Any New Earwig Advice?
The earwigs are really going to town in my garden already this year.
I just came in from a session of knocking them into a bucket of soapy water, and they are incredibly numerous already. Are there any other techniques I should be trying in conjunction with the soapy water demise? Is diatomaceous earth effective against these guys? Any effective organic pesticides? Thanks |
Any New Earwig Advice?
Fleemo wrote in message om... The earwigs are really going to town in my garden already this year. I just came in from a session of knocking them into a bucket of soapy water, and they are incredibly numerous already. Are there any other techniques I should be trying in conjunction with the soapy water demise? Is diatomaceous earth effective against these guys? Any effective organic pesticides? Thanks Best thing for these things is good old chemical sprays and Rotenone dust. Apply around and on everything close to your garden. Now the little things do like to hid up in things during daylight which is why I place stacks of clay pots and pieces of plastic pipe around and every couple of days I shake them out into a bucket and spray them. |
Any New Earwig Advice?
Are there any other
techniques I should be trying in conjunction with the soapy water demise? Is diatomaceous earth effective against these guys? Any effective organic pesticides? Check this article: http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopE...s/earwigs1.htm sed5555 |
Any New Earwig Advice?
"Fleemo" wrote in message om... The earwigs are really going to town in my garden already this year. I just came in from a session of knocking them into a bucket of soapy water, and they are incredibly numerous already. Are there any other techniques I should be trying in conjunction with the soapy water demise? Is diatomaceous earth effective against these guys? Any effective organic pesticides? Thanks My mom swears by corrugated cardboard, so I'm going to try it out this year. You cover one end of the cardboard so they can go in but don't have an exit. Apparently they can't back out and don't have room to turn around in there. Leslie |
Any New Earwig Advice?
Trap earwigs by filling a flowerpot with crumpled paper. Invert it in the garden propped up with a stick. Earwigs will crawl into the paper during the day to hide, at which point they can be destroyed.
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Any New Earwig Advice?
Thanks to everyone for their input. I do appreciate it.
Last year I tried several different trapping techniques, from the corregated cardboard to the section of tubing to the oil-filled tuna cans. I think the earwigs have been reading this newsgroup, cuz they knew better than to fall for any of those tricks. I may have snagged one or two at most. So far, nocturnal trips around the garden knocking the pesky pests into a pail of soapy water has been the only technique that's worked for this exasperated gardener. But perhaps trapping is worth another shot. Thanks. :) -F |
Any New Earwig Advice?
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Any New Earwig Advice?
Salty Thumb expounded:
I once took a snooze on the patio, woke up, shoke my head and about 20 earwigs came flying out. Aurgh! Shades of Night Gallery! -- Ann, Gardening in zone 6a Just south of Boston, MA ******************************** |
Any New Earwig Advice?
Do you have a moisture problem or something?
Not that I'm aware of. I have been having sprinkler problems lately, and in attempts to fix it, have had the sprinkler on more than usual. Maybe they're thriving because of that. Last night was the worst! My garden is infested! They were munching on my Stella Del Oro daylily blooms by the dozen! I had some dahlia seedlings on my potting bench and they nibbled them to NOTHING. My black eyed susans are swiss cheese. I'm an organic gardener, but I'm tellin' ya, if this keeps up, I'll have no choice to break out the big (read posionous) guns. :{ -F |
Any New Earwig Advice?
Fleemo said:
Last night was the worst! My garden is infested! They were munching on my Stella Del Oro daylily blooms by the dozen! I had some dahlia seedlings on my potting bench and they nibbled them to NOTHING. My black eyed susans are swiss cheese. 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. Spray them while they are feeding at night. Then spray their hiding places during the day. (Bark crevices, cracks where boards meet, wood piles, wood chips -- the places they explode out of when disturbed during the day.) There is a certain satisfaction watching the earwigs die... -- Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast) Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced. (attributed to Don Marti) |
Any New Earwig Advice?
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. Spray them while they are feeding at night. Then spray their hiding places during the day. (Bark crevices, cracks where boards meet, wood piles, wood chips -- the places they explode out of when disturbed during the day.) Really, spraying them with a soap solution will kill them? Seems too good to be true, but worth a shot nonetheless. :) So what, a couple spritzes of dish soap in a spray bottle, shake it up and spray? |
Any New Earwig Advice?
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) |
Any New Earwig Advice?
Ah, Pat, I could smooch ya! I took your advice and went out and
bought me some commercial insecticidal soap. I came home and went on the prowl for earwigs. Amazing how few there seem to be during the day! But I found some and tested the spray on 'em. Sure enough, a spritz or two on the buggers and within a few moments they were dead as door nails. (What's a door nail anyway?) Tonight, I'll hit the garden armed with a bottle of earwig death! Die you devils, die! Thanks so much for your excellent advice. -Fleemo |
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