Well before the time of central heat and air, grandmas and malicious storytellers everywhere spread cautionary tales about the Ohrwurm, or in English, the earwig to encourage children to keep doors and windows closed. The myth was that earwigs could crawl into your ears and use their long, scary-looking pincers to tunnel into your brain.
As gruesome and admittedly fascinating as that tale is, the truth is that earwigs aren’t at all interested in burrowing into your head, nor would they be capable of it. Read on to learn the answers to the rest of your earwig questions, including whether they’re dangerous, how they get in, and how to eliminate them.
First and foremost, there are several bugs that look like earwigs. The silverfish and firebrat are two types of insects that most closely resemble earwigs, and while they’re also pretty harmless, they can do damage to personal property, unlike an earwig. Learning to tell apart bugs that look like earwigs from earwigs is probably the first step to determining if you have a problem.
Are Earwigs Dangerous?
Are you a wet leaf or vegetable? If not, then you’re safe from earwigs. Not only is an earwig bite unlikely, but they also aren’t known to spread any pathogens to humans. In fact, an earwig bite technically isn’t possible. If picked up, they may use their strong forceps to pinch, but they won’t bite or puncture the skin, as they don’t have biting mouthparts.
Regardless, earwigs are creepy and gross, so earwig control may be necessary if you’re seeing a lot of them in your home. Rest assured, they probably don’t want to be in your home any more than you want them in there. As accidental invaders, they likely wandered in out of desperation or unintentionally.
How Did An Earwig Get In Your Bed?
Remember that earwigs don’t do well indoors and likely don’t come inside on purpose. If you are unlucky enough to find an earwig in your bed, the most likely explanation is that you brought them there one way or another. These insects thrive in dark, humid conditions. The inside of a gym bag or shoe may have even been the vector through which the earwig came into your room and onto your bed.
What Attracts Earwigs Into Your House?
As previously mentioned, earwigs are often accidental hitchhikers. For the most part, earwigs prefer moist, rotting wood and other vegetation. If they come indoors on their own, it could be that it is too hot or too dry outside, and conditions are more suitable indoors. If conditions aren’t right, they may come inside seeking moisture and a regulated temperature.
As earwigs typically lay 20-80 eggs at a time and in a moist location, you don’t want them deciding that your home is the prime location to live out their earwig lifecycle. While the earwig lifecycle is short, it’s not nearly short enough that you’ll want to let them grow to maturity inside your home.
How Do You Kill Earwigs? – Insect IQ Inc.
Earwig control in Modesto starts with managing the moisture levels in your home, but if you have an ongoing earwig problem, you may need to call a pest control professional like Insect IQ to help you figure out how they’re getting inside. The best earwig repellent is a secure home exterior that won’t accidentally let them indoors. Rather than spraying any mixture of things from your spice cabinet around your home, call Insect IQ Inc., the top-of-line earwig repellent expert, to help you fortify your home against these pests.
