SUDDEN EARWIG DEATH

Should I use SEVIN on earwigs, or would malathion/diazanon work BETTER??

Best;
Blue

PS Please respond quickly, as I am going to the super home center to purchase said most effective means of death for these horrible dahlia eaters.

Ohhhhh hurt dahlias will ya? Death to earwigs! *shakes fist* What did you end up using Blue?

MARIO,
Nothing yet, :( Put CORRIES SLUG BAIT out last night after watering. Hope its slugs and not wigs. I was planning on starting with the diazanon first, then ramp it up as needed. ;) :)

Best;
bluelytes

PS WHY do they INSIST that you FOLLOW "label directions", then they make the label direction PRINT SO SMALL that even Superman with his super-vision CANNOT READ it, sheesh!! lol

LOL Blue, I dunno. I need to put out some more slug bait. I had just a few aphids on a rose bush and my DH used the hose and sprayed them off. He wanted to use more chemicals but I said that we need the GOOD predator bugs and unfortunately the chemicals don't distinguish the good from the bad!

My dahlias are starting to bloom and I'm soooo happy! My DH checked on them this morning and was grinning ear to ear when he left for his commute.

Which varieties do you have? My wildcat is blooming (pic below), my bodacious are about to bust, and I forget the other ones that we've got. I need to buy plant stakes as DH didn't put them in so we don't know what we have where! Bad DH!

We're trying to locate some of the Checkers and Patches for next year but haven't found any.

MARI,
I would be BROKE, FAST, if I went the "good predator bug" route. I did that once, and they all flew away, and I STILL HAD the aphids. At least with the good chemicals, they are dead, and dont come back after they dry out from the bath from the hose spray.

GREAT news re: blooms. Congrats!!!! My bodacious is about 3 feet tall, but NO blooms yet

I think those two are on my wish list also. If I get any extras, I will be sure to share with you!! ;) I think I have checkers in the ground, not sure though.

Not sure re: varietys, as they are UNDERGROUND, lol. I think I put in like about 75, and almost all were not repeats.

Best;
bluelytes

I am overrun with earwigs!! I used to not mind them, but now I see the damage they are doing to all of my plants, I'm pulling my hair out! In an internet search I found this:
http://www.lillymiller.com/baits.html
A bait just for these nasty creatures! Now, I am generally not prone to using chemicals, except to combat vine weevils (over whom I am finally winning the war!!!) . I use the pet safe slug bait. But I would be willing to put some of this stuff in specific areas until the population is curbed if I could find it. Anyone seen this for sale?

I was willing to put up with them until I found one in my bath! Dead, thank goodness. But for pete's sake, not in my house!!! Ugh.

PIXY,
I sent email to the company to ask, will advise you of results. Keep bugging me on d-mail if you dont hear back, as I suffer from CRS, Cant Remember Stuff, ;) :)

Best;
blue

Gosh, blue! You too???? Is it catching???

Put a shallow aluminum baking pan 1/4 full of vegetable oil out where you have the earwig problem. The next morning the pan will be full of drowned earwigs!

Regards,
Bill

LETT,
Heres my 1/4 full veg oil. NOT ONE earwig, sorry, for me, that method is a BUST.

Best;
bluelytes

Blue, that's actually good news for you! It means there are no earwigs nearby, because if they're there, they'd be in that oil!

Regards,
Bill

LETT,
Pheeewww!! Maybe I let up too soon on the corrys then. Hmmmm....

Best;
blue

I'm with you Katy. I found one in my bathroom yesterday! Yuck! Going to try the vege oil tonight in a couple of spots and see how many drown. I just hope the neighborhood cats leave the dishes alone. I think it would just help relieve their stomachs of hairballs though.

Good luck Marion! I need to get a couple of shallow aluminum (disposable) pans next trip to grocery store. I suspect that's what is eating my rose tips too. Grrrr! This means war! LOL

LOL good luck Katy. Heading to the store after work to get the same!

Katy, you can be sure they are eating your rose tips! And putting holes in your rose leaves, too.

Thanks Pixie for the Lilly Miller link! It is just what I needed. I just walked out to my cucumbers to look what's growing and when I shook the leaves earwigs went raining down to the ground. Just thinking about it gives me the heebie-jeebies. We finally called an exterminator to deal with them around the foundation of the house. They come in through the teenies, tiniest openings into the house I told my husband I've had it! Nasty little buggers. They've done a number on my sweet basil and the leaves of my pepper plants as well. I think they'll eat anything!
-Stacey

Put one dish under my HUGE bee balm, put one under the eaves near my begonia, put one smack dab in the middle of my garden. I only had about 5 dead ones in each, so will do it again tonight and see what I get. It's not many, but that's ok, it's working, and not hurting any of the good bugs.

I wonder if using the lilly miller bait and putting it in a little dish like that would help keep the good bugs away from it? sort of like using the bait for slugs and containing it?? As most compulsive gardeners, I have lots of pots sitting around and every time I lift one up, a zillion baby earwigs scurry around. I just think 'there goes another nice plant'.

I'd put it directly into those pots Pixy. The babies probably won't stray far from the pots they were born in, so you'll only catch wandering adults if you put dishes of the bait out. That's my opinion anyways and is nowhere near to being expert!

I just checked my three pans. One had 3 tiny slugs in it other wise, ZIP. I have to go to Ace anyway today, I'll check out the big guns.

How about underneath the pots? They seem to look for these hiding places to breed in.

Very true Pixy. Don't forget the areas where your concrete ends and grass begins. Easy access to undersoil and the concrete keeps them warm at night. Treat the stuff like salt and throw a bit over your shoulder for good luck too LOL. Darn these bugs, I found another in my bathroom last night. It went to a watery grave KERFLUUSHHH!

Well that explains a lot!! These pots are sitting on a concrete wall!! It's a huge heat reservoir, and come to think of it, since I've built them, my population of these creatures has exploded! Who knew???

*Taps Forehead* You gotta think like a nasty bug with more legs than brains, a set of choppers a bug dentist would drool over, and a big pincer on your tushie. ROFL

They love heat, damp, and warmth. I am so sick of these nasty little guys!
-Stacey