I just did a search on earwigs at this site and have found some very useful ( i hope) info about how to combat them using organic means...so I thank all those who have gone before me to fight the good fight! I will ask, though, if there are any new ideas? Any new earwig stories to put a smile on my face? I believe I will try a three-fold approach....beer traps, soy sauce/molasses/oil traps, and rolled up newspapers. Sound good? Thanks everyone!
Molly

It's *very* unusual for such extensive damage to occur from earwigs. Can you describe what happened to which plants?

There are holes in all the plants and the leaves are practically defoliated. When I go out there at 10:00 I can see so many of them just chowing down on MY veggies! I checked my traps and have about 7 so far....not a bad start for only being out there for 2 hours.
What else could cause such extensive damage?
Molly

Yes...I feel your pain. I could not believe the damage earwigs could cause in my garden. I would plant a nice little row of marigolds (or veggies, they are not picky eaters!) and come out every day to find they'd completely devoured them one or two per day.

I tried traps and had mild success; the oil in a tuna can was messy and don't remember much success. I think my best treatment was diatomaceous earth around the base of each plant. Diatomaceous earth is really good for all kinds of crawly pests that want to devour your beloved plants and I don't believe there's any downside to D.E. as far as I know.
Keep us posted.
Rahma

Must make sure that you use food/horticultural grade DE. The stuff that is processed for pool filters is dangerous to use in the garden or home.

Thanks for the heads up about pool grade DE. Do you know what makes it dangerous? I've been using my old pool DE.... How dangerous is it?

Please do not continue using your pool DE for this purpose. That form of DE has been processed differently than the DE that is intended for ANY other use. It is not effective in controlling insects (for one)due to the nature of the physical structure changes, and (two) it has a very high percentage of free silica crystals, a cancer causing agent. A good food/horticultural grade DE will have only about 3%....pool grade typically over 50%.

All DE products should be handled carefully during the application process. Even the highest quality food grade DE should not be inhaled (though every single one of us has eaten our fair share of it!).

Thank you rhizo_1 for the DE info. I had no idea about this! Guess I will look for DE in the garden section although I don't ever recall seeing it there.
Rahma

Some garden centers/nurseries will carry the correct grade of DE while others are clueless. You can also call a local farm/ag supply center to see if they have it. Food grade DE is an important supplement to have on hand when raising poultry or other animals.

Called my local OSH and they said they had DE there in the garden dept. so I'm assuming it's the rihgt stuff.
I wonder how luvmyyard is doing with her earwig crises? Would like to know if she's having any success.

I posted something about flea beetles the other day and have been trying to come up with creative ways to deal with them and then it dawned on this a.m. that what I have is earwigs too!
The holes are similar, but I could never find any 'bugs' even with a magnifying glass.
I do however, have tons of earwigs crawling out of every tight space on my property. Somehow they always take me by surprise every year 'cause they are not usually listed as a pest. But anyone who has a problem with them knows how destructive (in a very quick way!) they are

well now, i hpe i dont' have the problems like this as i did last year. go over your yard and try to id any areas that may be attracting them. i found them stuck like sardines in a utility poles huge crevice, dh's deer target, moss covered fence, piles of bird poop on the fence, etc etc etc.

my best defense was to go out every night with a flashlight. i either collected them in a pitcher of soapy water, or was armed with a spray bottle of soapy water, spraying them directly.

another item i purchased from planet natural also helped. i am positive it isn't totally organic but,hey, they sell it, and iunderstand it has to be ingested to work. it is mainly for grasshoppers, but these european earwigs eat everything, including greens and grains! i had heard many people say how highly unusual this is, but it isn't for europeans. anyway, what i used, and it is always your choice, is ecobran. i will post the link if you are interested.

i had a very long post on this last year. perhaps you may hve found it. good luck!

hmmm, garden clinic forum. how did i get here? sorry. my post may be in integrated pest management or organic gardening.

also, soapy water does not have a residual effect, so must spray the devil directly.

wow! thanks for all the support and info. After much testing I have decidided that the beer traps work the best....at least my little friends like it. I tried the soy sauce/molasses/oil thing and i tried DE but we all like Schlitz malt liquor (i buy the cheap stuff now that i realize how much of this stuff i go through). Yes, my happiest time of day is going out to my veggie patch in the morning and viewing the carnage in the little cups. I am catching other things as well...little black beetl-y things. I dunno if they are good or bad but....it's worth it. The amount i'm trapping isn't what i'd call extraordinary(since my entire yard is crawling with them) but the plants are in much better shape. It has even turned into a family affair....both my children (especially my 10 year-old boy) like to help me set the traps and see how many we got the next day. Perhaps i am not modeling humane animal treatment but that's how it is....it is WAR! Thanks for all the support out there.
Molly