Guess nobody's interested, so I'm dropping this

Ok mamashakesit--Here is the full recipe

Bait for Earwigs Earwigs.

Equal parts of soy sauce, oil and (molasses or corn syrup). The molasses is bait to attract them--the oil doesn't allow them to crawl back out and the salt in the soy sauce finishes them off. Put it in a small container(small yogurt container, larger pill bottle, specimen bottle or anything that is fairly deep) covering 1/3 of the bottom with the mixture and bury it up to the brim in the soil. I like the smaller ones because it doesnÂt take as much bait and they are easier to bury into the soil. Prop a lid over it so it doesn't get diluted by rain and so it is a nice dark place for them to hide--ha. When you prop the lid, leave a small space for them to crawl into the container. You might have to wait a couple of days for it to work, but mine were full of them the next day. It does work. Your container will be full of them.

Hundreds of us read your recipe and are going to try it. Most of us will not respond and tell you how good it works. Even if you don't hear from us we appreciate your sharing the first reasonable approach to earwig control. Thank you. Al

Earwigs just ate all 100 of my bush bean seedlings, now its most likely to late to grow more, wish i would of known of this before. Thanks for the post!

Has anyone tried this for slugs?

I know what the salt in the soy sauce would do =:)

I heard of the 'recipe' about two years ago and it works very well, if animals do not take off with them during the night (it has happened to me). I use the small tubs you get at Bulk Barn, make holes in the lid with an ice pick or other boring tool. This year, I have been using the oil/water from canned fish, smoked oyesters, mussels and the like, diluted with water. This mixture will also capture slugs, which I found out by accident this year when I had a container placed next to my Brugmansia. I use the small containers the Chinese Takeouts use for their hot sauce for smaller potted plants. I change them every now and then, collect them and toss them out in the Fall. A great way to recycle.

Well everyone. what were your findings? I would love to know.
All this time I thought my marigolds being stripped down to bones and then death was just a common occurence in cooler damp weather.

Thank you!

Rhizo: Thank you so much for directing me here!

Mike;-)

Would earwigs be eating Zinnia as well? Something ate a huge hole in the middle of each leaf on two of my plants. I saw an earwig on one of them but didn't think much of it at the time.

I like your I dea for earwig traps. I had an Infestation last year and didnt know what to do. I grow organically so pesticide is out of the question your solution is simple and I am sure it works. but I found a better answer. google ARBICO they are a company that specializes in beneficial insects. I ordered a three pack of praying mantis egg cases. I put one in my yard and as I am friendly with my neighbors on both sides of me I gave them both one as well. within 2 weeks I had manti everywhere. these ferocious predators are so great!!! the bonus also is that they went through their life cycle last year and laid their own egg cases this year so now I have an ongoing population of manti. also Ladybugs are the scourge of pests. you would not think it but ladybugs are the toughest beneficial areound they devour almost every pest you hate. arbico sells these as well. they don't tend to hang around though. as soon as they devour everything they split for greener more buggy areas to feed themselves. either or both and you wont have any problems. GOOD LUCK, and Happy Gardening!!

bout to try this! i think i have them on my bee balm, hostas, etc

I use slug traps on a regular basis and usually i use beer, but beer bottles in the garden raise awkward questions, plus i dont always have it on hand. This recipe will be great to compare to beer traps.

Im also interested in bringing beneficial bugs to the garden and flower beds. I have read that dill, fennel and coriander attract a lot of the good bugs. Any thoughts on this? What other planta would serve this purpoae? I do have marigolds and zinnias up right now. Thanks everyone!

So glad to have found this thread, thank you oilpainter for sharing! I had just posted in another forum about how buggy we're expecting this season to be following such a mild winter, and earwigs are a particular problem in my area so finding this was very timely! I'm also anxious to try this for slugs because I never have beer around & forget to buy it for the garden.

Mari 88...I don't know about herbs attracting good bugs, but I do know that they usually deter 'bad' ones because of their aromatic qualities. A couple years ago, I inadvertantly discovered that my dill was actually acting as a trap plant for aphid. They destroyed an entire crop of it, but stayed off the other garden plants nearby. Luckily dill grows quickly so I had time to get another planting in before pickling time, but the aphid still got half of that sowing too!

