There is a pellet form of earwig poison but I think it must be applied early in the season.Don't worry there eating mine to.hopefully something will eat them to.Battle of the bugs I guess.good luck!
marc

I am having a big earwig problem this year too. Not on my clematis (but I will look real close after reading your post!). They are under every pot and inside lots of flower blooms. Every morning when I open the wood screen door to let the dog out, there are a half dozen or so all around the door edges (waiting to come in????)

I found a bug spray in my garage that has Diazinon in it. I've been using it here and there (without checking results) all season. But I just sprayed it around the door entrance and no more earwigs at the door in the morning. I think diazinon is the key.

Laura, Sevin does kill Earwigs and the lady was right, Carbaryl is the same thing. I think you have a real infestation there and a few sprayings are needed to get things under control. It takes a while to get the population down as more earwigs hatch daily. As the new Earwigs hatch and ingest the Sevin they will also die and stop reproducing. I would also spray the soil around every plant and try increasing the amount of Sevin to 5 or even 6 teaspoons per gallon until things get better, and they will, I'm certain. I once had an infestation like yours and it took 2 weeks of spraying to kill the daily onslaught of newly hatched earwigs. It DOES work, so have patience. Certain plants don't like to be sprayed with Sevin as the leaves will show you. I only spray the plants that are being eaten.
Wendy, Diazanon scares me for garden use. It is a strong, nasty chemical used around foundations for ants and termites and I would never try it on plants as it could kill the plants and seriously harm pets and wildlife. (It is also being investigated for cancer causing reasons in humans). Sevin is safe for vegetables when used properly and works very well in my garden. I begin spraying the roses, some clematis, lillies and other 'Earwig favorites' in mid- spring, BEFORE the Earwig population gets a foothold. I've found that spraying the soil around the base of these plants seems to help as well.
Suzy

Yes, I remember when they pulled diazinon... I went out and bought up all I could :-)

Actually, I thought they pulled Sevin around the same time. And came up with Eight as a descendant. But Sevin is still very much around.

I only use Diaz. around the foundation for ants and for a soil drench for black vine weevil. I try to be very careful.

Is anyone noticing more earwigs than normal? I've never even noticed them before this year. Except in my old half whiskey barrel that rotted.

Diazanon is still on the market as far as I know, ( I still use it around the foundation twice in the summer months), but there was a great pesticide that I used to use for ants that was pulled about 15 years ago. I've forgotten the name now, but it was great stuff. Too bad it was so harmful ! Carpenter ants are a huge problem in Massachusetts and we have a log home, so we HAVE to do regular ant treatments here. Diazanon works well, but it's another bad chemical and I wish we didn't have to use it at all.
I don't have much of an earwig problem this year, probably because I have been using seven for the past 10 years and this has reduced the population considerably in my garden.
Suzy

today I put down a carbaryl bait. I'll see how well that works and keep you all posted.
Thanks again for all your help especially to you suzymac!

I thought earwig season was over (replaced by beetles) or I killed them all (ya, right). But, I happened to be out the other night with a flashlight walking the dog and I decided to take a look at some flowers. Oh My Goodness!!! That was hideous. Earwigs were all over my daylilies!! YUCK

Wendy, I even find a few earwigs in my house on occasion and I hate them. I can't figure out how they get in, but they do !
At this time of year they're even bigger than in the spring and they're everywhere !
Suzy

Physical controls can be an effective, if slightly yucky, alternative to chemicals. If you can collect the earwigs into a bucket or yogurt container (with tongs perhaps) then you can either dump them and step on them, or perhaps they would drown in soapy water. I don't have experience doing this with earwigs, but with weevils, and if you are consistent at doing night hunts for just a short period you can make a big dent in a population. Depends on how big a property is and so on, whether it's feasible.

I have had great luck with horticultural oil and killing earwigs. Just make sure you don't spray on days above 84 degrees. Spray in the early morning or evening.

Unfortunately, earwigs can fly-I didn't know this until recently when a few actually had the nerve to land on my rose blooms while I was inspecting them. I'd say that's definitely how they make it into our homes. And the earwigs in my yard aren't just active at night-they're out in the afternoon as well. I'm about to pull my hair out!

bren

Mix a dose of dish soap and tap water. Apply to plants with a spray bottle. I have not used this on flowers however but it works great with veggis if you use the right soap (palmolive is good, I use ajax currently but it may have caused damage to my raddishes) it will not hurt your plants. You can litterally watch the little beasts die. I spend lots of time outside at night smoking cigarettes and spraying them directly. This even seems to kill quicker than bug spray when you apply it directly to the bug.

Good Article on Earwigs: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2068.html

PJ

I've had a losing battle with earwigs for years now - they love my clematis (and most every other plant in my garden). They love to hide in bark mulch. Unfortunately, it's a choice between mulch (and earwigs & slugs); or no mulch (weeds & dry soil).

I don't use pesticides (the stuff scares me); but I have found that water and dishsoap kills them instantly. If I find a nest, I just blast them with the soapy water, and they're toast.