Nobody wants to see those creepy little bugs with the scary pincers crawling around their home or garden. Earwigs, also called pincher bugs, might look terrifying, but they’re actually pretty harmless to people. The problem comes when their numbers get out of control and they start munching on your favorite plants.
Here’s the good news: learning how to get rid of earwigs doesn’t require expensive chemicals or professional help. Most of these solutions use stuff you probably already have at home!
1. Control Moisture Around Your Home
This is the most important step you can take. Earwigs are strongly attracted to moisture, making leaky faucets and drains perfect entry points for these pests. Think of moisture control as your first line of defense.
Start by walking around your house looking for any water problems. Check under sinks, around toilets, and near your water heater. Fix any leaky pipes or faucets you find. Even small drips can create the damp conditions earwigs love.
Use a dehumidifier in the basement to help remove excess moisture and improve ventilation in humid rooms like bathrooms. Make sure your bathroom fans work properly and use them when showering.
Outside, check to make sure gutters and downspouts are clear and properly draining away from the house to prevent moisture buildup that might attract earwigs. Clogged gutters create perfect breeding spots for these bugs.
Don’t forget to check for “sweating” pipes and fix any areas where water might be collecting. The drier you can keep things, the less attractive your home becomes to earwigs.
2. Seal Entry Points and Cracks
You can prevent earwig invasions by sealing these potential entryways. Use caulk, concrete patch, or weather stripping to close gaps and cracks around your foundation.
Walk around the outside of your house and look for any cracks or gaps. Pay special attention to areas where pipes or wires enter your home. These spots are like highways for bugs. Use caulk to seal up small cracks and concrete patch for bigger ones.
Install door sweeps on exterior doors and check all your window screens for holes or tears. Even tiny gaps can let earwigs sneak inside.
Focus extra attention on ground level entry points since that’s where earwigs are most likely to find their way in. Check around your foundation, basement windows, and any doors that lead to basements or crawl spaces.
Weather stripping around doors and windows not only keeps bugs out but can also help with your energy bills. It’s a win-win solution.
3. Remove Outdoor Hiding Places
Earwigs need places to hide during the day, so removing their favorite hangout spots makes your yard less appealing to them.
Keep mulch, dead leaves, and other vegetation 6 to 12 inches away from your home’s foundation. This creates a “dry zone” that earwigs don’t like to cross.
Clean up your yard regularly. Remove piles of leaves, stacks of newspapers, lumber, or any other clutter where bugs might hide. Trim trees and shrubs to help eliminate damp, shady areas, especially near the house.
If you use mulch in your garden, consider switching from organic mulch (like wood chips) to inorganic options like gravel or stone. Organic mulch holds moisture and gives earwigs the perfect breeding ground.
Keep your grass cut short and remove any dead plant material promptly. The goal is to eliminate as many dark, damp hiding spots as possible.
4. Create DIY Oil and Soy Sauce Traps
This is hands down the most effective homemade earwig trap and a top answer for how to get rid of earwigs naturally. The smell of the soy sauce will lure them in, and the oil makes it so they can’t climb back out.
Here’s how to make these super effective traps:
Combine the vegetable oil and soy sauce into a small container in equal parts. Usually about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and 1/4 cup of soy sauce works great.
Bury the container in your garden so the top sits level with the soil. This makes it easy for earwigs to find and fall into.
Cover the trap with a large plastic lid or plant pot saucer to protect it from rain, so it doesn’t get flooded and washed out. Prop up the cover with stones to leave small gaps for the bugs to crawl under.
Place these traps near areas where you’ve noticed plant damage or where you’ve seen earwigs hanging out. For larger gardens, use multiple traps spaced throughout the area.
Check your traps every few days and dump out the dead bugs. Then refill with fresh oil and soy sauce. Soy sauce is often used as an effective bait in earwig traps due to its unique chemical properties that make it irresistibly attractive to these pests.
5. Set Up Newspaper and Bamboo Tube Traps
These simple traps work because earwigs look for dark places to hide during the day.
For newspaper traps, take an old newspaper and roll it up to make a tube. It’s important not to roll it up too tight because the earwigs need room to get into the trap. Dampen the newspaper with water, then place it in dark corners where you’ve seen earwigs.
Lay 1-foot sections of bamboo or garden hose in the beds between your plants. Check these “traps” each morning, and dump the earwigs into a bucket of soapy water.
