06/04/2026
Earwigs get a bad rap. Here's the truth. They are our allies! The more you know.......❤️🌹
You saw an earwig. You panicked.
Because of the name. Because of the pincers. Because
of that medieval myth that they crawl into your ears
and eat your brain.
None of that is real.
Earwigs don't crawl into ears. Not attracted to ears.
Don't eat brains. Have never eaten a brain. The myth
is over 1,000 years old and has zero basis in biology.
Those pincers? They're for mating displays and
catching small prey. They can't break human skin.
If you picked one up and it pinched you — you'd feel
a mild pressure. Less than a clothespin.
Now here's what earwigs ACTUALLY do:
They eat aphids. They eat mites. They eat small
caterpillars. They eat decaying organic matter. They
eat fruit flies.
They're decomposers AND predators. Double duty in
your garden.
They're nocturnal. They hide during the day under
pots, boards, mulch, and stones. They come out at
night and hunt the pests that are eating your plants.
Do they sometimes nibble on seedlings and flower
petals? Yes. In large numbers, they can cause minor
plant damage — particularly to dahlias, marigolds,
and young lettuce.
But the pest control they provide far outweighs the
cosmetic damage.
What to do:
Stop killing them on sight. They're allies.
If populations are too high (rare), set out rolled
newspaper traps — earwigs crawl in at dawn. Shake
them out in a far corner of the yard.
Reduce excessive mulch and moisture near the house
if they're coming indoors. They're seeking damp
shelter, not your ears.
They come inside because they found a cool, damp
entry point. Seal it. They don't want to be in your
house either.
The earwig got its name from a myth.
It earned its place in your garden with work.
Let it keep working.
