Jen--can you compare the ingredients on both boxes--if they carry both the original and the 'plus'?
You might be able to do that online, as well!

Just a thought!!

The ingredients were different when I compared it to normal sluggo. But I didn't know if even though the ingredients were different if they really worked that much differently. There was a huge difference in price, one that I was not willing to pay.

Jen--I just did some research (love to do that) and here is what I've found:

sluggo: Active Ingredient:
Iron Phosphate.............. 1.0%

sluggo plus:
Active Ingredient:

Iron Phosphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0.97%

Spinosad (a mixture of spinosyn A

and spinosyn D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0.07%

Other Ingredients: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98.96%

Total: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100.00%

And, you might want to read these articles, the one linked below and the one pasted in the message!

The one, has a caution not to use it (spinosad product, recommended) during active 'bee' times, as noted by bloggers to this site:

http://blog.gardeners.com/2008/04/lily-leaf-beetles.html

Here is a link that might be useful: What is Spinosad (main ingred. to the 'plus'

Funny! I was researching too! In one of the articles I read it said in tests earwigs died within two days of application and the only downfall was the bee thing you mentioned. However it said if you used the granule then it didn't effect bees at all, only if you used it as a liquid.

I am going back to the store this week and going to see if any other products they have contain spinosad.

Jen--I just found this 'discussion' on the topic of killing Earwigs! Kinda interesting!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Killing Earwigs with 'Fantastik' or any 'Soapy' solution or stale beer!!

Okay, Jen--you got me working on this and here's a consolidation of some of the more interesting remedies I've come across, along with some links to more advice and products to deal with the issue:

Some ideas offered to kill earwigs:

What I use is soy sauce & oil. You put this in a bottle or a margerine bowl of coure I put holes in the side of the bottle so I can hang it on the fence to keep it away from my dog. He loves it. This does kill the earwigs.The soy sauce pulls them in the bottle & the oil drowns them. Hope it works for you cause it sure does for me.

Earwigs are great gritters in the garden as they eat all the rotton plant matter, the best safe way to get rid of them if they become a pest else where in the garden is to crumple up wet newspaper and place it inside old plant pots or used butter/margerine containers and place them around the effected areas. Earwigs feed at night and will hide in the newspapers during the daylight, so every day change the newspapers and throw them away in a plastic bag and place in the rubbish bin. I had this problem around my veggie garden and they got inside my cauliflowers, it was so discusting that i didnt eat any cauliflowers for months and i dont grow them anymore, i also had a lot of grass clippings around my veggie patch which attracted them. I am very carefull now and dont use mulch, I dont have a problem now. I hope this helps.

Earwigs can be trapped outdoors in cardboard boxes baited with oatmeal or bran with pencil hole size entry sites punched in the sides near the bottom. Place burlap bags, canvass, boards, newspapers or other cover material in mulch, shrubbery and similar habitats to collect individuals the following day. Shake specimens into hot, boiling water or burn trapped earwigs in newspaper rolls. cleaner.

Diatomaceous earth is a safe and effective way to control earwigs in the home. One application in key spots (bathroom, baseboards, window frames) can be a long-term repellent.
To trap earwigs, spray a newspaper lightly with water, roll it up loosely and secure with a string or rubber band. Place on the ground near earwig activity. The next morning pick up and discard the paper in a sealed container.
Another method to trap earwigs is to take a shallow, straight-sided container and fill it half full with vegetable oil. Clean the trap daily; the oil can be re-used.

Place two teaspoons of melted bacon grease in a small (margarine etc) container add just enough vegetable oil to cover the bacon grease. Place container outdoors.
Earwigs love the grease, will crawl into the container and die. This works! Keep container away from pets or they will get to the mixture first.

And my favorite: Squish them between your fingers!!! Now that will be tricky--think of the time and energy it will take--especially in the middle of the night! LOL

An article that warns about potential plant damage by homemade, soap insecticides:

http://www.thriftyfun.com/downloads/Insect_Control_Soaps_Detergents.pdf

Another article about using Boric Acid powder effectively:

http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-earwigs.htm

A product suggested as useful--not tried it myself but here it is for your consideration:

http://www.diatect.com/garden-insect-control-ingredients.php

I picked up some Diatomaceous earth the last time I was at the garden store. I put it around one of the coneflowers that was being attacked, and now I finally have nice new leaves that are not all chewed to lace. I have to get some kind of hand duster to spread the Diatomaceous earth around the yard. I cut my old peony blooms off tonight and earwigs just swarmed out of them...yuck!

Geez,I thought earwigs only lived in houses! We had them occasionally in Fla.,but never outside. Phil

They haven't made their way into my house yet this year. Made sure to go around the foundation with the ortho home max. They love my shady yard, and hide out in all kinds of places like the mailbox and keypad for our garage opener.

I have a severe problem with earwigs destroying the new growth and flowers on my Clematis. (I have more than fifty Clematis)

I had no luck with traps, newspaper or otherwise.

Sluggo Plus is working for me and regular Sluggo which I have used for years for slugs did not.

SO bizarre..but i swear this is true...

Just this week i took the copper tops off of my fence posts to reglue them and earwigs by the bazillions came out! i wanted to puke!

lol @ the fact that we both found them in the same place! WEIRD.

That is so funny! They too make me want to puke! Tonight I was dividing some of my minis for my mom. I had two pots full of soil I was using to pot up the hostas. I poured the soil out and it was more earwigs than it was soil. It was a good thing that didn't happen Friday morning when I was feeling the effects of Thursday night's beer and the bad decision to eat fried cheese (I do live in Wisconsin). I would have lost it completely!

LOL, Jen!

Did you find a cheaper product than Sluggo Plus?

I can't believe they mixed such a toxic substance with the iron Phosphate. So while Sluggo is safe to use around kids and pets and wildlife, Sluggo Plus is not! I will live with the cutworms and earwigs. I give in occasionally to a toxic substance, but I don't want to use it on a regular basis.

Yes, I found something cheaper than Sluggo Plus in the organic section. It was Monterey Pest Control or something like that.

I don't believe spinosad is that toxic. It is an organic chemical and you can use it on pets to control fleas.

@yardmom: Pets are safe with Spinosad, which is naturally occurring. Please see the Wikipedia article, which is at least straight forward.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wikipedia on Spinosad.

Spinosad is approved for use on organically grown plants. It works wonders on peppers and citrus. My lime bush has leaf minors that nothing else will touch.

Read the Wikipedia that ceh2101 linked to above.

-Babka

Spinosad is an 'organic' insecticide from bacteria. That being said, nicotine is produced by plants and it is one of the most deadly toxins, and so on. But spinosad seems to be pretty safe. It will affect bees if put on the plant (the flowers), but used as bait it should be OK. It's worst if sprayed onto bees, and questionable if they just land and take some nectar and pollen on a plant it was used on. I think it's funny someone posted it to be such a harmful chemical, without knowing anything about it. Dihydrogen Monoxide is one of the most harmful chemicals! It kills more people than most other chemicals combined!