Serving Memphis, Cordova, Germantown & Collierville TN
Noticing a creepy-crawly pest in your home can send shivers through your body. Even though not all pests are harmful, they can still cause mental discomfort for some homeowners and prompt an immediate search for a quality pest control company. Fortunately, our professional Cordova pest control technicians at AAA Termite and Pest Control share the information below about earwigs so that you can not only identify the pests but also understand how to eradicate them from your home.
Earwig Characteristics
Earwigs have a brown or black body with a leathery exoskeleton appearance measuring about ¼ – 1 inch in length with six legs, antennae, and wings. A unique feature of earwigs is a set of pincers attached to their rear abdomen used for reproduction, self-defense, and hunting food. The expert pest control company in Cordova warns homeowners that earwigs could pinch you, although it is rare. Additionally, they are not poisonous, nor do they carry diseases. Memphis pest control experts agree that the urban legend about earwigs crawling into human ears at night is simply a legend and is not the truth about the pest.
Earwig Dwellings
Locations that are cold and moist are the most inviting places to hide during the day until nightfall when it’s time to find food. You can find earwigs in areas such as leaf piles, mulch, holes in trees, the ground, and indoors near water sources. Kingsport pest control professionals find earwigs living together in large colonies, and they scurry away when exposed or discovered. Earwigs find their way into your home through tiny cracks and crevices in foundation walls, crawlspaces, or basements. An earwig’s attraction to dirt and leaves can lead to burrowing into ground debris that may get tracked into your home.
Earwig Diet
Vegetation like leaves and flowers are the most common food sources for earwigs, but they particularly enjoy decaying or dead plant matter. Earwigs also hunt and eat arthropods and other insects. While searching for food at night, earwigs can damage your garden as they eat seeds and fruit.
Earwig Control
Drawn indoors by light or changing weather, earwigs enter your home in search of a new food source. They often appear near sources of moisture like sinks and showers, but earwigs can also travel into other rooms of your home. The first step for keeping earwigs at bay is to ensure exterior cracks get sealed. Next, Memphis pest control specialists recommend removing decaying organic material from your home’s walls to prevent easy access. Organic material includes tree branches and wood piles where earwigs love to hide.
Pest Control in Cordova and Memphis, Tennessee
Although earwigs are not harmful pests, they can cause undue emotional distress. However, through preventative home maintenance, you can reduce the chance that insects will enter your home. When the pests become an infestation and prevention is not correcting the situation, call the Memphis pest control company, AAA Termite and Pest Control, at (901) 457-1117 for a visit from one of our qualified technicians.