How to Get Rid of Earwigs in Your Home?

Spotting earwigs in your kitchen, bathroom or garden? These insects are harmless to people, but they can become a real nuisance when they move in by the dozens. Here are the most effective ways to get rid of them and stop them from coming back.

How to Get Rid of Earwigs in Your Home

The right approach depends on how bad the infestation is. Most people start with natural methods and move on to commercial products if needed.

Natural Methods: What Actually Works

The oil trap is the simplest and most effective natural option. Fill a shallow container (a jam jar lid works perfectly) with a mix of vegetable oil and a few drops of soy sauce. Bury it at ground level in the garden, or set it along interior walls where you’ve been seeing earwigs. They’re drawn in and drown. Check and refresh the trap every couple of days.

Diatomaceous earth is a fine natural powder made from fossilized algae. It damages the earwigs’ exoskeleton on contact and causes dehydration. Sprinkle it along baseboards, under appliances, around entry points, and in the garden around plants you want to protect. It stays effective as long as it’s dry. Reapply after rain or in humid conditions.

Damp newspaper rolls make a simple outdoor trap. Roll up a few sheets of damp newspaper and place them near affected areas before nightfall. Earwigs are drawn to the moisture and darkness and will hide inside overnight. In the morning, collect the rolls and drop them into a bucket of soapy water. Pieces of corrugated cardboard or upturned flower pots stuffed with damp straw work the same way.

Essential oils such as peppermint or eucalyptus, diluted in water and sprayed around doors, windows and other entry points, can serve as a back-up repellent. They won’t eliminate earwigs that have already moved in, so use them alongside traps.

Natural predators such as insect-eating birds (robins, starlings) and toads feed on earwigs. Encouraging their presence in your yard is a low-effort, long-term control strategy.

Commercial Solutions: When Natural Methods Fall Short

Granular baits are the most practical commercial option. Scatter them around the perimeter of the house and throughout the garden. Earwigs ingest the bait and die within 24 to 48 hours. They work especially well for widespread outdoor infestations.

Spray insecticides (pyrethrin- or bifenthrin-based) can be applied directly in active areas: under appliances, along baseboards, and around windows and doors. Always follow the label instructions, especially if children or pets use the treated areas.

Perimeter insecticide barriers applied around the foundation are an effective way to prevent earwigs from getting inside in the first place. This type of treatment is best done at the start of summer, before populations peak.

Whatever product you choose, treating the outdoor source (flower beds, mulch, debris against the foundation) gives longer-lasting results than treating only the inside.

When to Call a Pest Control Professional

Professional treatment is worth considering when:

• Earwigs keep appearing indoors in large numbers despite home treatments
• The infestation comes back every year without improvement
• Garden plants are taking significant damage
• You can’t figure out where they’re getting in

A certified technician will start with a thorough inspection to pinpoint activity zones, identify entry points, and assess the extent of the infestation. From there, a targeted treatment is applied based on your specific situation, along with prevention advice to reduce the risk of earwigs returning.

Why Do Earwigs Invade Your Home in Summer?

In Quebec, earwigs are active from June through September, with numbers peaking in July and August. Knowing what draws them in helps you take targeted action rather than treating blindly. Their activity depends heavily on the weather: warm nights and stable conditions encourage their nighttime foraging, which is exactly what a Quebec summer delivers.

What Attracts Them

Earwigs are after three things: moisture, darkness, and food. When summer temperatures get extreme, whether from heat or drought, they naturally move toward cooler, damper indoor spaces. The conditions that attract them most:

• Damp areas: basement, bathroom, kitchen, crawl space
• Decomposing organic matter: compost, dead leaves, moist wood near the house
• Outdoor lighting: earwigs are drawn to light at night. Switch to yellow bulbs or warm-spectrum LEDs, which are far less attractive to insects
• Garden debris piled against the foundation

There’s another reason they tend to show up in groups: earwigs produce an aggregation pheromone, found in their droppings, that draws in other adults and nymphs. Once a few find a cool, damp hiding spot inside, others follow. They share these preferences with other moisture bugs such as sowbugs and centipedes.

