Eliminating Earwigs

Earwigs are simply an annoyance, causing no destruction to your home. They're just coming inside to find a damp, dark place to live and breed. But, if you're like me, you probably can't stand the fact that the little buggers are most likely running around somewhere within your home. I was washing my hair in the kitchen sink last week and pulled aside the dish drainer to make room on the counter for my shampoo and conditioner, and a silverfish was there, staring back at me. I plucked a spoon from the adjacent sink and squashed him with the bowl of it before he could scurry away with his little buggy legs. While sitting here writing this article about him, I have goosebumps on my arms just thinking about the fact that, if I saw one of them, there are more of them. The same holds true for any other insect that you see in your house; where there's one, there are surely more.

Since earwigs are easily recognizable by their forceped pincers on the tail of the body, once you see one, you'll know what it is, and that there are more of them. Here are some tips for getting rid of earwigs from your home:

• Use the vacuum attack. If you find a large colony of earwigs, suck them up with your vacuum cleaner. Once you find a large mass of them, go get your vacuum cleaner, use the wand attachment, stand well away from them, turn on the vacuum, and then sneak up on them and suck them up. Immediately take the vacuum cleaner outside, far away from the house, and remove the vacuum cleaner bag and dispose of it. Perform the same steps repeatedly, making sure that you vacuum away all of the eggs.
• Plug it up. Since earwigs can flatten their bodies and enter your home through the smallest cracks and crevices, plug up any cracks that you find. Inspect the foundation of your home and cement them over. Inspect paths of ingress around water pipes and faucets, and caulk the openings tight. Replace weather-stripping around doors and windows. Caulk and repair cracks of window casings. Replace door thresholds and wooden window frames. In essence, if there's a crack or crevice, find a way to plug it.
• Close it tight. Earwigs can enter your home through open windows. Place a screen over that window to stop them from getting in. If your screens have holes, get them repaired. If your windows don't close tightly, and you don't have screens, replace the windows with those that close entirely.

Since earwigs are attracted to moist, damp areas, remove all mulch, firewood, yard debris, and loose stones in your walkway from around your home. You can also sprinkle boric acid powder into cracks and crevices, and all around the foundation of your home, to deter earwigs from crossing the line into your home.