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Are You Seeing Earwigs?
6/29/13
Have you ever brought the mail indoors and found earwigs on it? Or maybe you bought something at a yard sale recently and found an earwig or two hiding inside your purchase. If you’ve found these bugs, you don’t need to be especially concerned; they definitely look a lot scarier than they are. Earwigs, also called ‘pincer bugs’ are easily identified by their long and smooth little bodies, with two little appendages at the rear of their abdomen called ‘cerci’. These bugs may try to pinch you with their cerci if they feel threatened, but otherwise these insects are not considered dangerous to people or to pets. If you find that you have a significant number of these insects on your property or even indoors, you may not feel comfortable just ignoring them. Sometimes they show up inside buildings in such large numbers that ignoring them isn’t an option. Here are a few tips to keep these occasional invaders out of your home and off your property.
First, just make sure that earwigs are the problem you’re dealing with. Sometimes people get earwigs confused with silverfish and although they look similar, prevention tips for the two insects will differ. Earwigs are about 5/8 of an inch long, although sometimes you may see them a bit larger than that. They are a dark brown usually, sometimes with a reddish-brown hue and some species have wings, some do not. They are nocturnal insects and can typically be found in dark and damp areas during the daytime. In the evening, they will come out to feed on decaying plant materials as well as fleas and mites.
Prevention tips for earwigs should include getting rid of the environments that attract these insects. Because earwigs like dark and damp areas, if you have places inside your home that fit the bill, you must eliminate them. This can include dark and damp basements, crawl spaces, attics and even areas behind appliances and under sinks. To reduce moisture, you can invest in a dehumidifier for use inside the dampest areas of your home. Not only will this help reduce moisture that may attract insects like earwigs and other pests, but it can even be helpful to reduce the possibility of mold growth in your home. If you leave food out on your counters, or you have house plants, earwigs will use these as food sources, so putting food in the refrigerator and getting rid of house plants can help prevent invading earwigs.
Outdoor prevention tips for earwigs should include installing an irrigation system to make sure you only have enough water standing on your property to keep plants healthy. You can eliminate weeds, ivy and leaves that are in your garden or on your property as well as decrease the number of rocks or wooden boards that sit on your grass (earwigs will hide under these objects during the day time).
Following these prevention tactics can help eliminate bothersome earwigs both inside and outside of your home. These insects aren’t actually dangerous but aren’t a pest you necessarily want in your home or on your property, especially if their numbers have grown significantly. To get rid of earwigs, you should contact a pest control company. Most pest control companies offer both traditional pest control options as well as green pest control options, depending on what is important to you.
For more information on earwig control in Maryland as well as other pest services in the Maryland area, contact American Pest today. Their dedication to improving the quality of life for home and business owners in MD is unparalled; contact American Pest today for more information on traditional and green pest control solutions.