Earwigs

What Is The Earwig?

Who would have ever thought that this little member from the Dermapter Family could be such a nuisance? The common earwig might only be grown to get 1/3 inches in length, but there is one classification known as the Helena Giant Earwig that can reach nearly 3 inches. If this isn’t intimidating enough, they also have forcep-like devices on their abdominal regions, oftentimes referred to as cerci. These critters not only have wings, but they have two sets of wings, both on the fronts and backs of their bodies. Interestingly enough though, these critters choose not to fly. They can, but they choose not to.

The rear wings are more leathery and membranous while the fronts are smoother, while the bodies can range anywhere from red to brown or reddish-brown. There are over 900 species of these critters found throughout the North American area, but there is only a select few you have to worry about in Norfolk. If you’ve ever heard of earwigs, you’ve likely heard that they like to burrow deep into the ears of prey and lay eggs. This is just a myth!

Why Do I Have Earwigs?

If you do have earwigs, they are not there to lay eggs in your ears. Fear not because this is simply a myth. If they are in the home, however, it is to burrow deep into your wall voids. Most wall voids, tubs, and showers provide the perfect environmental conditions for these critters to escape away from the winter. And, Norfolk usually gets hit with quite the harsh winter weather.

These little guys will make their way into your home, to dwell in your walls, basements, bathrooms, and kitchens to survive through the winter. They only come out during the night because they are nocturnal. They feed on arthropods like mites and fleas as well as houseplants. While they might not pose a physical threat to the humans or pets on the property, they will wreak havoc on your household plants and organic material.

Are They Dangerous?

You just learned that the earwig doesn’t pose much of a physical threat. It doesn’t bite, it doesn’t sting, and it doesn’t transmit disease. This doesn’t mean that it isn’t a nuisance because that it is. You certainly don’t want it creeping around your home or especially your place of business. However, one does not have to worry about physical threats when dealing with this critter. Something else to remember is, they won’t even reproduce in the home. Many would likely even consider these guys a positive, as they feed on mites and fleas. All that being said, they can do immense amounts of damage to gardens, orchards, and houseplants. You don’t want these guys hanging around these items.

How Do You Eliminate Earwigs?

If you want to get earwigs out of your property, you are going to have to start by controlling the outside population. They are going in from the outside and eliminating or minimizing the outside presence of the bug will go a long way to eliminating them inside the property. Of course, this is much more difficult than it sounds and why we are in business. We’ll be more than glad to take on the task for you and your family. In addition to being attracted to mites and fleas, these critters are also attracted to bright light. The type of light doors, windows, and porch lights can give off.

Eliminating this light and substituting your light with sodium vapor yellow lights will be key here. White neon or mercury vapor lights are what the bugs are attracted to. Opting for sodium vapor yellow lighting will send them in the opposite direction. Do this and seal all the cracks and crevices in your foundations, walls, ceilings, eaves, doors, and windows, and you might just eliminate your infestation. If this is something you don’t want to do or are unable, we’ll be more than glad to do it. We recommend just giving us a call, as we know exactly how to attack the problem.

When Will You Get Here?

When you have earwigs on the property, you want them gone as quickly as possible. This is something we completely understand and are more than willing to help with. Give us a call, set up an appointment, and we’ll have an assessor out at the property within the next 24 to 48 hours. We do offer emergency services for those situations that require immediate attention. All you have to do is give us a call!

Do You Offer Safe Treatments?

Pesticides have long been used to treat earwigs, and it’s easy to understand why. They are not only effective, but they are quick. The only problem is, they aren’t the safest. This is why we have started offering more natural solutions. These solutions aren’t always as effective or even applicable in all situations, but we try to utilize them when and where we can. That being said, when we do have to use pesticides, we’ll use them with the utmost care. Give us a call and see how we operate!

If you have any other pest control issues please check out other services.