Can Earwigs Swim? Exploring the Aquatic Abilities of These Insects

Earwigs are fascinating insects known for their distinctive pincers, or cerci, on the tip of their abdomen. These creatures are commonly found in gardens and damp, dark spaces, which may lead some to wonder about their ability to swim.

While earwigs are not necessarily known for their swimming prowess, they are capable of surviving in water for short periods thanks to their ability to hold their breath. However, it should be noted that this doesn’t mean earwigs are natural swimmers – rather, they can manage to stay alive if they happen to find themselves in a watery situation.

Understanding Earwigs

Characteristics of Earwigs

Earwigs are small insects about 5/8 inch long with a flat, reddish-brown body and very short wings. They possess medium length antennae and chewing mouthparts. At the tip of their abdomen are strong pinchers, or cerci, which differ between males and females. Males have stout, strongly curved cerci while females possess slender, straight pinchers¹. Among their features are:

Short wings, seldom used for flying²
Slender and flexible antennae
Cerci for defense and mating

Types of Earwigs

There are two common species of earwigs in the United States:

European earwig (Forficula auricularia): 1/2 to 3/4 inches long, banded legs, and a reddish head³.
Ringlegged earwig: 1/2 to 3/5 inches long, black-yellowish underside, and dark crossbands on legs⁴.

Young earwigs resemble adult females but are smaller and lighter in color².

Earwig Habitat and Behavior

Earwigs can be found in various habitats, such as gardens, debris, and stones⁵. They are nocturnal insects and can sometimes be household pests. They prefer to hide outdoors in damp, dark areas.

Earwigs are often falsely associated with crawling into human ears, which is based on an old superstition. However, they are not venomous and pose no threat in this manner⁶.

As garden pests, they can cause damage to plants. Pest control methods may be applied to manage their population in home gardens.

Characteristic	European Earwig	Ringlegged Earwig
Size	1/2 – 3/4 inches	1/2 – 3/5 inches
Color	Reddish head, banded legs	Black-yellowish, dark crossbands on legs
Habitat	Gardens, debris, stones	Gardens, debris, stones

Earwigs and Plants

Benefits of Earwigs in the Garden

Earwigs can be beneficial in gardens as they consume decaying plant material and help break down garden mulch.
They also act as predators to aphids, a common garden pest.

For example, earwigs can help control aphid populations on your plants, reducing the need for chemical pest control measures.

Negative Impact on Plants

Earwigs can cause damage to leaves, flowers, and vegetables in your garden.
Using chemical pesticides to control earwigs may harm the environment and beneficial insects.

Damage caused by earwigs can be seen on plants like dahlias, zinnias, butterfly bushes, lettuce, strawberries, celery, potatoes, and seedling beans and beets. They can also feed on corn silk, affecting the ears of corn.

Pest control methods for earwigs:

Traps: Create traps with low-sided cans filled with 1/2 inch of oil hidden near shrubbery and ground cover plants or against fences source.
Diatomaceous earth: Sprinkle diatomaceous earth around affected plants as a natural and non-toxic pest control method.

Comparison of Earwigs’ Impact on Gardens:

Positive Effects	Negative Effects
Consume decaying plant material	Damage leaves, flowers, and vegetables
Help break down garden mulch	May require pest control methods
Act as predators to aphids	Can harm beneficial insects with chemical pesticides

In summary, earwigs can be both beneficial and harmful to your garden. Their positive impact comes from consuming decaying plant material and acting as predators to aphids. However, they may also damage leaves, flowers, and vegetables, potentially requiring the use of pest control methods such as traps and diatomaceous earth.

Controlling Earwig Infestations

Preventing Infestations

One of the key ways to prevent earwig infestations is by controlling the environment within the home. Earwigs are attracted to warm, humid places. To deter them:

Reduce moisture in your home by fixing leaks and using a dehumidifier
Seal gaps around doors and windows to prevent entry
Keep your yard clean and free of clutter, as it creates a favorable habitat for earwigs

For example, fixing a leaky faucet in the kitchen and sealing gaps in the windows can both help to prevent earwigs from entering the house.

Removing Earwigs from Your Home

To eliminate earwig infestations, some effective methods include:

Setting traps using oil, which attracts and captures earwigs¹
Employing the services of a professional pest control company

Method	Pros	Cons
Oil traps	Inexpensive and easy to set up	Can be messy and needs regular maintenance
Pest control	Effective and long-lasting solution	Can be costly and require multiple visits

In summary, by reducing moisture in your home, sealing gaps, and maintaining a clean yard, along with using effective removal methods like traps or professional pest control, you can effectively control earwig infestations.

