What Do Earwigs Hate

If you’ve noticed small, dark insects with pincers on their back end scuttling around your garden or, worse, your home, you’re likely dealing with earwigs. These nocturnal pests can damage seedlings and soft fruits, making them a nuisance for any gardener. Naturally, you want to know what do earwigs hate so you can send them packing without resorting to harsh chemicals.

This guide will walk you through the natural repellents and strategies that earwigs truly despise. By understanding what drives them away, you can create a garden environment that’s far less inviting to them. The best part is, most of these solutions use simple, everyday items you probably already have.

Earwigs are attracted to damp, dark, and cluttered spaces. They love moist soil, decaying plant matter, and hiding under pots or mulch during the day. To repel them, you need to focus on creating the opposite conditions. They hate dry, open, and clean areas. They also have a strong aversion to certain smells and textures. By targeting these dislikes, you can effectively manage their population.

Creating an Unfriendly Environment

The first line of defense is to make your garden less of a paradise for earwigs. This involves simple changes to your gardening habits.

Reduce Moisture: Earwigs need dampness to thrive. Fix leaky faucets and ensure downspouts direct water away from your foundation. Water your garden in the morning so the soil surface has time to dry by evening, when earwigs become active.
Clear Debris: Remove their hiding spots. Regularly clean up leaf litter, grass clippings, old boards, and piles of firewood near your home. Keep the area around your garden beds tidy.
Manage Mulch: While mulch is great for plants, it’s a perfect earwig hotel. If you have an infestation, pull mulch back 6-10 inches from plant stems to create a dry barrier. Consider using a drier mulch like cedar, which they dislike.
Prune for Airflow: Trim low-hanging branches and dense foliage to let in more sunlight and air. This reduces the cool, damp conditions earwigs seek.

Natural Repellents They Can’t Stand

Certain natural substances act as powerful deterrents due to their smell or abrasive texture. Here’s how to use them.

Diatomaceous Earth (DE)

This fine powder, made from fossilized algae, is a gardener’s best friend against soft-bodied insects. DE feels like tiny shards of glass to earwigs, damaging their exoskeleton and causing them to dehydrate. It’s completely natural and non-toxic to pets and people when using food-grade DE.

Wear a dust mask to avoid inhalation.
Lightly dust a dry, thin layer around the base of plants, along garden borders, and near potential entry points to your home.
Reapply after rain or heavy dew, as it loses effectiveness when wet.

Strong-Scented Oils and Herbs

Earwigs rely heavily on their antennae to navigate. Overpowering scents confuse and repel them.

Essential Oil Spray: Mix 10-15 drops of peppermint, lavender, citronella, or tea tree oil with a teaspoon of mild liquid soap and a quart of water in a spray bottle. Shake well and spray around doorways, window sills, and garden perimeters. Reapply every few days and after rain.
Herbal Barriers: Plant strong-smelling herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage, and mint around the edges of your garden. While not a foolproof barrier, they can help deter earwigs from crossing into your prized veggie patch.

Rubbing Alcohol Spray

A direct-contact repellent and insecticide, this solution works on contact.

Mix equal parts 70% isopropyl alcohol and water in a spray bottle.
Test on a small part of a plant first to check for damage.
Spray directly on earwigs you see, or on plants they are attacking in the evening. Avoid spraying in full sun to prevent leaf burn.

Trapping and Removing Them

Sometimes, the best way to use what earwigs hate is to exploit what they love—and then trap them. These methods are highly effective for reducing local populations.

The Classic Oil Trap

Earwigs are drawn to the smell of oil, but they drown in it. This is a simple, passive trap.

Take a small, shallow container like a tuna can or plastic cup.
Fill it halfway with a cheap cooking oil (soybean or vegetable oil works). A drop of bacon grease or fish oil makes it even more irresistible.
Bury the container near affected plants so the rim is level with the soil.
Check and empty the trap daily.

The Damp Newspaper Roll

This method uses their love for dark, damp hiding spots against them.

Lightly dampen a section of newspaper.
Roll it up loosely and secure it with a rubber band or string.
Place the rolls in your garden beds in the evening.
In the morning, carefully pick up the rolls and either shake the trapped earwigs into a bucket of soapy water or dispose of the entire roll in a sealed bag.

Corrugated Cardboard Trap

Similar to the newspaper trick, the ridges in cardboard provide perfect hiding slots.

Cut a small piece of corrugated cardboard.
Moisten it slightly and place it near plants overnight.
In the morning, shake out the earwigs into soapy water.

Physical Barriers for Protection

For prized plants or to keep earwigs from entering your home, creating a physical block is a smart strategy.

Copper Tape: Earwigs dislike crossing copper. Apply adhesive copper tape around the rims of pots, raised beds, or even on the legs of greenhouse benches. It creates a mild electrical charge that deters them.
Petroleum Jelly: Smear a thick band of petroleum jelly around the stems of young, vulnerable plants. The sticky texture is very effective at stopping earwigs from climbing up.
Seal Entry Points: Check your home’s foundation, windows, and doors for cracks or gaps. Seal them with caulk or weather stripping to prevent earwigs from coming inside seeking moisture.

Encouraging Natural Predators

One of the best long-term strategies is to welcome creatures that see earwigs as a tasty snack. This creates a balanced ecosystem in your garden.

Birds: Install bird feeders, bird baths, and bird houses to attract insect-eating birds like robins, starlings, and chickadees.
Toads and Frogs: A toad is a pest-eating machine. Create a simple toad abode by turning a small clay pot on its side in a shady, damp spot.
Beneficial Insects: While some insects eat plants, others eat pests. Ground beetles and centipedes are natural predators of earwigs. Avoid broad-spectrum pesticides that would harm these helpful allies.

FAQ Section

What smell do earwigs hate the most?

Earwigs have a strong dislike for pungent essential oils. Peppermint, citrus (like lemon or orange oil), lavender, and citronella are among the most effective scents for repelling them. A diluted spray of these oils around your garden can create a scent barrier they’ll avoid.

Does vinegar keep earwigs away?

Yes, vinegar can act as a repellent due to its strong acetic acid smell. A 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water can be sprayed around areas where you see earwig activity. However, be cautious when spraying directly on soil or plants, as vinegar can lower soil pH and potentially harm some plant roots. It’s often better used on non-plant surfaces like patios or foundations.

What is a natural earwig killer?

Diatomaceous earth (food-grade) is one of the best natural substances that kills earwigs. It works mechanically, not chemically, by dehydrating them. Soapy water is also a effective natural killer; a few drops of dish soap in a spray bottle of water will suffocate earwigs on contact when sprayed directly.

How do I get rid of earwigs permanently?

Complete permanence is hard to achieve, as earwigs are a part of the outdoor environment. The key is consistent, integrated management. Combine habitat modification (reducing moisture and hiding spots), regular trapping (like oil or newspaper traps), and the use of natural barriers (like DE or copper tape). By making your garden less hospitable year-round, you can keep their numbers to an insignificant level.

Managing earwigs naturally requires a bit of patience and persistence, but it is entirely possible. Start by removing their ideal living conditions—clean up, dry out, and open up your garden space. Then, incorporate a few repellents or traps that target their specific dislikes. Remember, a few earwigs in the garden aren’t a crisis; they even eat some other pests and decaying matter. It’s only when their population booms that action is needed. By using these natural strategies, you can protect your plants and enjoy a healthier, more balanced garden.