What a quandry BorS. Sounds like you need to make some of those traps with tin cans and cat food and try getting rid of the buggers that way. Squishing them is way more emotionally fulfilling though.

Ditto. I used cat food cans with some food leftovers with some success. I also used the insecticidal soap, but it works on contact only. You need to take a flashlight and go hunting... I guess you know that they appear at night mostly... I definitely entertained my neighbors dancing around my plants with a flashlight...

I really feel for you. I had a plague of earwigs last year that left my clematis full of holes, hostas lacy, and a lot of other plants and the blooms severely damaged.

To combat them, I used small plastic containers, with covers to keep the dogs and the rain out, cut several nickel to quarter-size holes around the sides, then partially filled them with worchestershire sauce and a little cooking oil poured on top of the sauce. I placed them under bushy plants. It worked very well. They go into the sauce, but can't get back out because of the oil. One of the traps was full of earwigs. It was nasty to look at, but I got great pleasure from it as the same time.

The earwigs were so bad, though, that I had to find other methods. Trapping didn't work for me either, so I went out at night to spray the earwigs. I like using insecticidal soap the best, because I don't want to breath dangerous sprays and it works almost instantly. It requires persistence and careful aim, so you're not spraying bumble bees, spiders and tachnid flies.

Janet

BorS, I have pulled out my handy dandy organic gardening guide and they recommend spraying your clems with with this mixture:

3 hot peppers
2 Tbsp. Baby Shampoo
1 Quart Water

Mix all ingredients in a blender until finely pureed, strain to remove any large particles and then place in a spray bottle to apply liberally to the affected plants. Reapply after heavy rains.

I used a similar recipe last year to combat a different pest problem and it worked very well. Leaves a terrible taste in the evil little buggers mouths and they will move on to a tastier treat elsewhere. I would still set up the traps like Janet mentioned as well to help attract them to the bowls for removal from the yard completely!

Good Luck!

Tracy

Tracy,

I think I'm going to try your homemade spray. I used to buy hot pepper wax spray, great stuff, but I have too many plants now, so its too expensive. Something was chewing on one of my clematis yesterday, probably a tent caterpillar as I think its a little early for earwigs, and something chewed a hole in one of the stems of the Solomons Seal that I just planted last year.

It rains here too often for a topical spray to be effective, I'll have to try some different traps.

Was at a garden center today, bought Sluggo Plus. It is organic and it shows Earwigs on the cover as being a controlled insect. Cross your fingers. I know it works on slugs. I've used it for years. Wildlife and pet safe too.

I'll cross them for both of us. I'm going to get Sluggo Plus tomorrow if I can find it.

My neighbor has also suggested sluggo for our slug problems, but once we stopped watering our plants late in the evening it wasn't a problem anymore. Go figure! (A great big "DUH" for us)

Earwigs are attracted to lights at night. We kept our outdoor light on last summer by our back door, and it wasn't long before we had an earwig problem there. Since we stopped leaving the lights on at night it hasn't been an issue. FYI

Have you noticed a difference since using Sluggo Plus?

I have not seen any new holes in the clematis and the hostas are almost hole free too.

No, not yet. Glad you are.

If I had an infestation like I did last year, I doubt it would be helping much.

It's awful, I really feel for you.

Have you went out at night to see how many there are?

I see them during the day while gardening. I smashed a dozen or so yesterday. I know there are many more. I've got vines that are just chewed to bits.