Best Management Practices:

Earwigs 

Earwigs are reddish brown and about 5/8-inch long with short wings. They have unsightly pinchers at the end of their bodies. Both male and female Earwigs have pinchers.  The males have curved pinchers and the females have straight pinchers. The sight of these pinchers has given rise to myths. 

During the spring and again in autumn, the female will lay 20 to 50 eggs in an underground chamber. The female Earwig will protect these eggs until they molt. After molting, Earwigs leave the nest to mature.  Earwigs will bury themselves up to six feet deep to escape freezing temperatures.  They are more active at night and are attracted to lights.  

The best option is to control Earwigs outdoors prior to their entry into the home. Most Earwigs enter the home during hot weather or may hitch a ride on something as simple as a laundry basket.  Earwigs are easily killed by a residual insecticide treatment in cracks and crevices, along baseboards, beneath cabinets, along door and windowsills and other hiding places during the day.  Indoor treatments should be a supplement to outdoor treatments since earwigs do not usually become established indoors. 

Earwigs are most effectively controlled by applying a perimeter barrier treatment of five and ten feet around the home with a professional quality residual pesticide.  A concentrate pesticide works most effectively and efficiently for this task.  A properly mixed concentrate residual insecticide may be safely applied with a Spray Doc One gallon sprayer. 

Effective concentrates used by professional pest controllers for indoor and out of doors are Cyronara 9.7,  Demand CS, Demon Max, Suspend SC, Tempo Ultra and Talstar P.  In addition to applying a barrier these products should be applied properly to building foundation, sub floor crawl spaces, flowerbeds, turf or mulch.  Apply a pesticide the end of spring and again in the summer to the building foundation, sub-floor crawl spaces, flowerbeds, turf or mulch in late afternoon.

Recommended aerosols are CB Air Devil HPX, CB Borid Turbo, CB Intuder HPX, CY Kick and Perma-Dust.  Demand G Granular is also labeled to control earwigs by applying to the yard as a peremiter control at the rate of 2 to 3 pounds per 1000 sq. feet. 

Always read the pesticide label and follow directions and safety precautions.