I just pour canola oil into cat food cans, enough to cover 1/2" of the bottom of the can. The earwigs crawl in and drown in the oil. Works like a charm!

We just put in a new raised bed garden aka the sqaure foot gardening type and I had dreams of a large harvest of beans. Alas! My new sprouts were being chewed through the stem and the leaves chewed around the edges. I am SO mad!!!
I've come to the conclusion that the culprits are the earwigs so I'm putting out 2 different kinds of traps tonight. I am using the soy sauce/oil/corn syrup in some small sized Glad snack/leftover containers and then put a tight lid of aluminum foil over the top with one edge lifted up enough for them to crawl in. They're buried to soil level. (I aim to please) I'm also using the rolled up damp newspaper [sprinkled a bit of sugar in it] and placed that in a produce/veggie bag to keep it from drying out too quickly and also allow me to quickly pick it up and tie off the top. I placed that behind the box next to the wood fence. I'm not sure if it is damp enough though. I just misted it lightly, not soaked it.

Not a single critter this morning!!! :(

I cut 2 holes near the bottom of a plastic container (ie old Cool Whip container)
put a tuna can 1/2 full of oil inside and put the lid on the plastic container.

The plastic container protects from rain/sprinker water filling the tuna can.
I put them all around the yard, garden, etc, in the spring and they last all season.
I collect and clean them out before the first snow and reuse them next year.

I'll be using the traps tonight earwig And slug. I look forward to saving Marigold seeds each year, they grow well. This year, not so good because all my seed pods are full of bug "dirt" with seeds partially eaten. I see earwigs but not slugs so much. Will check in again to let you know how well this works.

By the way, the temps are about 100 degrees daily for the month now, so what can I plant? It's usually hot until Halloween or when the World Series ends.. I have empty soil in my raised beds sad, sad.

For some reason i never considered that earwigs could possibly ever be a problem and we do have quite a few. I did lose allot of green bean and cucumber seedlings that were completely uprooted and now some of my seedlings. What a gem this forum - I've just put out two large traps, fingers crossed i hope i get slugs, snails and earwigs!

Excellent tip!

I have always had a problem with earwigs I will be trying this ASAP! Thank you

If anybody is still active here I need advice on diy versions on this trap.first I'll just say it.I morbidly hate earwiggs.nasy creepy bugs.second they eat all my plants and finally the area I'm in is thick with black widows.earwiggs are on their main menu.this is a real hazard to my family.I have I guess what people here call potatoes bugs,I am from the south so we know them as rolly pollies.I like them as they are mini composters and don't hurt my plants.I give them coffy grounds and they are content with that.I want to target the wiggs and not the potatoes bugs and I'm hopeing this method will work.any ideas?

As a side note,as it is related,I'd like an addhesive for spiders I can make at home.I'll consider all options at this point

Made a prototype,however adjustments are in order.this one didn't bag any wiggs but its puting a dent in the ant population.good in a way as these guys have cleaned my garden out to bare dirt overnight once.and consistently cart my seeds off before they germanate.however the wiggs still laugh at me as they enjoy a salad made of everything I'm growing.I'm assuming my bait is incorrect,so I'll adjust soon.working on fly traps as well.I find a winning modle I'll post it.

Well earwiggs traps became ant traps,my compost bucket traps more flys than my fly traps,and the wiggs still laugh at my failure.I'm finding an effective bait for flys though.60%egg powder,25%yeast,15%bakeing powder or soda.add enough water to this to drown flys and once it ferments and then turns sour,your favorate fly trap becomes the hotell California. Check in,but never check back out.it also acts like birth control for flys as the eggs and larva can't survive.I read that top entry traps do best on flys,though I have a number of disigns in place to see which does best.but I'm still stumped on ear wiggs.little help guys.

Inspecting my killing grounds I noticed the potatoes in one fly trap had wiggs on it.I positions a potatoes halve over one trap so if they want to eat it they first have to skinny dip in olive oil.a romantic end to a bug I hate.

I've been releasing praying mantis, lace wings, assassin bugs, & ladybugs for over 40 years. my sources keep changing but currently the best prices for praying mantis egg cases are at praying mantis eggs.net. I got 50 for around $30.00 shipped. you can also make your own adhesive traps. go to a construction or drywall supply house & buy spray adhesive & coat strips of paper or cardboard.