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Earwigs, also known as pincher bugs, are small, long, and shiny creatures that thrive in damp areas. While they’re not dangerous to people (aside from a pinch or two), they can damage gardens in large numbers. They can also enter homes, especially during dry, cold, or rainy weather, often ending up in bathrooms, laundry rooms, basements, and crawlspaces.
Earwigs in Houses & Why They Love the Great Indoors
Earwigs are common all over New Jersey; pull up any garden stone or mulch pile, and you’ll probably find some creepy crawlers going about their business underneath. But while they thrive in soil, vegetation, and foliage, they don’t always stay outside where they belong. Homeowners often find earwigs in houses during certain weather conditions, times of year, and seasonal changes.
Earwigs are distantly related to grasshoppers and roaches, but their attraction to moisture makes them also similar to pill bugs. They thrive in damp environments and might enter homes when it’s hot or arid outside; they prefer moisture-prone rooms, such as laundry rooms, basements, and bathrooms. They may also enter homes during cold weather or heavy rains; anything that impacts their ability to survive outdoors, such as flooding, drives them indoors.
Earwigs go indoors for other reasons, too. These pests may enter seeking hiding places or dark crevices that shield them from predation. They find themselves accidentally inside as well, brought in with firewood, newspapers, outdoor furniture, or potted plants.
Indoors, they might be small nuisances or big issues, depending on numbers. It’s not uncommon to see one or two earwigs crawling along a shower floor or (rarely) flying near a window. More significant sightings indicate a bigger pickle. Properties surrounded by dense vegetation, wood, damp organic material, leaf litter, mulch, and clutter are more likely to have problematic indoor infestations; these homes have more earwigs outside, giving them more opportunities to end up inside.
What are Earwigs, Anyway?
Earwigs are tiny, long, brownish-black, and shiny insects colloquially called “pincher bugs” because of their distinctive, pincher-like appendages (cerci). They have long antennae and six legs.
Although they can pinch, and will if they feel threatened, earwigs aren’t generally harmful to people (even when they do pinch, it’s only minimally painful). They don’t inject venom or spread diseases and earwigs in houses don’t destroy homes either, making them much less costly than other pests (such as mice, rats, and termites).
While these creatures don’t have an appetite for destruction, they do have one for everything else; earwigs are omnivores. They eat whatever they can find, including fungus, living plants, decaying plant material, and small insects. This is why they prefer gardens, as those lush landscapes offer a variety of food options in one place.
Earwigs are mostly nocturnal, which means you won’t always see them even if they’re present. They become active at night but spend their days hiding out of sight in crevices, underneath things, and in out-of-the-way nooks.
Some earwigs can fly, but it’s rare to see. They have complicated wings that fold in mathematically improbable ways, confusing even those who excel at geometry. They’re also attentive mothers; female earwigs guard and clean their eggs, and they protect their young after they hatch. While maternal instincts are rare in the insect world, earwigs aren’t alone in their parenting prowess; strepsiptera, small parasitic insects, are eaten from the inside out by their young (talk about sacrifice!). Despite the myth, earwigs don’t burrow into people’s ears intentionally; although they may accidentally enter an ear canal, they don’t set out to wander through earwax.
Earwigs have been around for 200 million years, predating humans by hundreds of thousands of years.
Signs of an Earwig Infestation
As mentioned above, earwig infestations aren’t always obvious, partly because of their nocturnal ways. Unless you are also a night owl, they may infest right under your snoring nose. Even so, there are signs pointing to earwigs in houses.
Frequent sightings are a strong clue, as spotting a single or a couple of earwigs from time to time is pretty normal; seeing several multiple times a day is not. Damage to houseplants is another clue, though it may be subtle; earwigs often leave irregular holes or ragged edges on leaves. You might also spot dead earwigs or discarded shells on the floor of your bathroom, garage, crawlspace, laundry room, or basement.
If you suspect an infestation, check the damp areas of your home, including around floor drains. Look underneath various objects, including houseplants, boxes, doormats, cabinets, and appliances. If you truly want to catch them in the act, stay up after dark and check their go-to rooms for any insect activity.
