Easy Way to Get Rid of Those Gross Earwigs in Your Garden in Minnesota

I've actually discovered a couple of earwigs in our house in the past week or so. I'm going to guess it was because of all of the rain we've had in Minnesota. And also the fact that our house is super old but regardless, earwigs are out and about.

Luckily, I found an easy way to get them out of your garden (and home).

ALSO READ: Kwik Trip's New Summer Donut is Here

What Are Earwigs?

But first, what are earwigs?

Earwigs are these creepy-looking, long bugs with pincers. But don't worry, they won't come for you in your sleep.

This is what an adult earwig looks like:

The University of Wisconsin writes that earwigs are primarily out at night and "hide in dark, moist places such as cracks or crevices, or beneath stones, boards, or debris on the soil surface" during the day. So garden plants and pots are a great place for them, especially after all of this rain.

Speaking of the rain, the University of Wisconsin also mentions that "moist summers tend to favor higher populations." Well, that's exactly what we've been having so far this summer.

(Here's a young earwig that doesn't have wings yet.)

Even though they can look intimidating, they don't hurt humans. If you mishandle them you might get a really weak pinch from their pincers, or if you threaten them "they can emit a foul-smelling, yellowish brown liquid". But that's about it.

Get our free mobile app

For plants, it's another story. Earwigs will eat "just about anything, including both plants and animals." So if you've noticed your plants getting eaten, it could be earwigs.

Here's how you can get rid of them.

How to Get Rid of Earwigs

I came across this hack on Facebook and after finding a couple in our house, it might not be a bad idea to put this out by our garden.

This hack to get rid of earwigs is super easy. The account I got the idea from is called Perkyplantparent. They say that all you need is some vegetable oil and a little soy sauce in a shallow dish. My understanding is the smell will attract the earwigs and they'll get stuck in the oil-filled dish.

Another option is if you have oil you've used for cooking, as long as it has enough of a scent you can use that too.

Speaking of bugs, apparently we have a lot of bed bugs in Minnesota...