Earwigs are ugly and nasty looking, earning them such names as ear piercers, ear crawlers, and the old English name, ēarewicga or ear insect.
They’re actually quite harmless to people but no one wants them crawling around the house either.
In this Pest Strategies review, we’ll show you how to get rid of earwigs and how to treat their entry points into your house.
- Professional-strength pesticide
- Talstar is a well-known brand
- The active ingredient is Bifenthrin
We’ll show you how to perform your own pest control against these pincher bugs, as they’re often called.
We’ll look at some professional products and a couple of natural methods that will control earwigs and prevent an infestation of them in your house.
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Our Top Pick | Our Top Pick | Talstar PL Granules 25-Pounds
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 | Lambdastar UltraCap
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 | D-Fense SC
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 | Delta Dust
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 | Neem Oil
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 | Diatomaceous Earth
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Our Overall #1 Rated Pick
(updated as of 04/24/2020)
- Professional-strength pesticide
- Talstar is a well-known brand
- The active ingredient is Bifenthrin
Earwigs are outdoor garden pests that live in leaf litter, mulch, and moist soil.
It’s where they have their hiding places and lay their eggs, so it makes sense to take the fight to them with a professional-strength granular insecticide like Talstar PL Granules.
Three pounds of Talstar granules in a hand spreader is enough to broadcast in a 10-foot wide band around an average-sized house.
When they crawl out of the grass, flower beds, or garden, they’ll encounter the granules before they even get to your house.
We picked Talstar granules because they last for up to three months between treatments, they’re water-activated, weather-resistant (you can use them year-round), and highly effective against earwigs and a multitude of other insects as well.
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5 Best Earwig Killers
Are you short on time or just want a quick answer?
Check out our list below for a summary of our results. Keep on reading to learn more about earwig killers.What Are Earwig Killers?
An earwig killer is any device or substance that will result in the death of earwigs when they contact each other.
An earwig killer can be an earwig trap, a bucket of soapy water, boric acid, a liquid pesticide, a granular pesticide, a dust pesticide, or an essential oil.
How Do Earwig Killers Work?
It depends on the specific earwig killer you’re using. Some pesticides attack the central nervous system, the reproductive system, their exoskeleton, their breathing tubes (called tracheae), or the digestive system.
Read Also: What is an Earwig? (How to Identify & Get Rid of Earwigs)
Others will absorb the moisture in their bodies and kill them by dehydration.
All of them have one thing in common, the earwigs must come into physical contact with the earwig killer in order to be affected by it. This means they have to be used where the earwigs are.
Are Earwig Killers Effective For Killing Earwigs?
If they are used properly, earwig killers are very effective. Some can be used in conjunction with each other to provide a kind of one-two punch to attack the earwigs in several different ways. If they evade one, the other will get them.
How To Use an Earwig Killer
Granular pesticides and diatomaceous earth have to be spread either by hand or by means of a handheld spreader.
Earwigs are scavengers who eat nearly any kind of plant material so the granules should be spread across the areas where they are feeding.
Read Also: How to Get Rid of Earwigs (9 Remedies)
Diatomaceous earth and pesticide dust should be used in wood piles and other areas where earwigs like to live, as well as in cracks and crevices around baseboards, doors, and windows where they are able to gain entrance to your house.
Liquid pesticides should be sprayed outside as a continuous barrier treatment around the foundation of your house at ground level, along the baseboards inside your house, and in crawl spaces beneath your house. Pesticide dust is also useful under houses.
Are Earwig Killers Safe Around My Pets and Children?
If the earwig killer in question is a pesticide, the answer is a definite maybe. Modern pesticides are much safer than old ones, but infants have weaker immune systems than adults and can be harmed by things that don’t bother us at all.
The younger a child is, the greater the risk of being harmed by a pesticide. Conversely, the older they are, the less risk there is.
As a general rule of thumb, keep children under six-years-old, away from the area while you’re spraying and for an hour afterward.
Some of the earwig killers that are all-natural ones that pose far less risk. Some are even edible. In those cases, there may be a question of allergies but not toxicity.
How Do You Find the Best Earwig Killer?
- Look for a substance that can be sprayed or spread evenly across the areas where earwigs live or travel. Anything that clumps or is contained in a single area, such as an earwig trap, will have an extremely poor success rate.
- A good earwig killer should be resistant to moisture. Earwigs prefer moist soil for laying their eggs and for hiding. If moisture would be a problem for your earwig killer, it won’t be very effective.
- Earwigs can survive quite handily in cold weather, which means they can attack any time of the year. Consequently, your earwig killer needs to be as long-lasting as possible so it doesn’t have to be reapplied frequently.
Best Earwig Killers Reviewed
- Professional-strength pesticide
- Talstar is a well-known brand
- The active ingredient is Bifenthrin
Talstar is a well-known brand among pest control professionals, who admire the consistency and reliability of Talstar pesticides.
Earwig control is quick and easy with spreadable granules, particularly when they’re water-activated as these are.
Spread these granules just before it rains, or water the yard when you’re finished spreading them, and they’ll go to work, spreading out across the treated area to form a long-lasting barrier to earwigs and hundreds of other pests as well.
Granules are safe around children and pets, won’t harm your grass, flowers, fruit trees, or vegetable garden while killing earwigs for up to three months between treatments.
The only drawback is the granules tend to clump when the humidity is high.
Pros
Cons
- This product will last most people at least two years, and its shelf life is longer.