The newspaper method works great for indoor earwig problems. Place the damp newspaper tubes in basements, garages, or anywhere you’ve spotted these bugs. After a couple of days, carefully pick up the newspaper (wearing gloves) and either throw it away in a sealed bag or shake the bugs into soapy water.
Garden hose sections work the same way. Cut old hoses into foot-long pieces and scatter them around your garden. Earwigs will crawl inside to hide, then you can shake them out into a bucket the next morning.
6. Apply Diatomaceous Earth (Food-Grade)
Diatomaceous earth is a powerful, natural tool for controlling earwig populations both indoors and outdoors. The fine dust shears through their exoskeletons, killing within 48 hours of contact.
Only use food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE), which is safe around kids and pets. The pool-grade stuff is dangerous and should never be used for pest control.
Sprinkle a thin layer of DE around the base of plants that earwigs have been damaging. You can also apply it along the foundation of your house or anywhere you’ve seen earwig activity.
A thin layer is typically sufficient. Thick piles of DE may deter earwigs from crossing it entirely, which reduces its effectiveness.
The downside is that DE stops working when it gets wet, so you’ll need to reapply after rain or watering. In wet weather, DE is not effective. DE will also kill pollinators, so refrain from using it around flowers.
7. Use Essential Oil Deterrents
Some essential oils, such as peppermint, lavender, and citrus oils, have insect-repellent properties that can help deter earwigs.
Making your own essential oil spray is super easy. Add a few drops of peppermint, eucalyptus, lavender, or citrus oil to a spray bottle filled with water. Shake well before each use.
Spray this mixture around doorways, windowsills, and anywhere you’ve seen earwigs. You can also spray it directly on plants that are being damaged.
Strong scents like eucalyptus, cinnamon, peppermint, and lemon have been shown to be effective in keeping them away.
Reapply the spray every few days or after rain since the oils lose their strength over time. You can also plant aromatic herbs like lavender and peppermint around your house for natural, ongoing protection.
This method is completely safe for families and pets when you dilute the oils properly.
8. Create Alcohol-Based Contact Killers
Alcohol controls these pests by acting as a surfactant, or wetting agent, that can penetrate an insect’s waxy coat of armor and kill on contact with the body.
To make an insecticidal spray, mix equal parts 70 percent alcohol and water (or, if using 95 percent alcohol, mix 1 part alcohol to 1 ½ parts water).
This spray must touch the earwigs directly to work, so it’s best for spot treatments when you actually see the bugs. Since earwigs are most active at night, you might need to go bug hunting with a flashlight.
Use regular rubbing alcohol from the drugstore, but make sure it doesn’t have any additives or fragrances. The plain stuff works best and is safest to use around your home.
Keep a spray bottle of this mixture handy for quick action when you spot earwigs. It kills them almost instantly on contact.
9. Make Boric Acid Powder Barriers
An easy, natural method to get rid of earwigs in your house is by using boric acid powder. Simply place it in corners where earwigs may be present or hiding and it will kill them within 1–2 weeks.
Sprinkle boric acid powder in areas where you’ve seen earwig activity. Focus on dark corners, along baseboards, and in damp areas like basements or crawl spaces.
When using boric acid though, take care to not deploy it in areas where pets or small children will be active, as it can lead to painful skin irritation.
This method works similar to diatomaceous earth but uses chemical action instead of physical cutting. Boric acid is more persistent in wet conditions than DE, making it good for damp areas.
Apply the powder in thin lines rather than big piles. Earwigs will walk through it and carry the powder back to their hiding spots, where it continues to work.
10. Apply Neem Oil Treatment
Neem oil is a vegetable oil made from the fruits and seeds of neem trees, which are native to India. It’s a popular natural 3-in-1 pesticide for managing insects that feed on plants.
Mix neem oil with water according to the instructions on the product label and spray it on the affected areas of your garden. Be sure to spray in the evening when earwigs are most active.
Neem oil works in two ways. First, it coats plant leaves with an oily layer that makes it hard for bugs to feed. Second, it messes with their growth hormones, which reduces their population over time.
This treatment works best on young earwigs and needs multiple applications to be effective. Follow the directions on your neem oil product for the right mixing ratio.
Important warning: Neem oil is deadly to bees and can disrupt an entire hive. Don’t use it on flowering plants or when bees are active in your garden.
