A simple mix of dish soap and water is the most effective homemade earwig killer spray, and you probably have everything you need in your kitchen right now. At a ratio of 1 to 2 teaspoons of dish soap per pint of water, this solution breaks down the earwig’s protective waxy coating and suffocates it within seconds of contact. A few other household ingredients work well too, depending on whether you’re spraying earwigs directly or protecting garden plants.
Dish Soap Spray
This is the go-to option for most people. Mix 1 to 2 teaspoons of liquid dish soap into 1 pint (16 ounces) of water in a spray bottle. That gives you a 1 to 2% soap solution, which is the concentration recommended by university extension programs for insecticidal soap use.
The soap works in two ways. First, it dissolves the waxy cuticle that covers the earwig’s body, essentially stripping away its waterproof armor. Second, it disrupts the surface tension of water, allowing liquid to flood the tiny breathing holes (called spiracles) along the insect’s sides. The earwig effectively drowns. You need to hit the earwig directly with the spray for it to work. It won’t kill earwigs that walk across a dried residue later.
Use plain liquid dish soap, not dry dish soap or laundry detergent. Those are too harsh and will damage plants. Even regular dish soap can burn leaves on sensitive plants, so if you’re spraying in the garden, test a small section first and wait a couple of days to check for browning. You can reduce the risk by rinsing or wiping the leaves a couple hours after application to remove leftover residue.
Rubbing Alcohol Spray
Mix equal parts rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) and water in a spray bottle. This produces a fast knockdown: the alcohol penetrates the earwig’s waxy shell on contact and kills it quickly. It’s a good choice when you spot earwigs indoors, around door frames, or on hard surfaces where you don’t need to worry about plant damage.
Avoid spraying this mixture on garden plants. Alcohol is far more likely to burn foliage than soap, and the 50/50 concentration is strong. Reserve it for direct kills on surfaces, cracks, and crevices.
Neem Oil Spray
Neem oil works as a smothering agent, coating and suffocating earwigs on contact. It’s a better fit for garden use than rubbing alcohol because it’s gentler on plants, though it still requires direct contact with the pest to work. You’re only killing the earwigs you actually hit.
Mix neem oil with water following the ratio on the bottle (concentrations vary by brand), add a few drops of dish soap to help it emulsify, and spray it directly on earwigs or on plant surfaces where you see them feeding. The main drawback is that neem oil washes off easily with heavy dew or rain, so you’ll need to reapply. Once a week is a reasonable schedule for plants that earwigs are actively feeding on, like zinnias or dahlias.
When and Where to Spray
Earwigs feed most actively at night and spend the day hiding in dark, cool, moist spots: under boards, in dense ground cover, beneath loose soil clods, or inside fruit that’s already been damaged by other pests. If you go out after dark with a flashlight, you’ll catch them in the act and can spray them directly. This is far more effective than spraying during the day and hoping to hit their hiding spots.
Focus your spraying on the areas where you see damage. On seedlings, earwig feeding strips leaves and stems partly or entirely. On older plants, the damage looks like irregular holes chewed through leaves or edges that have been gnawed away. This can look a lot like caterpillar damage, but caterpillars leave behind webbing and droppings that earwigs don’t. On strawberries, earwig damage is easy to confuse with slug damage, but slugs leave slime trails. On corn, earwigs chew the silks and interfere with pollination, leading to patchy kernel development.
Soy Sauce Traps for Ongoing Control
Sprays only kill earwigs you hit directly, so pairing them with a simple bait trap gives you round-the-clock control. Fill a small container (a yogurt cup, tuna tin, or jar) about one-third full of water. Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and pour in just enough vegetable oil to form a thin layer on the surface. The soy sauce attracts the earwigs, and the oil layer traps them so they can’t climb back out.
Bury the container in the soil so the rim sits just slightly above ground level. This keeps dirt from falling in and clogging the trap. Cover it with a larger lid or plant saucer propped up on four small stones, leaving a gap around the edges for earwigs to crawl under. The cover also protects the trap from rain. Leave it in place for a few days, dump the contents into the compost, and refill.
Before You Spray Everything
Earwigs aren’t purely destructive. They’re voracious predators of aphids, insect eggs, and other soft-bodied pests, and in some situations they provide meaningful biological control in a garden. If the damage you’re seeing is minor, or if you have a serious aphid problem, it may be worth tolerating some earwigs rather than eliminating them entirely. Target your spraying where the damage is worst, like around seedlings, soft fruit, and flowers, and leave earwigs alone in areas where they’re doing more good than harm.