- This product doesn’t stain or have a smell.
- This product is a broad-spectrum insecticide.
Lambdastar UltraCap has several features that will help you get rid of the earwig infestation that is plaguing you. The first of these features is that it has a fairly high percentage of active ingredients, so you will only need to use .2 ounce to a gallon of water for most treatments.
This is going to save you money in the long run, and a single bottle of Lambdastar should last the average homeowner a couple of years.
Following up close in second place for my favorite feature is that Lambdastar has no discernible smell or odor, which makes it perfect for indoor and outdoor use. Coupled with a non-staining formula, these features make Lambdastar an easy choice in any project you may be undertaking.
The last aspect of this product that really makes it worth picking up is that it can be used for more than 30 other pests so you won’t need to run out and buy something else every time a new problem shows up.
Pros
Cons
- This product doesn’t stain or have an odor
- This product easily mixes with most other products.
- D-Fense SC is pet and children friendly when used as directed.
D-Fense SC has many of the same qualities as the other high-end pesticides such as being suitable for indoor or outdoor projects due to its lack of smell, and that it doesn’t stain.
Also, because it is a concentrate, you will need a sprayer to use it effectively and, of course, like always, wear your personal protective equipment before you start treatment.
Where D-Fense SC separates itself from some of the other products is that it can be easily mixed with other kinds of products to let you get several jobs done at once or to affect the same insect in two different ways.
Let’s say you wanted to not only put down a product to kill earwigs but also to disrupt their reproduction cycle. You could add an ounce of your preferred IGR to your gallon mixture of Suspend, shake well and then go on spraying without any clumping effects that might clog your spray nozzle.
The last way that D-Fense SC is superior to most of the competitors is in how safe it is. While it is strong enough to get the job done, you can put it down, and 30 minutes or less outside, it will dry up and become safe for you and your family to be around. But what about inside? Same deal except it might take an hour to dry when applied indoors.
Pros
Cons
- The active ingredient is Deltamethrin
- Kills many different insects
- Professional-strength pesticide
Delta Dust is a fine dust, like talcum powder that uses Deltamethrin as the active ingredient.
It is perfect for use at ground level in the cracks and crevices around the baseboards in your house. You’ll need a bulb duster to use it.
It will kill earwigs and dozens of others that crawl through it when you puff it into the small holes and entry points insects use to gain entrance to your house.
It’s very easy to use, just be careful not to get any floating dust in your mouth – it tastes nasty.
It doesn’t dissolve in water and will last for up to nine months so it’s perfect for outdoor use as well as in damp crawl spaces under houses.
Pros
Cons
- All-natural pesticide
- Safe around children and pets
- Has been used for hundreds of years
Neem oil is a naturally occurring pesticide found in the seeds of neem trees.
It’s been used for hundreds of years as one of nature’s premier pesticides against a vast array of insects. It interferes with their ability to eat and reproduce.
One teaspoon of cold-pressed neem oil, mixed with a quart of water in a 32-ounce spray bottle creates a spray to stop an earwig infestation.
It acts as a repellent as well as a way to kill earwigs. Because it’s all-natural, edible in fact, it’s safe around pets and children.
Neem oil is an effective pesticide for over 60 different types of pests, including aphids, beetles, lacewings, mealybugs, thrips, and whiteflies, but it doesn’t last very long. You’ll need to reapply it at least once a week.Pros
Cons
- All-natural
- Non-toxic
- Child and pet safe
Diatomaceous earth is a natural desiccant that absorbs moisture and hastens the dehydration of plants and insects it contacts.
It’s made from the fossilized shells of microscopic sea creatures called diatoms. It is often used for digestive problems.
Spreading a fine layer of diatomaceous earth at the ground level around your house, inside or out, creates a natural barrier against earwig populations that attempt to cross it.
The tiny edges also slice open the earwig’s shell, further hastening their death.
It is completely non-toxic and child and pet safe. There’s no odor and it will last until it gets wet. After that, it will begin clumping. You’ll have to sweep it up and distribute more.
Pros
Cons
Our Top Pick: Talstar PL Granules 25-Pounds
- Professional-strength pesticide
- Talstar is a well-known brand
- The active ingredient is Bifenthrin
Talstar is a well-known brand that makes earwig control quick and easy.
The granules are water-activated, safe around children and pets, and highly effective at killing earwigs and many other insects as well.
The granules won’t harm your grass, flowers, fruit trees, or vegetable garden. There’s no odor or staining when you use these granules.
Final Thoughts On Earwig Killer
Talstar PL Granules are so effective they’ll usually be the only earwig killer you’ll need to use. But in those cases where the earwigs have already gotten into your house, you should use the granules outside, then use another earwig killer on the inside.
Any of the ones we’ve reviewed will be suitable for the task, killing the ones inside while the granules kill the ones outside and prevent any of them from coming in. This is the combination that does the most to help you become earwig-free.
Other Earwig Guides
Curious about other earwig related products? Check out our other detailed guides to help you deal with your pest problems.
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Because pest control products can be dangerous to your family if mishandled, we always recommend consulting with an exterminator even if just to ask for advice on how to apply pest control products yourself.
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Rating: 97.50
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Rating: 97.00
Our #1 Ranked For: Termites, Bed Bugs, and Larger Infestations
Rating: 95.70
Our #1 Ranked For: Mosquito Removal, Fleas, Ticks, Wasps, And Other Stinging Insects