The leaves on my Atreano Gold were hit pretty hard the last couple of nights. A butterfly bush nearby had been decimated. I went out last night with flashlight in hand expecting slugs and to my surprise it was earwigs! I searched on line and see several remedies but was hoping members might know an "organic" remedy?

They are such a pain. My wife just jumped out of her chair, she had one crawling up her ankle. Seems like a bumper crop of them here.

They like to hide in dark places,so a length of pipe might work, and then just dump them into a jug of water.

Congrats on checking at night. That is the way to discover a lot of problems. Works for finding tomato worms, also.

It's easy to improvise these little contraptions:
http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=10297&cat=2,5155
(I drill a few holes in the lids of old plastic Dubbin containers.)
The trap instructions/ bait recipe follows:
[I]To bait the trap, open it by separating the two halves. Half fill with water the part with no holes in it. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, 5 drops of liquid dish soap, and one of the following:
3 drops fish lure attractant
3 drops of cod liver oil
a small piece of fruit
Close the trap and place it in a location frequented by earwigs.
The earwigs will crawl into the holes in the top, looking for food or shade, and drown.
Check the trap every morning.
Be sure to clean and refill it regularly.
This trap is harmless to pets and people when used as directed.[/I]
Works well, except for the rascals that bite tiny holes near the stem of the green peppers, and live in pepper houses.

Thank you, I will try these methods.

Some improvization. I just set three small sealed tupperwares with holes cut in the top filled with soapy water, cracked open 1200 mg cod liver oil tablets, and a small piece banana. It's on.

Geez, Not only do they stink, but they eat plants!

noss

Don't let one crawl into your ear while taking a snooze in some lounge chair....they can't back out because of the forked tail, and they have to eat their way through your head, and exit your other ear.  You will go mad from the pain, and kill yourself.  So goes, the legend.

Forget the trees!  Hang those Tupperware containers, and pipes off you ears...but please, take some photos and post them.  : )  : )

Frank

Another option that is even easier to clean is a hollow pipe made of bamboo, maybe 4inches long, a bit thicker than a pencil.  the critters hide in there for the day, you can pick up an knock them out one end and then step on 'em.  i'm sure those cheap garden bamboo stakes could be cut, at one time lee valley sold them.

I awoke like a child searching for an Easter egg. Decent results. 10 - 12 casualties by the butterfly bush, 2-3 by the Atreano and none by he Negronne. I will repeat again this and lay out a pipe tomorrow. Thanks again to everyone.

i didn't know earwigs enjoy fig leaves. hmm.. finding out new and interesting fact everyday on this forum.

pete

Pete,

I did not know either but I saw it. If it helps, the slugs eat the leaf and leave nothing. The earwigs ate only the leaf but left the veins of the leaf. Almost left a "skeleton" of a leaf behind.

Steve