Common Entry Points

Earwigs are small enough to squeeze through surprisingly narrow gaps:

• Cracks in the foundation or exterior cladding
• Gaps under doors and around window frames
• Pipe and cable penetrations through walls
• Worn or detached window weatherstripping
• Newspapers, cardboard boxes, or gardening supplies brought in from outside

Identifying and Understanding Earwigs

The earwig (Forficula auricularia) is a small insect (10 to 15 mm long), dark brown in colour, and easy to recognize by the pincer-like appendages at the rear of its body. These pincers are used for defence and catching prey. They pose no danger to people.

Earwigs are nocturnal and spend the day tucked into dark, damp hiding spots. In Quebec, females lay eggs in the fall or winter in the soil. The eggs hatch in spring as nymphs, which reach adulthood by summer. Adults typically live about a year. The female is one of the few insects that cares for its young: she lays 20 to 80 eggs, cleans them to keep mould away, defends them from predators and watches over the nymphs after they hatch.

According to Health Canada, earwigs are not considered a human health risk, but they can damage garden plants when present in large numbers.

Myth: Do Earwigs Crawl Into Your Ears?

Despite the name, there’s no scientific evidence that earwigs climb into human ears to lay eggs. It’s an old belief, not a fact. They don’t sting and don’t transmit disease.

Garden Helpers or Garden Pests?

Earwigs are omnivores: they eat small insects like aphids, larvae and decaying plant matter. In small numbers, they actually help the garden. It’s when their numbers climb that they start damaging plants and eventually wander into the house.

Preventing a Re-infestation

Once the infestation is dealt with, a few simple adjustments can make your property much less welcoming to earwigs:

• Remove potential shelters: clear away leaf piles, firewood, and garden debris stored against the foundation
• Manage moisture: fix leaks, improve ventilation in the basement and crawl space, and use a dehumidifier where needed
• Seal entry points: caulk foundation cracks, replace worn window weatherstripping, and install door sweeps
• Adjust outdoor lighting: swap white bulbs for yellow or warm-spectrum LEDs, which are far less attractive to night-flying insects
• Clear the perimeter: trim vegetation touching the house and pull mulch back from the foundation
• Ensure good drainage: working gutters and downspouts, no leaking outdoor faucets
• Create a gravel border about 15 to 30 cm wide around the foundation. This dry, inhospitable zone discourages earwigs from getting close to the house

For year-round residential pest protection, a preventive treatment at the start of summer with a certified technician is worth considering.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I have earwigs in my home in summer?

In summer, earwigs are trying to escape the heat and dryness outside. They move toward cooler, more humid indoor spaces like basements, bathrooms, and kitchens. They get in through small cracks and gaps around doors, windows, and pipe penetrations. Reducing indoor moisture and sealing entry points are the most effective preventive steps.

What is the most effective natural method for getting rid of earwigs?

The oil trap is the simplest and most reliable natural option. A shallow container filled with a mix of vegetable oil and soy sauce, placed at ground level in active areas, draws earwigs in and drowns them within hours. Diatomaceous earth is a great complement for ongoing control along high-traffic zones.

Do I need a pest control professional for earwigs?

For a minor infestation, DIY methods like oil traps, diatomaceous earth, and granular baits are usually enough. If earwigs keep coming back year after year despite your efforts, or if the infestation is severe inside, professional treatment is the better call. A technician will track down the source and entry points for a lasting result.

Are earwigs dangerous to humans?

No. Earwigs don’t sting and don’t transmit disease. Their pincers are used for defence and catching prey, and the idea that they crawl into ears is a myth. They’re mainly a nuisance when they gather in large numbers indoors.

Are earwigs bad for my garden?

In small numbers they’re actually helpful, since they eat aphids, larvae and decaying matter. When populations get large, however, they can damage garden plants. Oil traps and damp newspaper rolls help bring numbers down without treating the whole yard.