Question: There are lots of earwigs in my garden this year. I’ve even found some in my peach tree and in my potted plants. How can I get rid of them?

Answer: Late summer is the time of year when you’re most likely to notice lots of earwigs, although they can be a pest at any time of the year. Earwigs haven’t always been part of the Utah garden scene. They first arrived in Utah from Europe about 100 years ago and now they are common pests in our yards and gardens. When their population is low, they aren’t much of a problem, but when conditions in your garden are favorable there can be so many of them that you’ll see damage on your plants. Earwigs have a varied diet. They can be beneficial because they’ll eat decaying plant material, other insects and fungi. But they’re also fond of ripe fruit, leaves, flowers and other plant parts. Earwigs also go inside buildings, making a nuisance of themselves.

Earwigs are most active at night and thrive wherever there is enough shelter for them during the daylight hours, like under debris, stones, pots and between pavers — think dark, moist and not too roomy. They also benefit from plenty of moisture and humidity in the landscape, so frequent watering, plant debris and clutter that holds moisture against the soil can make your landscape perfect for earwigs. Because of this, the two most important things you can do for earwig control are to reduce moisture and eliminate shelter. Sometimes, that is all you need to do to control the problem. Other control methods won’t be very effective if you haven’t dealt with moisture and shelter first.

Moisture

Take an objective look around your landscape. You can probably water less often by watering a little more deeply. This will give things more time to dry out between waterings and make your garden less hospitable. Elevate pots and planters just a bit to let water drain away more quickly and make sure you empty out any saucers under your pots after you water.

Shelter

Grass that grows against the trunk of your peach tree will provide both humidity and shelter for earwigs. Do any of your shrubs or perennials have branches or leaves that lay against the ground? Earwigs could shelter there, and a little light pruning or cleanup could make a difference.

Once you’ve made your yard and garden less earwig-friendly, you can try some easy traps to keep things under control. Earwigs will shelter in short rolls of corrugated cardboard tied to trees. You can collect these during the day and dispose of them. They can also be lured into small containers like tuna cans or shallow cottage cheese cartons that have been baited with oil and something smelly like tuna drippings, bacon grease or a dab of wet pet food. Put a few holes in the lid and cover the container to keep out cats and dogs. Once the earwigs get into the oil, they won’t get back out. Place the containers in the areas where you’ve been finding earwigs and empty or replace the traps every few days.

Q: My green bean plants look great and the there’s lots of blossoms, but the blossoms keep dropping off without making beans. What can I do?

A: Green bean blossoms tend to drop whenever we have hot, dry weather like we’ve had this summer. Be patient. It’s cooled off a little now, and you should start seeing things improve in the bean patch.

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