Interesting Earwig Facts

Swimming Abilities of Earwigs

Earwigs are primarily known for their preference for damp, terrestrial environments. However, some species have adapted to various habitats displaying abilities to swim. For example, the seashore earwig (Anisolabis maritima) and the striped earwig (Labidura riparia) are capable swimmers. These earwigs can:

Swim efficiently in water
Breathe underwater for short periods
Thrive in moist or even semi-aquatic habitats

Comparing the two swimming earwigs:

Earwig Species	Habitat	Swimming Ability
Seashore Earwig	Coastal areas, tide pools	Strong swimmers, can stay underwater for a few minutes
Striped Earwig	Damp soil, near water	Known to swim, but less adapted to underwater life than seashore earwigs

Dispelling the Earwig Myths

Despite their unusual appearance and swimming abilities, earwigs have been surrounded by myths. One popular misconception is that earwigs crawl into human ears to burrow and lay eggs. However, research has proven this myth to be false. Earwigs are not dangerous to humans, and instances of earwigs entering ears are extremely rare.

St. Helena earwigs (Labidura herculeana) were once abundant on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, but are now considered extinct. These giant earwigs showcase an interesting contrast from other earwig species, as they were expert burrowers and adapted to drier habitats rather than damp environments.

In summary, earwigs are fascinating creatures with diverse adaptations, including swimming abilities in certain species. They have unique appearances, and their roles within ecosystems as scavengers and sometimes even flyers provide vital functions in maintaining ecological balance. It is important to dispel misconceptions and appreciate the diversity and unique traits of these interesting insects.

Reader Emails

Over the years, our website, whatsthatbug.com has received hundreds of letters and some interesting images asking us about these insects. Scroll down to have a look at some of them.

Letter 1 – Molting Snakefly

Subject: 2 bugs to identify
Location: Petaluma, CA
February 7, 2017 11:38 am
These are 2 bugs that I saw in my garden March 2016. Please identify them for me. Thank you so much!!
Signature: Sharon Risedorph

Dear Sharon,
This is an Earwig, and it appears to be injured.

Thank you so much Daniel!!!
All the best,
Sharon

Eric Eaton provides a Correction
Hi, Daniel:
Female snakefly trying to shake off the pupa molt.
Eric

WOW!! Thank you!

Letter 2 – Garlic against Earwigs and Cloves to repel Ants!!

Enjoy your website
Hello – Just wanted to say Thank You for your great website! I’m not fond of "bugs" – especially spiders – but it’s getting easier, thanks to you. Also, I want to tell you that for two years now my mailbox has been the birthing room for hordes of earwigs – and this year I chased them all out with garlic! Just a sliced clove of garlic spread around in the mailbox and the lid left open – they skittered out of there in a hurry. Also have had good luck with chasing ants away with powdered cloves. I had ants coming up through my bathroom flooring (I assume through cracked concrete and then through small holes in the vinyl). I mixed a little vegetable oil (for staying power) with a lot of powdered cloves and filled the holes in the vinyl; when the level went down, I poured more in, etc. After several days, the ants left, never to return (and this had been a 6-month + battle). Thanks again for all you do – you are much appreciated.
Mary

Thanks for the helpful hints Mary.

Letter 3 – Hairy Rove Beetle eats Earwig

Ed. Note: The following email was a followup response to an earlier comment. This email was accompanied by 14 photos representing at least 6 different species. While we applaud our new fan’s enthusiasm, we are creating a new posting with edited content. See the initial posting here.

April 28, 2011
Butte County, CA
… I do have a couple of bugs you might be intrigued by; … The other was a seemingly voracious black and white striped bug that was encouraged to go forth and eat LOTS of earwigs.
BTW…I got into chickens as earwig control, and now I have more than I know what to do with…LOL…so watch out! They’re addictive (or at least additive!
…
Anyway, you’re welcome to my photo collection, should you want it…here are two exemplars and enjoy! 🙂
If there’s anything I can do to help you folks, I have no life, so let me know. 🙂
PA

hairy_rove_beetle_pam — Hairy Rove Beetle eats Earwig

Hi Pam,
All of your photos are quite wonderful, but we need to maintain a bit of structure here or we would go careening out of control. Please, don’t put all your eggs (read photos) in one basket (read email) and in the future, please use our identification form which limits the number of photos per submission to three. We choose the best or most representative one to accompany the posting, and we sometimes use two or all three. We are positively thrilled to use some of your photos of a Hairy Rove Beetle eating Earwigs. Several years ago we created a Food Chain section to our site to highlight predators and their prey. You can see BugGuide for additional information on the fascinating Hairy Rove Beetle.

hairy_rove_beetle_pam_2 — Hairy Rove Beetle eats Earwig

Letter 4 – Linear Earwig

what type of earwig is this?
Not knowing the first things about insects other than I see them everyday, this one caught my attention for some reason. After reading little about insects and more specifically earwigs within the past hour I was even more intrigued by this little guy. I read that they are nocturnal and look for dark moist areas to rest in during the day. When in fact this guy was actively pursuing another (live) bug in the hot south texas sun. The temperature is about 95 degrees and the sun is bearing down making the walkways a hundred plus. What was he doing “hunting” in the middle of the morning? Even more, what was he doing up in the hot sun? I also couldn’t help but notice that in comparison to all the artistic renderings as well as photos of earwigs, this guy is a little different. his circi (word I just learned by the way) is exceptionally longer and larger than any photo I have found. The tip is also different in that he has “hooks” at the end. This said, I was hoping you could help me identify this particular earwig. He is every bit 2″ in total length. Maybe he is a Texas Earwig. Little humor there. Thanks in advance for your response. If the pic does not open just throw a .jpg at the end. Sometimes my mac is contrary sending files to others. Thanks,
Andrew Harris

