Earwig infestation

So I'm mulching with woodchips, and...Surprise! (Not really)

Earwigs and pill bugs. Which is rather expected. I don't want to use chemicals, and it occurred to me that I might have a solution--what if I were to put our food garbage under the woodchips as bait? Would that keep them away from the other plants? It would certainly be a better fertilizer than anything chemical, and if it works well to attract them I could douse the whole thing in vinegar...

Or not. Whatever. I suspect the whole problem will go away in a few years as the system develops, but at the moment they're eating EVERYTHING.

Traps work in small areas, as earwigs don't travel very far.

Would it work? Would they go after the food before the plants?

I have loosely rolled up a newspaper, then dampened it and put near the infestations after removing the other hiding places. Several times per day pick up the rolls from around the garden and shake into a bucket with water, or soapy water, or possibly vinegar. If you just used water you could pour it out for chickens I think they would eat them. Not sure it would always work, but pretty inexpensive and quick to see results if it is going to work. Please let me know if it works for you.

Thanks. Because the whole area is under woodchips, removing all the other hiding places gets problematic. It has worked in the past, but I didn't have the woodchips at that point.

Lauren Ritz wrote:what if I were to put our food garbage under the woodchips as bait? Would that keep them away from the other plants? It would certainly be a better fertilizer than anything chemical, and if it works well to attract them I could douse the whole thing in vinegar...

My infestation is so bad that we can't grow compost, because the earwigs eat up all the compost scraps.

Have you tried boric acid or diatomaceous earth?

Lauren Ritz wrote:So I'm mulching with woodchips, and...Surprise! (Not really)

Earwigs and pill bugs. Which is rather expected. I don't want to use chemicals, and it occurred to me that I might have a solution--what if I were to put our food garbage under the woodchips as bait? Would that keep them away from the other plants? It would certainly be a better fertilizer than anything chemical, and if it works well to attract them I could douse the whole thing in vinegar...

Or not. Whatever. I suspect the whole problem will go away in a few years as the system develops, but at the moment they're eating EVERYTHING.

Traps work in small areas, as earwigs don't travel very far.

Would it work? Would they go after the food before the plants?

Did you try it and  if you did, did it work?
I have been answering in this forum that earwigs and pill bugs are a benign to helpful part of the ecosystem.  That they prefer in my observation to feed on decaying mater rather than  on growing things.

This summer's earwig problem was slightly better. Besides having a wetter springtime this year, we are on the third year since applying wood chips to many plants and areas of the yard. Maybe the soil food web is getting established. This is the first year that frogs and wolf spiders have been notably living here, and I'm wondering if they made a dent in the earwig population.

Esther Platt wrote:This summer's earwig problem was slightly better. Besides having a wetter springtime this year, we are on the third year since applying wood chips to many plants and areas of the yard. Maybe the soil food web is getting established. This is the first year that frogs and wolf spiders have been notably living here, and I'm wondering if they made a dent in the earwig population.

Quite probable.  In my garden it is garter snakes that keep the balance.