Earwigs enter homes when outdoor conditions become too dry, too hot, or too cold, and they’re drawn to moisture, shelter, and light near your foundation. The good news: they eventually die indoors because there’s almost nothing for them to eat inside a house. The real fix is making your home unappealing and hard to enter in the first place.
Why Earwigs Come Inside
Earwigs are moisture-loving insects. In dry or extreme climates, they depend on irrigated gardens, mulch, and ground cover to survive. When those outdoor hiding spots dry out or temperatures swing, earwigs move toward the nearest reliable source of dampness and shelter, which is often your house. They’re also attracted to exterior lighting at night, which brings them close enough to find gaps in doors and foundations.
Once inside, earwigs don’t establish colonies or breed the way cockroaches or ants do. They’re looking for moisture, not a permanent home. But a few earwigs slipping in through cracks can quickly feel like an infestation if conditions keep drawing them to your walls.
Create a Dry Perimeter Around Your Foundation
The single most effective thing you can do is eliminate moisture and hiding spots within a buffer zone around your house. Pull mulch and soil back at least 12 to 18 inches from your foundation. Remove ivy growing up exterior walls, ground cover plants touching the structure, bark mulch piled against the house, leaf litter, woodpiles, stacked newspapers, and any other organic debris.
Water management matters just as much. Repair leaking drain spouts and make sure the ground around your home is graded so rainwater flows away from the foundation rather than pooling against it. Clean out gutters regularly, since soggy, decomposing leaves in a gutter are exactly the kind of harborage earwigs love. If you have a crawl space, make sure it’s ventilated to keep humidity down.
Firewood is a classic earwig magnet. Store it well away from the house, elevated off the ground if possible, and never stacked directly against an exterior wall.
Seal Entry Points
Earwigs can squeeze through remarkably small gaps. Even a crack of 1/16 inch under a door is enough for insects to get through. A few targeted fixes will close off most of the routes they use.
- Doors: Install door sweeps or thresholds on every exterior door. Lie on the floor and look for daylight filtering underneath, paying special attention to the bottom corners. Apply caulk along the outside bottom edge and sides of the threshold. For garage doors, use a rubber bottom seal (vinyl cracks in cold weather). Sliding glass doors can be sealed by lining the bottom track with half-inch to three-quarter-inch foam weatherstripping.
- Utility openings: Seal gaps where pipes, wires, outdoor faucets, gas meters, dryer vents, and cable lines enter the foundation or siding. Use caulk, cement, expandable foam, or copper mesh depending on the size of the hole.
- Windows and screens: Add weatherstripping around windows and doors, and make sure all window screens fit tightly with no tears or gaps along the edges.
- Vents: Cover attic, roof, and crawl space vents with quarter-inch wire mesh (hardware cloth) to block entry without restricting airflow.
- Foundation cracks: Inspect your foundation for cracks and seal them with appropriate filler. Even hairline cracks in older concrete can serve as highways for small insects.
Switch Your Outdoor Lighting
Standard white outdoor lights are highly attractive to earwigs and dozens of other insects. Replacing exterior bulbs with yellow or sodium vapor bulbs significantly reduces the number of earwigs congregating near your doors and windows at night. This alone won’t solve a serious problem, but it removes one of the main reasons earwigs end up on your walls close enough to find a way in.
Use Outdoor Traps to Reduce Numbers
If your yard has a large earwig population, trapping can make a noticeable dent before they ever reach your house. A simple and effective trap uses a small container (a sour cream, cottage cheese, or margarine tub works well) buried in the ground so the rim sits nearly level with the soil surface. Pour a small amount of strong-smelling oil into the bottom: fish oil or bacon grease both work. Cut a small hole in the lid for earwigs to enter. Check and empty the traps every few days, dumping the contents into a sealed bag.
Diatomaceous earth is another non-chemical option. It works by damaging the thin waxy coating on an insect’s body, causing it to dehydrate. Sprinkle it around the base of plants earwigs are feeding on and along the perimeter of garden beds. The key limitation is that diatomaceous earth becomes ineffective the moment it gets wet, so you’ll need to reapply after rain or irrigation.
Reduce Indoor Moisture
Even with good exterior defenses, a damp basement or bathroom gives the few earwigs that sneak in a reason to linger. Fix leaking pipes and faucets promptly. Run a dehumidifier in basements, crawl spaces, or any room that stays persistently humid. Check under sinks and around pipes for standing moisture, and dry out any damp spots you find.
If you spot earwigs indoors, a vacuum is the fastest solution. Clear them from corners, cracks, and baseboards, then dispose of the vacuum bag immediately so they don’t crawl back out. There’s no need for indoor insecticides in most cases since earwigs can’t sustain themselves inside and will die on their own once moisture and entry points are addressed.
Perimeter Insecticide Treatments
When physical barriers and moisture control aren’t enough, a perimeter insecticide application can add another layer of protection. Products containing synthetic compounds designed for outdoor perimeter use are applied as a band of treated soil and vegetation up to seven feet wide around the base of the house, plus up to two feet up the foundation wall. These treatments work best on permeable surfaces like soil, mulch, and lawn rather than concrete or asphalt.
A few things to keep in mind if you go this route. These products are toxic to fish and aquatic life, so they should never be applied where runoff could reach storm drains, ditches, or waterways. Treated areas on non-porous surfaces need to be protected from rain and sprinkler spray. Anyone applying the product should wear long sleeves, long pants, chemical-resistant gloves, and closed shoes. For most homeowners, it’s simpler and safer to hire a licensed pest control professional for perimeter spraying rather than handling concentrated products yourself.
Check What You Bring Inside
Earwigs are hitchhikers. They hide in folded newspapers, potted plants, bundles of firewood, boxes stored in the garage, and bags of garden produce. Give these items a quick shake or inspection before carrying them through the door. This is especially worth doing in late spring and summer when earwig populations peak outdoors and the insects are most active at night.