Hi Andrew,
When we need a real expert, we just write to Eric Eaton. He was very excited about your image and would like to see it posted on BugGuide, if you don’t mind. Here is his reply: ” Wow! Stupendous image of a linear earwig, Doru lineare. We could use this image on bugguide if the contributor wants to share. Very cool. “

Letter 5 – Male European Earwig

Subject: Bug in colorado
Location: Colorado
March 16, 2014 4:37 pm
These bugs have prongs in front and move fast. They kind of look like big ants.
Signature: Doesn’t matter

The “prongs” are actually pincers or cerci on the abdomen, and they are in the back of the insect. This is an Earwig in the order Dermaptera, and we believe it is a male European Earwig, Forficula auricularia, a species introduced to North America from Europe in about 1910 according to BugGuide, and now well established coast to coast.

Letter 6 – Male European Earwig

Subject: Unknown
Location: Columbus ohio
June 7, 2016 2:30 pm
What kind of big is this? A nest is in the dirt under our tree
Signature: Thanks jenny

Dear Jenny,
We believe your Earwig is a male European Earwig based on this BugGuide image.

Letter 7 – Male European Earwig from England

Subject: Creepy scorpiony looking insect
Location: London, England
July 12, 2014 6:21 pm
Hey! I found this weird insect in my bathtub this evening . It’s dead but I got a picture of it because I’ve never ever seen anything like it before ! It looks like a scorpion from one end but a different insect from the other end! It is summer here in England now. Could you please help me identify this bug as i am really curious as to what it is! Thank you very much!
Signature: Ramandeep

Dear Ramandeep,
This is an Earwig, commonly called a Pincher Bug. Despite the ominous appearance, Earwigs lack venom and they are perfectly harmless. In our opinion, this looks like a male European Earwig, Forficula auriculari, and you may read more about the European Earwig on BugGuide.

Letter 8 – Native Earwig from Australia

Subject: Agressive Earwig
Location: greater Adelaide, South Australia
November 4, 2016 6:05 pm
I lifted a pot and this earwig kept attacking my hands. I have a book on insects in greater Adelaide but it only has two species that do not look like this one.
It was very “full”, its inside bulging between the body segments when it turned, and its pincers short and very stiff. Its pinch actually managed to hurt!
Sorry the photo isn’t of very high quality, it was moving fast.
Signature: Gen

Subject: Friendly Earwig
Location: greater Adelaide, South Australia
November 4, 2016 6:08 pm
I have a book on the insects of greater Adelaide, but it only includes two earwigs.
Initially I thought this may be a brown earwig without wings, perhaps a female with abnormally large pincers, but it has a very defined line on the back of its head.
Signature: Gen

Dear Gen,
Since we received two Earwig identification requests from you, one labeled “Agressive [sic] Earwig” and the other labeled “Friendly Earwig” and since we believe they represent the same species, we are combining them into one posting. The Farmstyle website has an image identified only as a Native Earwig and the information that it is: “native to Australia and is thought to be a predator, not a pest.” We also found an image of a Native Earwig on PestWeb and the species is identified as Gonolabis michaelseni. There are additional images of Gonolabis michaelseni on Friends of Queens Park Bushland.

Thankyou for the information! I was confused as I couldn’t find anything on these earwigs despite them being everywhere. I feel a bit silly for not considering they were the same bug but different genders!

Letter 9 – Newly Molted Earwig

Subject: Newly molted earwig?
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
July 10, 2017 5:34 pm
Hi bugman,
I read on one of the posts that an albino looking earwig could have newly molted and the exoskeleton hasn’t yet hardened. I think I found one with its discarded exuvia. Is this one female? Is this a Forficula auricularia? How long does it take for the new one to harden? Would it eat the old skin cast?
Thank you!!!
Signature: nyctibius

Dear nyctibius,
Thanks so much for sending your awesome image of a newly molted Earwig with its exuvia, supporting our previous posting that the light color on an Earwig indicated it was freshly molted.

Letter 10 – Possibly Earwig

Subject: What’s this bug?
Location: Philadelphia
April 24, 2016 11:59 am
I have been getting small bites on my hands sporadically since January. I had bed bugs in September of 2015 and got treatment for them and everything seemed to be fine until January. In January, I found another bite on my hand so I had the treatment again, although this time the exterminator said he did not see any signs of bed bugs. In March 2016 I found another bite on my hand so I called a new exterminator and although he said he didn’t see any sign of bed bugs, he treated my apartment anyway. I found a new bite on my thumb last week (April 2016) and a second bite on the same hand this morning (4 days later). I found this bug dead on the floor at the foot of my bed and immediately called my exterminator, who said it is not a bed bug. Do you know what this insect is?
Signature: Totally Losing It!

Dear Totally Losing It!,
This looks like an Earwig. They are considered more of a nuisance than a pest.

Reader Emails

Over the years, our website, whatsthatbug.com has received hundreds of letters and some interesting images asking us about these insects. Scroll down to have a look at some of them.