On 2003-06-26 09:34:27 -0700, "Bill Litchfield" said:

Earwigs have been chewing the living hell out of my Basil plants. They do
this at night, and I'm asleep while they're chomping. What can be done to
stop their nasty feeding? I garden Organically, so chemical pesticides are
out. Anybody??

Thanks,
Bill

I had a terrible earwig problem in my organic garden, too. I tried the
rolled-up newspapers, diatomaceous earth, etc. and nothing worked (I
didn't try the floating row cover). I've been using yogurt container
traps and they work great! I now use watered-down beer instead of oil,
just because it's easier to dispose of (I just pour it out on the
ground). Here's what I do:

1. Dig a hole large enough to set the yogurt container flush with the
ground. I put one-two traps per row, depending on how bad the basil was
being eaten, usually somewhere in the middle of the row.

2. Fill it halfway with cheap beer, then fill to about 1/4 inch below
the rim with water. The water is just to save money - you could use
beer only. I use the cheapest beer I can find.

3. Empty, rinse and refill the traps every three to seven days. If it's
been hot, I replace them more often because the beer evaporates
quicker. I caught a bunch of earwigs the first couple weeks, and now
the problem is under control enough that I've removed about half the
traps. You might catch some slugs, too, but that's not a bad thing.

Good luck!