Are you suffering from an infestation of earwigs in your garden or house? You can get rid of them with these natural remedies and chemical products quickly. Do not wait. Read and implement these tips now. Earwigs, commonly known as pincher bugs, are scary-looking insects with pincers. They do look very dangerous but are relatively harmless. Still, no one wants them in their house.
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Reason for Earwigs
Why do earwigs enter someone’s house in the first place? They like dark, warm, and damp/moist areas. They usually hide under rocks, flower pots, piles of wood, leaf litter, mulch, and secluded places in houses. They often enter homes to avoid dry or cold weather, or they come in for food. Damp basements and leaky pipes are their top places to hide.
Now that you know why earwigs come inside houses, let’s talk about the best ways to get rid of them. You can use either natural or chemical products.
Use a Mixture of Water and Dish Soap
Fill warm water in a spray bottle. Then, add some drops of dish soap. Shake the bottle till the solution gets soapy. You can now spray this on leaves or dark, damp-infected areas of your house. This will kill the earwigs.
An Alcohol-based Solution
Take a spray bottle. Then proceed to pour equal amounts of both water and rubbing alcohol in it. This alcohol-based solution is most effective when sprayed directly on the earwigs. This solution works faster because the rubbing alcohol penetrates the wax layer on the coat of the earwig and kills it instantly.
Soy Sauce and Oil Trap
As earwigs have a strong affinity to the scent of soy sauce, you can make a small trap to catch the earwigs.
Take any container with a lid and make some holes in the lid so the earwigs can get in. Put equal amounts of vegetable oil (or olive oil) and soy sauce into the container and mix them.
Next, dig a hole in the ground and put the container into the hole until the holes are the same level as the ground. The soy sauce will attract the earwigs into the holes. Once the earwigs have climbed down into the holes, they will not be able to crawl out because of the oil. The earwigs will thus be trapped in the container and will eventually die.
Boric Acid Powder
The boric acid powder is a naturally occurring insecticide that is fatal for earwigs when there is any contact. You can kill earwigs with boric acid powder, especially in areas you can’t reach. Sprinkle some powder at the regions where earwigs could crawl. However, you need to be careful that the boric acid powder is out of young children’s and pets’ reach because it can harm them.
You can also spread the boric acid powder around piles of wood or in moist areas of your garden to eliminate earwigs.
Neem Oil
Neem oil has been used in India to repel and kill insects of all types. Neem oil contains a natural chemical called Azadirachtin, which is toxic to insects.
Take a teaspoon of neem oil and mix it with 1 liter of warm water in a spray bottle.
Spray the mixture where you suspect there are earwigs, particularly at the points insects could use to enter your house. You should also spray the mixtures near the areas where earwigs tend to congregate, especially dark and damp areas or heaps of decaying plants.
Spray the mixture around all the cracks and crevices in the floor/walls and around doors and windows. This method will give you good results if you remember to spray the infected areas regularly.
Let the Birds Do Your Work
Earwigs are a natural source of food for birds.
For this method to work, you need to attract birds to your yard. You can hang some bird feeders in those areas where there may be earwigs. When the birds start coming regularly, you can reduce the quantity of birdseed so they will begin to hunt for insects.
You Can Keep Earwigs Out of Your Home and Garden
Earwigs need an opening to come into your house. So, the most effective way to keep earwigs out of your home is to seal all unnecessary openings.
Be sure to close any holes in your screens to prevent earwigs from coming in. You can use some epoxy compound to close any small holes in your screens. You can seal bigger gaps by gluing on pieces of screen material using any suitable adhesive.
Also, you can fill in cracks and holes near entrances to your house with some caulk.
Wrapping Up
No one wants pesky earwigs in or around their home. These were the best ways to control and remove earwigs from your house or any infected place with undemanding tools. Try these as soon as possible and be earwig-free!
