Earwig: All You Need to Know – Essential Tips and Facts for Homeowners

folder_openDermaptera, Insecta
comment14 Comments

Earwig: Doru species

Cave Earwigs
Possibly Immature Cave Earwigs



 

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  • Bugman

    Bugman aka Daniel Marlos has been identifying bugs since 1999. whatsthatbug.com is his passion project and it has helped millions of readers identify the bug that has been bugging them for over two decades. You can reach out to him through our Contact Page.

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  • Piyushi is a nature lover, blogger and traveler at heart. She lives in beautiful Canada with her family. Piyushi is an animal lover and loves to write about all creatures.

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Tags: Earwig

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14 Comments. Leave new

  • blackwidower
    April 20, 2010 3:58 am

    So, this comment is regarding all earwigs, in general, despite the risk of “over-generalizing.” I had the experience of stepping on one of these in Brazil. It looked identical to the ones running around my house here in California. The thing is, it is being repeated that they cannot break human skin and I can tell you with great certainty, they surely can. It hurt pretty bad. And when I tried to pull him off, he gripped harder, which I noted. Gross. Anyway, he punctured my heel, drew blood. And that was the skin on my heel. Not like he punctured my eye lid. Just to set you straight on that.

    Reply
  • Good evening, I would like to comment on the submission from SK, Canada that while it’s possible and perhaps likely there was an earwig stowaway in your strawberries from California, I have never seen an earwig in northern CA that has the yellow on the back. I have lived in northern CA for 4 decades. Our earwigs, or “pincher bugs,” as we call them, are brown and do not have wings. They are typically found EVERYWHERE in the spring, but do seem to prefer dark, cool places. I even find them in my mail box in the mornings. I have never known one to pinch anyone, however 🙂

    Reply
    • Increased mobility of people and goods will cause previously unknown species to appear in new locations. Earwigs are good stowaways.

      Reply
  • Is there a higher resolution for this photo? There are interesting-looking insects on the neck of the bat, which look similar to some leiodidae spp. that live in caves.

    Reply
    • We cropped to the head of the bat, creating the largest file without degradation we could from the original file, and posted it. If you click on the image, you can get an enlargement.

      Reply
  • Ok, thanks! What interesting things can be found in caves…

    Reply
  • In all my years here in Regina, I’ve never seen an earwig, mostly I remember them from my childhood in NS, however, my coworker agrees that Ontario is the likely source.

    Reply
  • Oh this is a freaky post. I picked a small earwig up today that had fallen out of the wood I was about to put in our fireplace. It wasn’t happy and kept flicking its nippers up. Glad it didn’t nip me.. 🙂

    Reply
  • This is DEFINITELY not a European Earwig. The head and the wing buds are black, while European earwig heads are brown and wing buds are red/yellow/black.
    The cerci also look more built for combat, while European earwigs have more vestigial cerci.

    Reply
  • This is DEFINITELY not a European Earwig. The head and the wing buds are black, while European earwig heads are brown and wing buds are red/yellow/black.
    The cerci also look more built for combat, while European earwigs have more vestigial cerci.

    Reply
  • I just found one in my bathroom in tulsa oklahoma 2018 november 23rd 42° outside but its been regularly in the 30s. Is this thing harmful for my pets or children and if theres one will there be more?

    Reply
  • Nelia M. Fernandez
    May 31, 2019 10:03 am

    Well I found one and I live in NC. Never encountered one before thank you for the info…

    Reply
  • Angela Marie Sanchez
    July 27, 2023 5:18 am

    This ear wig was in my peanut butter chocolate cookie from southern Arizona , I pinched me inside my mouth inner lip . Super freaked out .

    Reply

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