Earwigs............................invasion!

[canalbabe]

It's that time of year when all the earwigs on earth appear to move on board my boat.Come dark they appear from their hidey holes to create terror on board. The come the morning there they are fast asleep in some nook or cranny after rifling through your kitchen cupboards all night. Am I the only one???????

 

Has anyone got any good ideas on how to get rid?? Unfortunately I do have plants on the roof so guess they are nesting in those but i am not getting rid of my garden..............need to get rid of wigs...........open to suggestions.

[serenility]

I don't know how to link to it,but if you search on my content you will find athread on this from about june this year.

Hope this helps

[Mac of Cygnet]

It's that time of year when all the earwigs on earth appear to move on board my boat.Come dark they appear from their hidey holes to create terror on board. The come the morning there they are fast asleep in some nook or cranny after rifling through your kitchen cupboards all night. Am I the only one???????

 

Has anyone got any good ideas on how to get rid?? Unfortunately I do have plants on the roof so guess they are nesting in those but i am not getting rid of my garden..............need to get rid of wigs...........open to suggestions.

 

You could try reading Joyce's 'Finnegans Wake' - you might even grow to like them.

 

Alternatively you could look here

 

Good God, that was my 1000th post. My feet are hurting.

Edited September 27, 2011 by Mac of Cygnet

[WotEver]

I misread OP's name as Canibalbabe and was going to suggest she ate them

Edited September 27, 2011 by WotEver

[Tiggers]

I'm not going mad am I, there are definitely more this year, they're everywhere!

[carlt]

Get a hedgehog.

[headjog]

No chance-I'm vegetarian!

 

See Sheriff's thread from around mid July. he must have been sucessful 'cos we haven't heard about them since.

[Max Sinclair]

Spray all the nooks and crannies with RAID. It is most effective and the smell soon evaporates but the insecticide will last for several weeks.. Good hunting.

[carlt]

No chance-I'm vegetarian!

You are unique in the Hedgehog world, then.

 

In 'Ye olden days' hedgehogs were kept as working pets.

 

They spent their days in the woodpile, next to the fire and, in the evenings, had the run of the house, eating up all the undesirable creepy crawlies.

Edited September 27, 2011 by carlt

[Yellowback]

No chance-I'm vegetarian!

 

See Sheriff's thread from around mid July. he must have been sucessful 'cos we haven't heard about them since.

 

 

Or perhaps the earwigs got him..............

[BlueStringPudding]

I find the smell of Raid rather overpowering and can still smell it days later. I might try someone's suggestion of using a flea spray in wooden nooks although the smell might be just as grim.

[Lady Muck]

Or perhaps the earwigs got him..............

He was moored opposite me this morning but he's not there anymore. Do they eat boats as well?

[Guest]

We currently have flies ''' lots of 'em RAID is my current weapon of choice...

[tillergirl]

Put an upturned plant pot stuffed with straw on a cane and stick it the pot of one of the plants - inside or outside the boat. they like the warm of the straw on a cool autumn night - suppose that's why they are coming inside. That method was used by my dad to stop them getting into the flower heads of his crysanths. How you get rid of them is up to you - dad used to chuck em on the fire.

[bizzard]

I remember an Alfred Hitchcock suspense film about someone whilst asleep an Earwig crawled into their ear,gorging on wax on its walk about and went prowling all around the persons brain and caused a terrible nightmare which continued into a daymare,It made its home there and started breeding,the person went biserk and then totally mad. Sorry but that's all i can remember. bizzard.

[Starcoaster]

I always get confused between earwigs and woodlice. Which is this..?

[tillergirl]

HOMEMADE EARWIG SPRAY

• Mix 8oz of distilled water into a small spray bottle.
• Add 2 tbsp of Baking Soda to bottle and shake for 30 seconds.
• Add 1 tbsp of dish soap to the mixture.
• Distilled white vinger (50:50) can also be mixed with water as an alternative.

Spray can be safely used around plants, door frames, and light fixtures but you will want to avoid using the vinegar solution around plants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make your own earwig traps: Stuff damp newspaper into a small tube in the room with highest activity. If you catch a bunch, you'll have a better idea of where they are entering on the outside.

Earwigs are alcoholics. One home remedy suggests the use of half empty beer cans placed midway into the ground for bait - this makes total sense, because earwigs are attracted to fermenting liquids and will readily drown themselves at the opportunity for some beer. Using glue boards or sticky traps in areas with heavy activity will aslo help

If you try any let us know if they work!

[Peter Reed]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forficula_auricularia Earwigs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodlice

Some lovely photos will help ID the little critters.

Edited September 27, 2011 by Peter Reed

[tomsgranny]

I thought it was just us, so glad to hear others have the earwig invasion, they seem to love the front and rear fenders, but seem to come from any nook and cranny, will try the beer traps I think, don't like using RAID.

[WotEver]

I always get confused between earwigs and woodlice. Which is this..?

Earwigs are very dark brown (almost black) with a pair of pincers at the front.

 

Woodlice are pale grey and look a bit like a tiny armadillo.

 

Tony

[steelaway]

Earwigs are very dark brown (almost black) with a pair of pincers at the front.

 

Woodlice are pale grey and look a bit like a tiny armadillo.

 

Tony

 

 

 

Earwigs have the pincers at the back! Antennae at the front. - 'Should have gone to Spec Savers'

 

Alex

 

 

Edited September 28, 2011 by steelaway

[carlt]

I find the smell of Raid rather overpowering and can still smell it days later.

Having rescued a baby hedgehog I can confirm that their smell is pretty overpowering too.

 

The hoglet only copes with slugs, at the moment, finding snails pretty perplexing.

 

He is nowhere near ready for earwigs, yet.

[WotEver]

Earwigs have the pincers at the back! Antennae at the front. - 'Should have gone to Spec Savers'

Oh arr...

[Guest]

Earwigs have the pincers at the back! Antennae at the front. -

 

Alex

 

 

Do they walk backwards I wonder??

[steelaway]

Do they walk backwards I wonder??

 

Do you mean for Christmas ?

 

Oh arr...

 

You did have me confused - I had to look it up

Why do they have pincers at the back?

 

Alex