Earwig eggs are small, oval, pearly-white or cream-colored eggs laid in clusters of 30 to 60 in shallow nests dug into the soil. If you’ve turned over a rock or pulled up a plant and spotted a tight cluster of tiny pale eggs with an adult earwig standing guard, you’re almost certainly looking at an earwig nest. Here’s how to identify them confidently and what to do about them.
What Earwig Eggs Look Like
Each egg is oval and roughly the size of a pinhead. Freshly laid eggs are pearly white or cream-colored with a smooth, slightly translucent surface. As they develop, they may darken slightly and swell before hatching. They’re always found in tight clusters rather than scattered individually, which is one of the easiest ways to recognize them.
When the eggs hatch, the nymphs that emerge are small, light brown, and look like miniature versions of adult earwigs, though without fully developed pincers. They stay in the nest with their mother until after their first molt, so finding a cluster of tiny pale insects huddled together in the soil is another sign you’ve found an earwig nest.
Where Females Build Their Nests
Female earwigs dig small cells in the ground during fall and winter. These nests are typically just below the soil surface, often under rocks, boards, dense groundcover, or loose clods of dirt. Any spot that’s dark, moist, and sheltered is a candidate. Mulch beds, leaf litter, the undersides of potted plants, and cracks in garden soil are all common locations.
A first clutch averages 30 to 60 eggs. If food and conditions are good, a female may lay a second clutch in spring, though this one contains roughly half as many eggs as the first. This means a single female can produce anywhere from 30 to 90 eggs in a season.
How Long Earwig Eggs Take to Hatch
Timing depends heavily on temperature. Eggs laid in fall or early winter, when the soil is cold, take a long time to develop. Field studies in British Columbia found the winter egg stage averaged about 73 days, with a range of 56 to 85 days. That’s two to nearly three months of incubation during the coldest part of the year.
The second clutch, laid in spring when soil temperatures are warmer, develops much faster. Those eggs hatch in roughly 20 days. This explains why earwig populations can seem to surge in late spring and early summer: two rounds of offspring emerging within a few weeks of each other.
Maternal Care Is Unusual for Insects
One of the most distinctive things about earwigs is that the mother actively tends her eggs. She stays in the nest, regularly cleaning the eggs to prevent mold growth and turning them to ensure even development. After hatching, the nymphs remain in the nest under her protection, and she feeds them until they’re old enough to forage on their own. Second-stage nymphs start venturing out at night but still return to the nest during the day.
This level of parental care is rare among insects and is worth knowing for practical reasons: if you find a cluster of eggs, there’s almost always an adult female nearby. Disturbing the nest usually means the female will abandon it, and unattended eggs are far less likely to survive.
Earwig Eggs vs. Slug and Snail Eggs
Several common garden pests lay eggs in soil, and the clusters can look similar at first glance. Here’s how to tell them apart:
- Earwig eggs: Oval, pearly white or cream, laid in clusters of 30 to 60 in a small underground cell. An adult earwig is usually present.
- Slug eggs: Clear or slightly translucent, oval to round, laid in smaller batches of 3 to 40 under leaves or in soil cracks. No parent present.
- Snail eggs: Spherical, pearly white, laid in larger batches averaging around 80 eggs in a soil hole. Larger than earwig eggs and perfectly round rather than oval.
The easiest distinguishing features are shape (earwig eggs are oval, snail eggs are round), transparency (slug eggs are clear, earwig eggs are opaque), and whether an adult is guarding them. If you see a recognizable earwig sitting on or near the cluster, identification is straightforward.
Managing Earwig Nests in Your Garden
Earwigs are not purely destructive. They eat aphids, mites, and other small pests. But in large numbers they can damage seedlings, soft fruit, and flower petals, so finding nests may prompt you to act.
The most effective approach is reducing the sheltered, moist conditions earwigs need to nest. Remove piles of leaves, rubbish, and dense weed growth. Move flowerpots, boards, and garden structures that sit directly on soil. Be cautious with thick mulch layers, which often harbor earwigs and provide ideal nesting sites. Ivy and other dense groundcovers are particularly attractive to nesting females.
If you find a nest while digging or turning soil, simply exposing it to air and light is often enough. Without the protected underground cell and the mother’s constant maintenance, the eggs dry out or develop mold quickly. Turning garden soil in late fall and winter, when most first clutches are laid, can disrupt nests before they hatch. A second round of soil disturbance in early spring targets any second clutches.
Trapping adults is another practical step. Rolled-up newspaper, short lengths of garden hose, or overturned flower pots stuffed with straw all attract earwigs looking for daytime shelter. Check traps each morning and dispose of any earwigs you find. Reducing the adult population in fall directly reduces the number of egg-laying females overwintering in your soil.