When you’re spending time on your Fort Worth property, whether outside enjoying the weather or inside relaxing, seeing insects crawling around can be uncomfortable and disgusting. While many bug species in the area aren’t dangerous and are mostly just an annoyance, they can still be frustrating to deal with.
One of the strangest-looking nuisance pests in Fort Worth is the earwig. These reddish-brown insects have six, thin legs, long antennae, and a pair of large pincers at the end of their bodies. They can look scary, so it’s easy to think they can bite or sting, but they are just a nuisance.
Where Do Earwigs Hide?
In general, earwigs prefer to live outdoors where they seek out dark, damp areas to hide such as in firewood or under leaf piles or rocks. But they do occasionally come indoors in search of shelter or food. Once they make their way inside, they look for places with darkness and humidity. They are usually seen under cabinets, near baseboards, around houseplants, or even in cardboard boxes.
Are Earwigs Dangerous?
Because of the way they look, many people assume that earwigs are a dangerous stinging insect, but this isn’t the case. While it is possible for their pincers to pinch, this doesn’t happen very often, and you’re only really at risk if you’re trying to handle them. Even if you are pinched, most of the time the pincers can’t break through the skin.
Also, contrary to the urban legend, earwigs don’t crawl into ears to lay eggs in your brain. Just like with any other tiny insect, they could accidentally crawl into an ear, but this isn’t something they would do on purpose.
Ten Earwig-Prevention Tips
Earwigs can still be upsetting to find around your Fort Worth property. Having bugs in your home can make you feel upset and stressed, so we’ve collected ten of the best ways to prevent earwigs.
- Fix any broken screens that make it easy for earwigs to come inside.
- As earwigs are attracted to humid environments, fix any leaky plumbing.
- Keep dead, decaying, or water-damaged wood out of your yard.
- Place weather stripping around doors and windows.
- Install door sweeps.
- Keep firewood at least 30 feet away from any buildings on your property.
- Ensure that areas like basements and crawl spaces are well-ventilated.
- Avoid having too much outdoor lighting and keep light pointing away from your home or other buildings.
- Throw away any decaying organic matter including grass clippings.
- Seal up gaps and cracks in foundations and outer walls.
The Most Effective Way To Prevent Earwigs
After you’ve taken steps on your own to keep earwigs out of your Fort Worth property, the next and most important step is to get help from the professionals at Romney Pest Control. We provide ongoing advice and assistance to help you prevent and remove earwigs and other nuisance pests. While they might not be dangerous, it can be frustrating to keep trying to get rid of earwigs with no success.
Our trained experts can control earwigs once and for all. To learn more about our award-winning services, or to request a free quote, contact us today online or over the phone.
