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

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.

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

"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

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.

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

(Fleemo) wrote in news:79a519dd.0405040947.270b90b4
@posting.google.com:

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

Do you have a moisture problem or something? One year I had a lot of damp
depressions (not enough to be standing water, just perpetually wet) around
the house. Around that time, the earwigs were partying like it was 1999
(and it was 2000-something). Anywhere you'd find an undisturbed crevice,
disturb it, and out would pop several earwigs. Anywhere, you name it,
under stuff on the lawn, in the corners of a couple of metal sawhorses, at
the top of a 10' portable basketball post (no kidding). I once took a
snooze on the patio, woke up, shoke my head and about 20 earwigs came
flying out. (okay, I am kidding about that.) Anyway I filled the
depressions with some topsoil from a store (I suppose this is where 0%
organic matter topsoil is useful) and must have had at least a 95%
reduction in the earwig population. I still see them occasionally, but
they are no longer everywhere.

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
********************************

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

(Fleemo) wrote in news:79a519dd.0405080942.64345c33
@posting.google.com:

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

If your plants can handle it, I would try letting the ground dry out before
watering again. The only other thing I can think of it try removing
anything they might be using for shelter.

See he
http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/en...s/earwigs.html

Excerpt:
LIFE CYCLE:
.... Eggs and young require moisture. Heavy rains are detrimental to both
forms, as are rapid temperature changes.

CONTROL:
.... The effectiveness of chemical treatment may be enhanced by removing
debris sheltering earwigs.

and for Night Gallery fans (?)
INTERESTING FACTS:
.... The name earwig is from a European system error that these insects
entered the ears of a sleeping person and bored into the brain. This belief
is totally beep beep overload





and for Night

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)

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?

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)

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