Controlling Earwigs | Pegasus Pest Control
Controlling earwigs can be an overwhelming endeavor for some people. Few people maintain their confidence when the pests keep coming back despite their best efforts to eliminate them. Pest control anxiety is understandable when you don’t have any idea about what you are dealing with, which often seems to be the case when people find an abundance of the dangerous looking earwig.
At Pegasus Pest Control we think it’s important for you to understand this pest so you know what measures to take to get rid of it.
What Are Earwigs?
Earwigs are from the Dermaptera order and have been around for over 200 million years. They have walked among dinosaurs and now serve to strike terror into the hearts of homeowners with its tiny size and big pincers.
Why Do We Find Earwigs In Sacramento?
Sacramento offers a fantastic climate for earwigs to grow and thrive. They are plentiful here and can be quite a nuisance, especially during the summer months. Avid gardeners, you can often find them tending to your plants when you’re not looking.
You can find them where there’s rotten wood. Earwigs love humidity and dampness. Combine that with the fact they also love the darkness, it wouldn’t be too inconceivable to imagine why they have infested that pile of wood you’ve been meaning to get rid of.
When they’re not too busy munching on your botanical experiments at night, earwigs maintain a diet comprised of maggots, earthworms, aphids, and other insects. Those pincers that look so dangerous are harmless to you, but they’re a handy tool for dispatching smaller, weaker creatures that didn’t have the foresight to escape in time.
Pincher bugs are not territorial, meaning they can share nests which is why they can quickly rise in numbers. Having a hospitable environment is a recipe for disaster.
What Do Earwigs Look Like?
Earwigs range between five and 50mm in size depending on their species and are brownish in color. Their elongated bodies feature big forceps which depending on the gender of the pincher bug they can be bigger on male earwigs and smaller on female ones.
Distribution And Habitat
Earwigs are most widely distributed in warm, humid climates. Their habitat includes dark and damp environments. They literally live under rocks. They can live in leaf piles during the fall season, inside and under tree trunks, barks, or fallen branches. Your basement is a safe, family environment for earwigs as well. Think about it as a pincher bug suburban area.
What Attracts Earwigs to your House?
As we said, earwigs are attracted to darkness, humidity, moisture, and shelter. When they find ideal locations, they love to dig their way in. These factors make them highly-mobile accidental hitchhikers. Like bed bugs, they often make their nests in bags or boxes. Then, when you bring those bags or boxes inside, you’re also inadvertently bringing in earwigs. Earwigs are especially likely to infest bags of dirt, fertilizer, or seeds.
Do Earwigs Transmit Diseases?
They don’t. They are completely harmless. Their pincers aren’t powerful enough to produce a strong pinch, so don’t worry they can’t cause any harm.
They can bite, but the bites only cause minor irritation. The idea that it will do any harm to you is mostly folklore and pure nonsense.
They can cause problems in your garden though.
Controlling Earwigs
Keeping earwigs out of your home takes only some basic home maintenance. It’s important to take care of leaks and keep your home dry, not just to keep out pests, but also to avoid other pests in your home.
Keeping your home free of other pests means you won’t attract predatory insects like earwigs. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you’ll find a bug infestation to be persistent.
If you suspect an earwig infestation that is a pretty good indicator that there are other bugs infesting your home.
Earwig Pest Control Near You
Here at Pegasus Pest Control, a professional Sacramento pest control company, we will be able to clear your home of an earwig infestation and take care of any other bugs extermination. We’ll eliminate their hiding places and prevent pest survival.
Call us today for a free pest inspection at (888)-885-5017. We will give you peace of mind!