11. Use Light Traps for Outdoor Control
A dead simple light trap can be devastatingly effective when it comes to controlling earwigs. All you have to do is fill a cup or a bucket halfway with a soap and water solution and aim a fixed light at it.
Some types of earwigs are attracted to lights at night, especially around porches and patios. You can use this against them by setting up simple light traps.
Fill a container with soapy water and position a bright light to shine on it. Earwigs will come to investigate the light and fall into the water, where the soap prevents them from climbing out.
This works best during peak earwig season (late spring to early summer) and in areas where you’ve noticed earwigs gathering around outdoor lights.
You can also make your outdoor lighting less attractive to bugs by switching to LED bulbs or choosing yellow or orange colored lights instead of bright white ones.
12. Apply Petroleum Jelly Barriers
Spread petroleum jelly around the stems of your plants. Earwigs will hesitate to crawl over it.
This simple method creates a physical barrier that earwigs don’t want to cross. Just smear a ring of petroleum jelly around plant stems about 2-3 inches above the soil line.
This works great for protecting individual plants or small garden areas. It’s especially useful for valuable plants that you really want to protect, like prize flowers or vegetable seedlings.
You’ll need to reapply the petroleum jelly after rain or watering since it can wash away. The good news is that it won’t harm your plants when applied only to the stems.
This method is completely non-toxic and safe to use around kids and pets.
13. Encourage Natural Predators
Birds and toads are both natural predators of earwigs. Instead of fighting earwigs yourself, you can invite their natural enemies to do the work for you.
Invite natural earwig predators like birds and toads to your garden. Set up bird houses, bird baths, and feeding stations to attract birds to your yard.
Create toad-friendly areas by providing shallow water dishes and leaving some areas of your garden a little wild. Toads like to hide under rocks and logs during the day.
Avoid using broad-spectrum pesticides that kill beneficial insects along with the bad ones. When you maintain a healthy ecosystem in your yard, the good bugs and animals help keep pest populations under control naturally.
Plant native flowers and shrubs that attract beneficial insects. These creatures compete with earwigs for food and territory, helping to keep their numbers down.
14. Use Commercial Insecticides
When natural methods aren’t working fast enough, commercial bug sprays can provide more powerful control.
To kill earwigs inside your home use Ortho® Home Defense® Max Indoor Insect Barrier with Extended Reach Comfort Wand®, being sure to follow label directions. To kill earwigs outdoors, Ortho® Bugclear™ Insect Killer for Lawns & Landscapes Ready-to-Spray starts killing within minutes and provides long-lasting control.
Both Ortho and Wondercide make common pesticides that work for earwigs, starting at around $30 per bottle.
Always read and follow the label directions exactly. These products can be harmful to pets and children if not used properly. Apply them only in the areas and amounts specified on the package.
Create an insect barrier by applying Ortho® Home Defense® Insect Killer for Indoor & Perimeter around the outside of your house, around door and window casings, and along baseboards to help stop earwigs outside before they can come in.
Use chemical treatments as a last resort after trying the natural methods first. They work faster but come with more safety concerns and environmental impact.
15. Call Professional Pest Control Services
Sometimes the problem is bigger than what you can handle on your own. Here’s when it makes sense to call in the pros.
When to call professionals:
- You’ve tried multiple DIY methods for several weeks without success
- The earwig population keeps coming back no matter what you do
- You’re finding earwigs in large numbers throughout your house
- You suspect there are structural problems like hidden moisture issues
What professionals bring to the table: Professional pest control companies do thorough inspections to find problems you might miss. They can identify hidden entry points, moisture sources, and breeding areas that DIY methods can’t address.
Professional technicians will have the right products, equipment, and training to kill earwigs in even the smallest hiding places. They can also help identify and seal potential insect entry points into your home.
Expected costs: The cost of pest control service is typically between $200 to $600, but it will cost more to get rid of earwigs if a single visit doesn’t remove all of them. You can expect to pay $100 to $300 quarterly or $40 to $70 monthly for regular pest control visits.
Timing matters: Since earwigs are most active in late spring and early summer, schedule an exterminator visit in May before numbers multiply.
Many professional pest control companies guarantee their work. If the earwigs come back within a certain time period, they’ll return to treat your property again at no extra charge.
