Should gardeners be concerned about earwigs?

SALT LAKE CITY – One of the biggest enemies of tomatoes is earwigs. But is this a pest that gardeners should be concerned about?

Last week on the KSL Greenhouse show, Taun and guest co-host Dave Mecham from KSL NewsRadio talked about how they started seeing earwigs around their house. They haven’t seen too many yet, but they’re definitely growing.

How big of a pest are earwigs?

They’re usually decomposers, meaning they eat dead organic matter.

“They even are predators of aphids and other small insects that can cause some damage in the garden, so they can be beneficial,” Taun said.

The problem is when you start seeing hundreds and thousands of them. Once they grow to that extent, they’ll start eating your tomatoes, raspberries, and anything else they can reach. If there aren’t too many of them, Taun says you can just monitor them.

How can we discourage them from getting into the garden?

“They like a cover that has lower temperatures and a little bit higher humidity… You will find them less commonly in areas with bare ground,” Taun said.

Mecham has a part of his garden where he waters just the tomato plants. He noticed he doesn’t really have earwig problems there because the rest of that area is pretty dry.

If you don’t want to use insecticides to get rid of them, Taun suggests making traps using tuna fish, soy sauce, or anything that has a strong smell.

Listen to the full segment on our podcast below!

The KSL Greenhouse is on every Saturday from 8 a.m.-11 a.m. You can follow the show on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and on our website.