Facts about Earwigs That You Should Know

Earwigs, or pincher bugs, are known by the pincers they have attached to their backsides. While the insect looks dangerous, and many people used to believe that they would crawl into the ear at night to eat the person’s brains, earwigs are basically harmless. They might even be helpful. At Arrow Exterminating in Nassau County, NY, we can get rid of your earwig problem if you choose, but here are some facts to help you make a good decision in hiring home pro exterminators.

Food Source

Earwigs eat plants and other insects. The pincers allow them to grasp their prey and their mandibles allow them to eat hard foods. They will also eat mold, so overall, they may be useful in controlling other pests.

Social Creatures

Mother earwigs will choose to stay with their young and help them grow. Newly hatched earwigs, or nymphs, are capable of taking care of themselves, but that doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate the help. A brood will nourish each other with their fecal matter, called frass, which is nutritious for insects. If a newly hatched earwig does decide to leave and stumbles into another brood, there is a 50/50 chance that it will be adopted or eaten.

Stinky Bug

Aside from the pincers, many earwigs will shoot a spray of putrid smelling fluid. This fluid can also be released when the earwig is crushed by a shoe, boot, or other smashing implement. That makes getting rid of the ones you see a little more difficult if you’d like to avoid the noxious properties of their odoriferous excretions. No one likes it when things smell bad.

Making a Home

Earwigs prefer to live in places where it is dark and moist. Outdoors, they will live in leaf and wood piles or under mulch. In the winter, they can burrow 6 feet to hide from the cold. Alternatively, they may choose to move into your home to hibernate during the cold months. The bathroom, kitchen, and basement often provide the best places for an earwig to spend the winter.

Prevention Techniques

Keeping vegetation and clippings away from your house and adding a bird feeder to your yard are a couple of ways to keep earwigs from using your home as a motel. Eliminating leaks that may create dampness and sealing cracks in the foundation and around windows and doors will also help keep earwigs out of your home.

Of course, the pincers can inflict some pain on humans, but they are only used as a defense. Earwigs do not spread any diseases. They look gross, run fast and can sometimes fly, but they are relatively harmless. That doesn’t mean that you want them in your house. Deciding to hire a home exterminator in Nassau County, NY, can be easy enough, especially if you have a newborn or children who are frightened by earwigs.