Earwigs & Roses

About Earwigs

• Earwigs are nocturnal insects, preferring to spend the daylight hours in cramped dark spaces with lots of moisture. They're often found in large groups beneath rocks and wood piles and in a variety of plants. The adult females lay eggs in protected burrows where they guard the large masses until they hatch. Earwigs may not be feeding primarily on your roses. They eat insect pests like aphids and may be clearing away problem bugs while on your roses. Their feeding on decaying organic matter also improves the soil. However, earwigs aren't choosy, and while clearing away the aphids or dead material on or near your roses, they might nibble on them as well. In large numbers, this can cause significant damage to a rose garden.

Damage

• When earwigs feed on roses, they use chewing mouth parts at the front of their bodies, not the pinchers that are easily seen on their tail ends. Earwigs prefer to eat the stamens of roses, although often you'll see signs of chewing on petals as well which can cause serious damage to roses that aren't healthy and thriving.

Chemical Control

• Controlling earwigs can be difficult. Often the best way to minimize damage is to ensure that your roses are otherwise healthy and strong, so they can tolerate a bit of earwig damage. If the numbers are large, causing extensive damage, baits containing cabaryl can be effective in reducing earwig numbers in your garden. Insecticides such as chlorpyriphos may be sprayed to prevent earwigs from entering your roses.

Natural Control

• Earwigs can be trapped in rolled up newspapers or an old length of garden hose. Place these traps in a shaded area of the garden where the soil is moist. The traps offer a protected shelter which earwigs seek during daylight hours. Check the traps in the mornings and dump trapped earwigs into a bucket of water. Another option is to place containers of soapy water, buried up to their rims, around the border of your garden to trap earwigs before they can enter. Remove old leaves and stones covering the soil to eliminate potential shelter sites for earwigs.