Garden Pests

Earwigs

If your flower petals or soft vegetables are getting munched up, the culprit could be earwigs, which are found all over the United States. These reddish-brown nocturnal creatures feed primarily on all things soft in the garden, including decaying organic matter, lettuce, corn, celery, tender young seedlings, and blossoms and ripening fruits.

When earwigs show up in large numbers, they can inflict substantial damage in your garden. Like many other pests, they do their destruction at night, hiding out during the day, even under the watchful eyes of garden gnomes

You can trap earwigs by catering to their love of tight, cozy places. Simply roll up some newspaper and place it on the ground in the evening. In the morning, dispose of the earwigs that have crawled in for cover.

Another way to trap earwigs is to put about ¼-inch of vegetable oil into empty short cans — like a tuna can — and placing them around the yard. You can also buy earwig bait, which contains propoxur or carbaryl, and place it around non-edible plants.

Common Garden Pests