Earwigs

What Are Earwigs?

Often called “pincher bugs,” earwigs are small nocturnal insects that mostly live outdoors but occasionally wander inside in search of food, water, and shelter. Their name comes from an old and entirely false myth that they crawl into ears to lay eggs or burrow into the brain. In reality they’re largely harmless to people, though their rear pincers give them an intimidating look. There are over 2,000 species worldwide, with about 22 living in the United States.

What Earwigs Look Like

Earwigs are easy to recognize. Their body has three parts — head, thorax, and abdomen — and some species carry a set of wings between the thorax and abdomen. They have six legs, two antennae, and their signature feature: two pincers called cerci at the tail end, used to grasp prey and defend themselves. Most are reddish-brown and run between three-quarters of an inch and one inch long depending on the species.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

Earwigs usually mate in fall or early winter and lay eggs in spring. What sets them apart is the female’s unusually protective parenting — she carries her eggs until she finds a hidden crevice, deposits 20 to 60 at a time, and even licks each one to ward off fungus. Eggs hatch in about a week into nymphs, which go through four to six molts to reach adulthood. The typical earwig lives about a year from hatching through adulthood.

Habitats and Behavior

Earwigs are semi-social nocturnal creatures that gather in groups and favor moist, humid spots in warmer climates. Outdoors you’ll find them under wet leaves, mulch, or grass clippings. Indoors they’re not especially drawn to homes, but they may slip into damp cracks and crevices near water — most often in kitchens and bathrooms.

What Earwigs Eat

As omnivores, earwigs feed on both other insects and plant matter, eating live prey, dead insects, grass, and flowers. If one makes its way indoors, these opportunistic feeders will go after dry pantry goods like flour, bread, and even cookies.

Do Earwigs Bite or Go in Your Ear?

Despite the legend, ears hold no appeal for earwigs since they lack food, moisture, and humidity. Earwigs don’t truly bite humans, though they can deliver a weak pinch with their pincers that you’re unlikely to even feel. In rare cases a pinch may leave a tiny red mark, but earwigs carry no disease-causing pathogens and aren’t venomous, so any pinch is essentially harmless.

Signs of Earwig Damage and How to Prevent It

Earwigs can be hard on a garden, leaving chewed plant leaves, damaged flower petals, dark holes in fruits and vegetables, and sometimes an unpleasant odor. To keep them out, seal cracks and gaps in your foundation, tidy the garden of rotting leaves and clippings, weather-strip doorways, reduce indoor humidity with fans or a dehumidifier, fix plumbing leaks, and clean gutters. If they get inside, vacuuming and sweeping them up works well — and for a stubborn problem, our participating providers can build a more complete control plan.