What better thing to do with my mind when I’m cold and I’m tired of the snow, but do think that within a couple of months I can start my garden. The anticipation may sustain me for the duration winter when I can think of one soil tender buds and green grass… Sigh.
It will also be a time that the battles that continue between me, the gardener and the infamous earwigs. These culprits have been successful in feasting on my vulnerable cabbages and squash year after year. Today’s goal is to prepare in advance to discourage them from finding a happy home on my estate.
Here are some ideas I have heard are useful when it comes to combating earwigs.
1. My first idea I came up with by myself wipee, but have not been diligent enough to implement it consistently. Get several pieces of newspaper. Sprinkle each sheet with water so that they are damp. Rest the newspapers on top of each other . So there are little pockets of moisture and air. Place those newspapers near the area where the earwigs live. Let them remain there throughout the night. In the morning I use salad prongs to lift the papers and carry the earwigs to the trashcan.
2. I’ve heard that egg shells are good to sprinkle around plants because these insects don’t like climbing over the chip pieces of shell.
3. Cayenne pepper is also supposed to help.
4. One suggestion is to have a small water bottle. Cut off the top third of the bottle. Put tuna or tuna cat food in the bottom of the bottle. Then turn the top third of the bottle upside down so that the spout or hole rests inside the bottle. That way the earwigs will be drawn to the food go down to the spout and fall inside the bottle. They cannot escape and thus DIE! I heard of one gardener who will take a couple of their wigs and placed them near her lettuce because they like to eat snails.
5. Some people use the chemical DE.
6. Some gardeners will dig a shallow trench in the dirt and place a small saucer into that trench so the level of the bowl is the same to the level the ground. They will then pour some beer into the saucer and let stand overnight. That will draw the earwigs into the saucer and I presume they will die from drowning. Gardeners will dump the old beer and carcasses. They will refresh with new beer and repeat the process. These are beer traps.
7. Another trap is to save old tuna cans that can be made into traps. Combine soy sauce, molasses and water in them, the next morning, you’ll see the carcasses. Another gardeners recipe is soy sauce, 25% to 75% of water. Then when they dump the bugs, the birds like the carcasses.
8. Another suggestion is to get too small boxes such as strawberry boxes. Place one box loosely on top of the other and place in the garden upside down for the night. Next day you harvest the boxes and dump the earwigs over soapy water. Apparently earwigs like to rest in narrow spaces.
9. The next time you have a water hose that you want to throw away, don’t. Cut that hose into a couple of two feet strips and at night put water inside the hose so it’s wet. Leave those hoses near the earwigs overnight. Next morning tap the sides of the hoses against the side of a bucket full of soapy water. You’ll get a bunch of earwigs. This works better when the hose is wet inside.
10. Slug bait in tuna cans has also been useful.
Use of additional interesting observations that earwigs. The consensus among many gardeners is that earwigs seem to favor cabbage, charred, squash, spinach, basil and any baby plants. They do seem to be not as excited about, lettuce or arugula . They like dry cat and dog food. Your gov’t agriculture dept. May have info on breeding, behavior, timing – when to expect the first wave of earwig.
Some gardeners have observed that earwigs infestations occur around the same time as Apple blossoms. Swarms of adults also move in when planting squash and cucumber plants. Earwigs chief food source is decaying vegetation so sometimes composting can be good and bad.
Please feel free to give additional suggestions you have on this topic in the comment section of the blog/site.
