Table of Contents
How do I keep earwigs off my tomato plants?
Do earwigs like tomatoes?
Target Plants: Earwigs eat seedlings and tender leafy crops such as lettuce, celery stems, ripening tomatoes, and strawberries.
How do I stop earwigs eating my vegetables?
If you are seeing a lot of earwigs, or have had a problem with them in your garden before, you can simply sprinkle a 2-inch-wide circle of diatomaceous earth around beds or the base of plants where earwigs commonly travel; reapply after it rains.
Are earwigs bad for vegetable garden?
They chew into buds, leaves, flowers and fruits of many plants, including tree and cane fruits, vegetables and ornamentals. Their typical damage is small, ragged holes chewed in plant tissue. Earwigs will chew off corn silks and hide inside ripe apricots and peaches next to the pit.
How do you deter earwigs?
Remove leaf piles, excess vegetation, and any stored wood from around the yard. Keep mulch, dead leaves, and other vegetation 6 to 12 inches away from your home's foundation. Finally, trim trees and shrubs to help eliminate damp, shady areas, especially near the house.
Do earwigs eat basil?
Earwig.
Casual home invaders, these herbivores are also the bane of many summer garden plants. Tattered, ugly-looking plants result from earwigs consuming soft foliage found on favorites like coleus, basil and petunia.
Do earwigs eat pepper plants?
Earwigs are nocturnal feeders that'll eat your pepper plants at night. Lay some moist cardboard on top of your mulch or on the soil overnight, then in the morning, whatever earwigs are latched onto the cardboard, drop them into a bucket of soapy water to drown them.
How do I stop earwigs from eating my seedlings?
Tips for getting rid of them
Empty the traps, refill, and re-position for an earwig-free existence. Set up a trap, using an upside down pot stuffed with newspaper or straw… I can't resist these. Place a dish of vegetable oil, buried up to the rim, near your seedlings.
Do earwigs destroy gardens?
Earwig Damage to Vegetables, Fruits, Flowers and Berries
While earwigs won't destroy your crops they can leave their mark. Here's how they interact with typical garden plants: Seedlings – Tender seedlings of any kind can be targets for these insects.
Do earwigs have a purpose?
While earwigs are known to be a scary looking, anti-social night scavenger, they are a very beneficial insect ecologically speaking. Known as environmental janitors, earwigs will feast on dead and decaying plants and insects. This is great for keeping a garden clean and maintaining the look and feel of the greenery.
Are earwigs bad?
Earwigs inside the house do not cause any harm or destruction. They are an annoyance or nuisance because of their presence. If disturbed, earwigs may produce a noticeable foul odor. Earwigs found inside the house can be swept or picked up and discarded.
Is an earwig a pincher bug?
While earwigs may look like one the dangerous insects inside your home because of the pincers protruding from their back, they are actually quite harmless to people. If an earwig does crawl on you, it is possible that they might use their pincers to pinch the skin out of self-defense.
Do earwigs live in potted plants?
Since some earwigs prefer young plants, besides being a garden pest, the earwigs can become an indoor pest and feed on indoor plants. Earwigs are commonly found under plant pots in the saucer that is used to catch water that drains through the soil.
Are earwigs garden pests?
Earwigs are among the most readily recognized insect pests in home gardens. Although earwigs can devastate seedling vegetables or annual flowers and often seriously damage maturing soft fruit or corn silks, they also have a beneficial role in the landscape and have been shown to be important predators of aphids.
Do earwigs eat aphids?
If you grow artichokes, you are familiar with earwigs lurking in the leaves. On the other hand, earwigs eat aphids, mites, dead leaf matter, and dead insects. They're useful garden predators and one of nature's housekeepers.