Have you ever heard the story of the dreaded earwig? Legend has it that these bugs would wait in the shadows and corners of your room until you fell asleep, taking advantage of the opportunity to slip inside your ear unnoticed. Once inside, these creatures would burrow into the brains of humans and their families and lay their many eggs. It was believed that one day the eggs would hatch all at once, then stream out of your ears in the most frightful manner!
Only A Superstition.
Earwigs are a common Baltimore, MD pest with a very creepy and very misguided PR campaign. These insects are pests that prefer to stay outdoors most of the time, feeding on their favorite substrate of leaf piles, weeds, and other detritus found about the yard. Very few earwigs can survive a Maryland winter outside of a home or warm shelter, which pushes many of them to come indoors during the late fall and early spring months.
Despite the old wives’ tales and bits of folklore you may hear, earwigs do not and cannot climb into the human ear. There are anecdotal reports of some ancient populations noticing or experiencing earwigs in their ear canals, but these were probably stories used to scare young children.
Earwigs are some of the least dangerous pests you could encounter in Baltimore. While they may pinch when threatened or appear to be aggressive when defending territory, earwigs are not capable of breaking the skin. They simply aren’t all that dangerous. But let’s be honest: ‘not dangerous’ does not equal ‘not scary.’ Earwigs are pretty creepy and extremely unsettling! Nobody wants to see them around their residence. Let’s count down the five best ways to keep earwigs out of your Baltimore home for 2021 and beyond.
Foiling Evil Earwig Plots With Five Prevention Steps
If you want to keep earwigs both out of the house and out of your yard, you will likely need to be a little creative. Here are five ways to do just that!
- Clean up the yard. It doesn’t matter if there’s only a small pile of leaves sitting around the house; any amount of yard debris could be attracting large numbers of earwigs. Have these piles of detritus removed immediately, either by doing it yourself or by hiring a landscape technician to help you along the way.
- Reduce the amount of water available inside the home. This will require running some dehumidifiers, as well as hanging up some desiccant bags. To further secure the home, have your pipes checked for leaks and your drains checked for drainage issues.
- Seal up the cracks and gaps that could be lingering around the house. Pay special attention to home foundations, basements, and garages.
- Install weatherproofing around the bases of doors and windows.
- Throw away any clutter that could be giving earwigs a place to hide. Vacuum and sweep often to deter them from finding a meal in your carpets.
Still, concerned that earwigs will make an unwanted appearance in your home? Pest Czar has your back. Call up the monarch of earwig mitigation and schedule a helpful earwig inspection today.
Earwig Elimination: Pest Czar Style
Earwigs are some of those pests that are almost impossible to control by yourself. Don’t put yourself in a position to be frustrated, tired, and at your wit’s end. Our expert team at Pest Czar employs environmentally-friendly methods. Contact Pest Czar today for more advice or assistance related to earwig prevention.