Fleemo said:

If you had had a sprayer of soapy water with you, you could have fought
back very effectively. Earwigs are *extremely* vulnerable to soapy water.
You just need to score a direct hit.

Really, spraying them with a soap solution will kill them? Seems too
good to be true, but worth a shot nonetheless.

Yup, kills them dead, dead, DEAD -- as long as you score a direct hit.

So what, a couple spritzes of dish soap in a spray bottle, shake it up
and spray?

It should be real soap rather than a detergent. It would be safest to use a
commercial brand of insecticidal soap. Safest for your plants -- soap can be
phytotoxic -- and is, perhaps, best rinsed off an hour or so after having been
sprayed. (By then the insects will be dead.)

I've had excellent results with Murphy's Oil Soap. I think the proper mix
is about 5 tablespoons per gallon of water. (Please note: soap is far less
effective if your water is very hard.)
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)