ottawa foodies

Help! Earwigs are eating my parsley and basil. They don't seem to like the oregano or cilantro. They sure liked the marigolds I planted to keep them away. I have tried insecticidal soap but that doesn't work either. Anyone have any ideas to get rid of them without using left over chemicals around the perimeter of the garden. I heard boric acid works but I'm not 100% convinced this is a safe non toxic alternative.

How were you using the insecticidal soap? Any thick soap will work really - dish soap or laundry soap lightly diluted in water - provided you spray it liberally directly onto them. The soap coats them and they suffocate. You can't just spray an area and get results, it has to be direct.
Traps supposedly work. Simple pitfalls would work; a margarine dish with holes in the lid buried with the lid exposed. Poke holes in the lid, partially fill it with soapy water or vegetable oil, baited with something tasty smelling. They fall in and drown or suffocate. Set a few of those around, clean them every day, this should thin their ranks.

If you can find it (it's popular and sells out fast) Diatomaceous earth or soil is 100% natural and a very effective way to organically kill off earwigs. It sucks the moisture out of the little buggers fast. Only down side is you need to re-apply on a regular basis.

FWIW

Man, I hate earwigs! I tried everything "safe" (soap, traps, diatomaceous earth) and finally resorted to just a wee bit of diazinon. Incredibly effective, though I don't think you can get it anymore.

If you wanted a less persistent (and more available) chemical alternative, malathion works well.

Not everyone wants to use chemicals of course...but they sure do work!

It won't catch them all but a shallow food can (e.g. tuna) filled with a half inch or so of orange juice works really well as a trap.

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I think I found a good method. Two tablespoons of murphy's oil soap mixed with a quart of water. Then I used the container that had the useless insecticidal soap I bought at Home Depot to dispense it with the hose. Instant results the earwigs came scurrying out of the garden by the droves where they were met with a crushing foot. Sadly it was a bit too late for the basil and spearmint.

Dough! Seems the soap irrated these pests enough that they started comming into the house. Guess it's on to dusting with boric acid.

My mom always used sunlight soap, diluted in a spray bottle (about 20/1), then rinse with water 1/2 to 1 hour later--also good for other basic garden blights.

i've been using a spray of dishsoap with a touch of water to spray the plants. i also put a tuna can with bottom covered in soap beside the plants. it catchs a lot of earwigs and they die.

i wouldn't spray anything i wouldn't feel comfortable eating directly onto the plants. i won't eat dishsoap, but it will wash off easily.

I have a earwig problem as well, they ate most of my tomato plants, basil and Jalapenos! :-(

I bought earwig traps from Lee Valley tools and they seem to be effective. I filled them with used frying oil (has a smell that they like), a few drops of dish soap and a small piece of fruit. You could easily do the same traps with tuna cans, margarine containers etc, as mentionned here.. Good luck!

Made this little rig up yesterday as they were chewing on my veggies too (I think).

One nights catch (3/4 water with a touch of cheap oil on top).

Another wonderful picture.

I got to try Yroc's method. What kind of cheap oil you refer to?

Mazola corn oil (but I don't think it really matters). Oil I would never consume works seems to work well for me. Honestly, I have not tried it without oil. Will try and post tommorrow.

Got as many today as yesterday with same rig.

Insecticidal soap or dish detergent (40:1 water/soap mix) works fine on earwigs, but you have to hit 'em with it - there's no residual effect. And since earwigs are nocturnal, I go out hunting at night with a spray bottle and a flashlight. :-) Also, during the day I look for the nooks and crannies where they congregate (they really like to stick together), and give the nests a good drenching when I find them.

They do seem to be unusually prolific this year, probably because of the mild winter we had.

Results were much better with a couple tablespoons of oil versus water with no oil.

I am not looking to kill them all as I read they are a beneficial insect. I only want to keep them off my crops which is working so far.

Caught them in the act last night (I should have taken a pic). They were chowing down on my cucumber plants in a big way. They were also eating my tomatoes plants and my lettuce but to a much lesser extent.

I continue to bait them with plastic container and have also used soap and water to kill them off. Seems there is quite an infestation of them this year.

I followed Yroc's method of using water with a layer of vegetable oil on top. It really works!

I used Activia yogurt containers with the lid attached. This way, the rain won't fill up the container.

When I checked out the yogurt container, I saw at least 2 dozens of earwigs inside. It was kind of disgusting though.