Earwigs: friend or foe in the veggie patch?

Earwigs are a mixed bag. Those rear pincers look fierce but are harmless to you — and earwigs actually eat aphids and mites, so they're often on your side. The catch is they also nibble seedlings, soft fruit and flowers, so this one is about balance, not all-out war.

How to spot them

1. Shiny brown insects with rear pincers, active at night.
2. Small ragged holes in soft leaves, petals and fruit.
3. They scatter for cover when you lift a pot, board or mulch by day.

Plants they target

Seedlings, strawberries, other soft fruit, and flowers like dahlias.

Growing any of these? See our guides to strawberries and lettuce.

How to manage them (where they're a nuisance)

1. Trap them with a rolled-up damp newspaper or a small container of oil left out overnight, then tip the catch away in the morning.
2. Protect vulnerable seedlings and ripening fruit, and clear excess damp hiding spots nearby.
3. Don't wage all-out war — earwigs help keep aphids and other soft pests down.

Manage them where they're a problem, and happily tolerate them everywhere else. For the bigger picture, see our guide to managing pests and problems safely.

Plan your patch: our free planting calendar shows what to plant now where you live. Ready to grow? Browse our raised garden beds or build your own with the garden bed builder.

Image: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.