
DYI earwig oil trap that works!
Testing out Earwig Trap Ideas
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So I do the soy sauce and veg oil in an open plastic container and catch millions lol. Wish I could post a picture of my full trap
Before I empty it…..
If I left a can of fishy smelling oil in my garden I'd have visitors a LOT bigger than a raccoon or a skunk to worry about! The bears would come running to my place!
I will swear by the oil trap with a dash of soy sauce. Earwigs were getting into my artichokes, but the oil traps were full of them the first day, and gradually got less and less each day until they were gone.
The oil and soy sauce trap worked amazingly well for me. I poked holes in an empty pop can, filled it with the oil/soy sauce mixture, buried the can up to the holes and this morning it's full to the top of the liquid with earwigs
In my garden the earwigs love to spend their days sleeping in the upper parts of milkweed plants and it's very easy to knock them off into a coffee can of water, the same way I do with Japanese beetles. They like to hide in the newest leaves that are still somewhat vertical and tucked against the stem.
I tried the can with oil method - I used a tuna can and olive oil - and the next morning a whole colony of ants had committed suicide in my oil can bath. But not a single earwig.
Thank you for your article. It helps readers identify ear wig damage in the garden and gives practical advice on how to get rid of them. Terrific!
Raccoons will climb a fence. I watched them climbing my 6 ft. fence a few times. Thanks for the tips.
I sat there saying yep, yep, me too. Same oyster tin, too, and also a million ants and no earwigs. I changed tactics. I use the flat plastic hummus containers with success. Fill 1/4” to 3/8” of oil. I used canola because it’s the cheapest I could find. I had saved the oyster oil and put a little in each of 6 containers. I put them in 6 large planters that have peppers. Just on top of or even with the mulch. Caught earwigs. I use pine cones in the planters for mulch. One thing I found was I have to soak them in soap and water as that’s where they like to hang out. I didn’t know that until I picked a bunch of cones and put them in a bag. When I got home the bag was full of earwigs. If I can figure out I’ll send pictures.
I also had trouble starting root vegetables and after some research found an excellent method. Cut paper towel tubes down to 7 or 8” and fill them with seed starting mix. (Toilet paper tubes are too short). I bundled mine up with string for stability and set them in a dish bin. Sow your parsnips in the tubes, keep them watered and in a sunny window. The parsnips send down a deep tap root before the seedling appears. Once the seedling appears, I plant the whole tube. Works like a charm!!! I also found that composting my root veggies has helped them immensely.
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