I'm curious also as we have them here.

I know them as “earwig”.

For organic control, roll up some newspaper, loosely, place in a paper sack and lay on the ground, shake the plants. The fallen bugs and new arrivals will move into the newspaper. Do you have a BBQ ?

Thank you, Jim! I searched earwig I’m googled and it definitely seemed like they’re that! So I just put newspaper inside paper sacs on the ground? Do they fancy the smell of newspapers? That’s so good to know! Do you know if they do any damage at all to the roses/other plants? Cuz if not I could just leave them alone...

And yes we do have a BBQ. Do they love that as well? (Well who doesn’t haha).

The bugs will seek shelter in the rolled newspaper, similar to hiding in rose petals. The paperbag is to contain the bugs while you transport them to the lit bbq.

I do not think they eat rose petals, but when I wanted cut roses for inside, I did not want earwigs.

I do not think they are harmful, as a kid, I played with them, getting them to “grab”.

Oh that makes sense. Thanks, Jim! I’ll definitely try that. It’s also good to know that they don’t do much other than playing hide and seek in my blooms ;)

I haven't had so many this year as I have had in the past

I heard that they are beneficial

I will have to resesrch that. I will feel bad if they are because I have killed lots of them by putting out pans of oil and soysauce. They are attracted to the soysauce and drown in the oil

Minshen and Lily....I am getting nightmares from them right now >_<

They were all over my peonies.....so when I cut my peonies to bring inside I have to leave them outside for a bit to let them go away first, but even them there are always a few that stayed and scare the heck out of me when they crawl out. Don't seem to like my roses as much.

I read that they don't really hurt the plants unless there is an invasion of them so I left them alone for now, but they really really creep me out....I didn't think they were beneficial though but I also didn't really care for them....

Oh I hate those! Nothing worse than cutting a rose to bring in the house and having them creep out! Last time I cut my roses and submerged them in a bowl of water outside then brought them in the house once they left the rose. Because of those gross bugs I don’t want to bring my roses in the house any more.

They really like hiding in dark places. I don’t like them because my friend told me many years ago she went to use a bulb syringe to suck out her newborn baby nose and right before she used it an earwig crawled out of it! She was horrified thinking if she would have put it in the babies nose to suction her little nostrils. I never forgot that story and think about it often when I see them. So now I shared it with all of you haha! As Lillyfinch said they are bugs of childhood nightmares.

Earwigs are predominantly detritovores in our neck of the woods, and relatively harmless. (There are many hundreds of species, however. Many are seen as beneficial, though some might feed on live plant tissue.) They do have those pinchers, and will use them if the need arises, but they are pretty harmless to people, feeling a little like a a pinch from small tweezers.

Lilyfinch, have you considered therapy? ;-) (Truthfully, that sounds like the sort of tale I might have relayed to a nephew or niece, never considering anyone in my family would take me seriously! LOL. You have me wondering what kind of things I should be feeling guilty for!)

I grew up with the !@#$% things, and I've lived in this desert/agricultural area all my life, except for several years in California. They don't need detritus necessarily to plague us. Right now they're in every deadhead and new bloom I pick, so shaking the blooms is necessary along with a paper towel to squash them. They don't scare me at all; they're just repulsive. My worst encounter with earwigs was many years ago. I had a big bag of M&M's next to me on my bed for snacking while reading. As I read, I heard a soft crinkling sound over and over. Upon investigating the noise, I spotted a nasty earwig enjoying my candy. Death to the varmint, and $5.00 worth of M&M's into the garbage. After that my candy went into a air lock canister. Diane

Earwigs can be somewhat beneficial in the garden as they do eat things like the fruit moth babies so they are good to have around for eating some bad bugs or their babies etc. I don't think they do a ton of harm overall.

They ruin M&Ms. Diane

I have those all over my yard and I was told it was because I do the "lasagna method" for composting and killing weeds. I use tons of cardboard and wood chips along with other garden waste. Last year they infested my dahlias and my pom pom veranda rose

You'd probably have them anyway. Many years ago, in my previous home, I hardly gardened early on. I still had awful earwigs. After a few years of this plague, I discovered the mother of all earwig nests in a hole near the edge of our patio. I promptly sprayed the heck of the nest, and had far fewer earwigs after that, and almost none got in the house, My M&Ms were safe at last. Diane