a toxicology analysis on ScienceDirect and application data from UC IPM, a 0.5% spinosad grain bait provides 86–100% knock-down of adult earwigs within 72 hours while maintaining low risk to pollinators and pets.

Residual insecticides

As a final resort, residual insecticides like pyrethroids can be applied along building perimeters. While effective (with over 90% population reduction), these chemicals can harm beneficial predators and pollinators, disrupting the garden’s natural pest control balance. Use only in severe infestations and always follow EPA label directions to minimize environmental impact.

Bottom line: If you start at the top of the IPM ladder—trapping, drying, and blocking entry—you’ll often solve your earwig problem before chemicals are ever needed.

10 Natural Ways to Get Rid of Earwigs Without Chemicals

Use at least three tactics together—one habitat reducer, one trap, and one biological control—to keep captures below the 5-per-trap action threshold all season.

Diatomaceous Earth (DE) — The Desiccation Defense

• How it works: Microscopic silica fossils abrade the waxy cuticle, causing fatal dehydration.
• Application: Dust a paper-thin ring around plant stems, along foundation ledges, and inside crawl-space sill plates. Wear a mask; re-apply after rain or heavy irrigation.
• Efficacy: Lab assays showed 100 % earwig mortality within 48 h at 30 °C/40 % RH and zero residues in runoff tests.
• Pros/cons: Non-toxic to pets and birds, but useless when wet.

Essential-Oil Sprays (Clove & Neem)

• Mode of action: Eugenol (clove) and azadirachtin (neem) disrupt neurotransmission and feeding.
• DIY recipe: 10 ml clove oil + 5 ml mild soap per litre of warm water; shake and apply at dusk, coating leaf undersides.
• Data point: Field plots treated with 2.4 mg ml⁻¹ clove oil saw a 66–73 % population drop in seven days.
• Tip: Alternate clove and neem every 10 days to slow resistance; test on a few leaves first to avoid phytotoxic spotting.

Oil-and-Soy Sauce Pitfall Traps

• Build it: Shallow plastic cup, 1 cm vegetable oil + 1 cm soy sauce, top flush with soil.
• Why it works: Soy’s fermentation odor lures earwigs; oil breaks surface tension, drowning them.
• Capture stats: Median 25 earwigs trap⁻¹ night⁻¹ in high-pressure gardens.
• Maintenance: Empty daily; refresh bait weekly or after rain.

Damp Newspaper & Bamboo Roll Shelters

• Set-up: Roll damp newsprint or lay 30 cm bamboo segments between rows in the evening; pick up at dawn and shake into soapy water.
• Effectiveness: University extension trials report 60–80 % population reduction within one week of daily servicing.
• Eco-note: Shredded paper can go straight to the compost pile after freezing the earwigs.

Beneficial Predators — Toads, Ground Beetles & Wrens

• Habitat hack: Add fist-size rocks, overturned terra-cotta saucers, and shallow water dishes; avoid broad-spectrum pesticides that kill their prey base.
• Headline stat: A single American toad can consume up to 1,000 insects per night, earwigs included.

Beneficial Nematodes (Steinernema carpocapsae)

• Science: Infective juveniles enter through spiracles, release symbiotic bacteria, and kill hosts within 48 h.
• Mix rate:5 × 10⁵ IJ m⁻² in 4 L water per 10 m², applied at dusk when soil is 15–30 °C.
• Results: LC₅₀ for auricularia ≈ 226 IJ earwig⁻¹; soil drenches achieve ≈ 60 % knock-down after seven days.

Cedar or Cocoa Mulch Swap

• Why it helps: Volatile heartwood oils repel soft-bodied insects; research shows up to 60 % reduction in pest activity versus pine bark.
• Best practice: Keep mulch layer ≤ 5 cm thick and at least 15 cm from siding to prevent moisture build-up.

Sticky or Greasy Barriers

• Quick fix: Smear petroleum jelly or brush-on Tanglefoot around raised-bed legs or tree trunks.
• Evidence: Old Farmer’s Almanac reports near-zero stem damage when bands are refreshed every five days.

Night-Time Vacuum & Flashlight Patrol

• Method: At ~10 p.m., use a cordless shop-vac (1 tbsp corn starch inside as desiccant) to suck earwigs from foliage and wall crevices.
• Field note: Homeowners cutting nightly vacuum sessions after one week saw sustained population dips for the rest of the season.

Light Management — Amber “Bug” LEDs

• Behavioral tweak: Earwigs orient to high-blue wavelengths. Swapping porch bulbs to amber LEDs and adding motion-sensor timers dropped indoor captures by ≈ 50 %.
• Bonus: Lower ultraviolet output also reduces moth and mosquito attraction.

Basement-Proofing Checklist

1. Seal gaps ≥ 1/8 in (3 mm) with silicone or acrylic-latex caulk.
2. Install 6-mil vapor barrier over soil in crawlspaces.
3. Maintain indoor RH 30–50 % (EPA recommendation).
4. Upgrade weather-stripping on foundation-level doors & egress windows.
5. Redirect downspouts 6 ft away; grade soil to fall ≥ 2 % from foundation.

Long-Term Landscape Prevention

Mulch Management

• Use coarse cedar, cocoa hull, or even gravel; fine bark holds > 2× moisture.
• Keep mulch 15 cm (6 in) from siding to avoid pest highway.

Smart Irrigation

Switch to drip lines + morning watering to reduce overnight surface wetness; evapotranspiration data show 35 % less leaf wetness hours.

Companion Planting

Interplant thyme, wormwood, or tansy—terpenoid volatiles repel 40 % of foraging earwigs in choice tests.

Case Studies & Expert Insights

Organic Market Garden, Oregon

An organic farm in western Oregon switched from fine bark mulch to straw and applied Steinernema carpocapsae nematodes as a biological control. Within just two weeks, they recorded an 88% drop in earwig counts, and lettuce yields increased by 12%.
Learn more about nematodes in IPM from BioControl Journal or ARBICO Organics’ Guide.

Urban Retrofit, Toronto

A homeowner in Toronto sealed sill plates and installed a basement dehumidifier set to 45% relative humidity. This eliminated indoor earwig sightings entirely while reducing HVAC energy use, saving roughly $450 per year in cooling and mold remediation costs.
Reference: EPA Humidity Guidelines & Basement Waterproofing Advice – EnergyStar*

 

️ Expert Q&A

Dr. Robin Orpet, entomologist at Washington State University, notes:

“Earwig traps tell you more than pesticide labels—monitor first, treat precise spots.”
WSU Integrated Pest Management Resources

Luis Pérez, licensed IPM specialist, reports:

“90% of earwig calls disappear after clients fix gutter leaks and mulch depth.”
Industry-endorsed strategy via UC IPM’s Residential Pest Notes

Common Myths & FAQ

Question	Evidence-Based Answer
Do earwigs crawl into ears?	No medical literature confirms this; the myth dates to medieval Europe.
Are coffee grounds a repellent?	Lab trials show < 10 % deterrence—insufficient as a sole tactic.
Helpful or harmful?	In orchards they eat aphids; in seedling beds they’re voracious herbivores—context matters.

Your 60-Second Recap

1. Trap tonight with cardboard rolls.
2. Slash moisture—morning watering outdoors, dehumidifier indoors.
3. Seal & monitor; only escalate to spinosad or nematodes if traps stay busy after one week.

Follow this science-first roadmap and your garden beds, prized houseplants, and basement corners will stay earwig-free—permanently.