Home / Learn / How to Get Rid of Earwigs
How to Get Rid of Earwigs
How to clear earwigs from the house and garden — what attracts them, traps that work, and how to keep them out. Fresno edition.
To get rid of earwigs: remove the damp harborage they hide in (mulch, leaf litter, pots against the wall), dry out the perimeter, set rolled-newspaper or oil traps in the garden, and seal door thresholds and foundation gaps so they can't get inside. For a heavy outdoor population pushing indoors, a perimeter treatment is the durable fix.
What attracts earwigs — and what causes them
Earwigs are driven by moisture and cover. Damp mulch, thick ground cover, leaf litter, wood piles, and pots sitting against the foundation give them daytime shelter; overwatered lawns and beds keep the surface humid. In the Central Valley, a well-irrigated yard plus the first hot, dry stretch of summer is the classic recipe — the heat pushes the built-up population toward the moisture inside your home.
How to get rid of earwigs in the house, step by step
1. Reduce the moisture they followed in. Fix leaks, run exhaust fans, and check under sinks and around the water heater — earwigs come indoors chasing damp.
2. Seal the entry points. Add or replace door sweeps and weatherstripping, and caulk gaps around the foundation, pipes, vents, and window frames.
3. Trap and remove the ones inside. Vacuum up active earwigs, and set sticky traps or shallow oil traps along baseboards and under sinks where you see them.
4. Treat the perimeter. A labeled exterior perimeter product (or a pro treatment) around the foundation stops the outdoor population from crossing in.
How to get rid of earwigs in the garden
Outdoors is where you actually win the fight. Pull mulch and ground cover back several inches from the foundation and from plant stems, water in the morning so beds dry out by nightfall, and clear leaf litter, boards, and debris that give earwigs daytime cover. To protect specific plants, ring seedlings with shallow traps and harvest soft fruit promptly. Reducing damp cover shrinks the population at its source.
Earwig traps that actually work
Rolled newspaper: dampen a rolled-up newspaper or corrugated cardboard and leave it in the garden overnight; earwigs pack into it by morning — then drop it in soapy water or seal it in a bag.
Oil trap: sink a shallow tin with a little vegetable oil (a touch of soy sauce helps lure them) at soil level near affected plants; earwigs fall in and can't climb out.
Hollow tube trap: short lengths of old hose or bamboo laid in beds give earwigs a hiding spot you can collect and empty each morning.
How to prevent earwigs coming back
Keep a dry buffer around the house: mulch and plants pulled back from the foundation, gutters and grading that move water away, morning-only watering, and sealed door sweeps and foundation gaps. A drier perimeter and fewer hiding spots mean far fewer earwigs looking for a way in next summer.
When to call a pro
If earwigs keep streaming indoors or the garden damage won't let up despite trapping and cleanup, the outdoor population is too large to knock down by hand. A professional perimeter and harborage treatment, timed to the summer surge, solves it outside-in. Total Pest Control treats earwigs across Fresno and the Central Valley.
📞 Call (559) 472-8200Getting rid of earwigs — FAQ
What is the fastest way to get rid of earwigs?
Trap and remove the ones indoors, seal entry points, and treat the exterior perimeter while cutting back damp mulch and cover. For a big population, a professional perimeter treatment is the fastest durable fix.
What attracts earwigs into the house?
Moisture, mostly. When summer heat dries their outdoor cover, earwigs move toward damp spots indoors — bathrooms, kitchens, garages — entering through gaps under doors and around the foundation.
What home remedy kills earwigs?
Shallow oil traps (with a little soy sauce as a lure) and damp rolled-newspaper traps both work well in the garden. Soapy water kills the ones you collect. Diatomaceous earth in dry cracks also helps.
How do I keep earwigs off my garden plants?
Pull mulch back from stems, water in the morning so beds dry by night, clear debris, and ring vulnerable seedlings with oil or newspaper traps. Reducing damp daytime cover is the key.
Will earwigs go away on their own?
Indoor earwigs often die off since they don't breed inside, but new ones keep wandering in while the outdoor population is high. Treating the yard and sealing entry points is what actually stops the cycle.
Earwigs winning the war on your house or garden?
Total Pest Control treats the harborage and perimeter outside-in across Fresno and the Central Valley. Call or request a no-cost inspection.