Fun Facts

Earwigs

The European earwig (Forficula auricularia) perched on a leaf. © hedera.baltica / Flickr

Earwig is a harmless 3/4 inch brownish insect with 2,000 species found on every continent except Antarctica but only 4 or 5 are household pests. They have a pair of scary looking forceps like pinchers on their abdomen with curved ones on males and straight ones on females. These pinchers are used for protection and to capture prey. Earwigs are not dangerous, do not spread disease and no venom in their bite and if a human is bitten it will sting but that’s all. The rarely used membranous wings fold under their body for they do not care to fly at all.

The nocturnal insect seeks moist dark cozy places to hide and the scavengers eat grasses, berries, moth eggs and caterpillars so they wreak havoc in the garden. They are found in ground level debris, stones, tree bark crevices in tree trunks. If disturbed they scurry off looking for a new hiding place and are often mistaken for cockroaches. Their small oval shaped eggs are laid in batches of 30-60 in underground nests. Set a trap made of corrugated cardboard with wheat germ inside and when full discard trap. Remove leaf piles, mulch and grass clippings from any openings in the stop their entry. Also be sure to clean gutter drains and any standing water with leaf debris one of their favorite habitats.

The old tale saying that earwigs got their name because earwigs got into humans ear, crawled and ate their way into the brain where they laid their eggs. This fictional tale is totally false, for the insects don’t go anywhere near your ear. (Wikipedia).