Earwig Exterminator & Control

Earwig Control in Cambridge and Waterloo Region

Earwigs indoors almost always point to a damp spot outside, close to the house — a mulch bed against the foundation, a leaking downspout, a pile of boards or leaves — and a gap that lets them in. Dealing with the ones you can see does little while those conditions stay the same, which is why the work starts outside rather than in the rooms where they turn up.

We are based on Hawkins Drive in Cambridge and cover Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Guelph, seven days a week from 9am to 9pm.

What Earwigs Look Like

Most earwigs found in Ontario homes are European earwigs. Adults are roughly 12 to 15 mm long, flattened and reddish-brown, with short wing covers and a pair of pincers at the tip of the body. The pincers curve strongly in males and are nearly straight in females. They do have wings folded under those covers, but rarely fly.

They are active at night and spend the day packed into tight, damp spaces: under mulch, stones, boards and planters, in leaf litter, behind loose siding and beneath door sweeps. Lift a patio cushion or a doormat in August and there may be dozens underneath.

Are Earwigs Dangerous?

No. Earwigs don't bite, carry no venom, don't spread disease and don't damage the structure of a house. Handled, they may pinch with their pincers, which rarely breaks the skin. The idea that they crawl into people's ears is folklore, even though the name — which comes from Old English — has kept the story alive for centuries.

Their damage is in the garden. Earwigs eat decaying plant material and small insects such as aphids, which is useful, but they also chew seedlings, soft leaves, flower petals and ripe fruit. Ragged holes in hostas, dahlias or lettuce can be earwigs — or slugs, which leave similar damage. A look with a flashlight after dark will tell you which.

Why Earwigs Come Into the House

They come looking for moisture and shelter rather than food. A hot, dry spell drives them toward damp spots, and heavy rain floods the places they normally hide; either can send them under a door or through a gap at the foundation. They also ride in on firewood, cut flowers, potted plants and patio furniture.

Inside, they turn up wherever it is damp: basements, bathrooms, laundry rooms, under the kitchen sink and around entry doors. Earwigs don't set up home indoors the way cockroaches or mice do. Most houses are too dry for them, and the ones that get in usually die within days unless they find a damp basement — so a steady number inside means they are still arriving from outside.

Older properties with mature gardens, long-established mulch beds and basements that stay damp tend to see the most of them.

How to Get Rid of Earwigs Yourself

• Dry out the foundation. Point downspouts away from the house, fix dripping outdoor taps and keep gutters clear. Earwigs follow moisture.
• Pull mulch back. Keep a dry strip of gravel or bare soil, roughly 15 to 30 cm wide, between garden beds and the foundation.
• Remove their daytime cover. Boards, stones, leaf piles and firewood stacked against the house all make shelter. Store firewood away from the walls.
• Close the gaps. Door sweeps, weatherstripping, and sealed cracks and utility openings at the foundation stop most of the traffic.
• Cut back outdoor lighting near doors. Earwigs are drawn to lights at night.
• Trap them in the garden. A roll of damp newspaper or corrugated cardboard left in a bed overnight fills with earwigs by morning; shake it into soapy water.
• Indoors, vacuum them up and run a dehumidifier in the basement. Indoor sprays rarely help, because the source is outside.

When to Call an Earwig Exterminator

If you are finding earwigs indoors every day, or the garden keeps losing plants despite the steps above, the population around the house is larger than trapping can dent. A visit starts with finding where they shelter and how they get in — mulch beds, the undersides of decks and steps, gaps at the foundation and doors — then treats the perimeter and those spots rather than the rooms where you happen to see them.

We will also tell you which of the conditions above are drawing them in, because fixing those is what keeps numbers down next year. For other insects that come in from the perimeter, see spider extermination and boxelder bug control.

When Earwigs Are Worst

Numbers build through the summer and peak in July and August, which is when most people first notice them indoors. They spend the winter in the soil, where females lay and guard their eggs — unusual behaviour for an insect — and the young emerge in spring. A problem in September usually eases as the weather cools; one in June is just getting started.