How to Remove Earwigs From a Plum Tree

Earwigs benefit gardens through pest control, but large populations can damage fruit trees.

Nearly two dozen earwig species live in the United States. They share a common feature --- pincers on their tails. Earwigs don't typically attack people and they use their pincers in defense only. Earwigs have their benefits, controlling aphids and other garden pests. Still, the insects can destroy young vegetable plants, flowers and emerging fruits. If you have a serious infestation that's costing you fresh fruit from your plum tree, you'll likely want to control your earwig population.

Things You'll Need

• Empty tuna cans, 6 oz.
• Vegetable oil
• Bacon grease
• Trash bag
• Pail
• Detergent
• Tanglefoot gel
• Birdseed
• Newspapers

Instructions

Removing the Earwigs

1. Remove earwig-friendly dwellings near or on your plum tree. Ivy, vining plants, weeds, decaying leaves, mulch and trash piles will attract earwigs, who sleep in protected areas during the day and feast on fruit at night. Clear all areas with 15 feet of your plum tree.

2. Rub or brush off loose bark toward the bottom of your tree to eliminate crevices that shelter earwigs.

3. Make a few earwig traps with tuna fish cans. Pour about 1 inch of vegetable oil in each can and add a few drops of bacon grease. Set the cans around the base of your fruit tree. The scent will attract the earwigs. The oil will trap them.

4. Once your cans fill with earwigs, empty them in a trash bag, seal the bag and set it out with your garbage and away from your garden, in case the bugs are still alive. If you see live bugs in your traps, you can also shake them into a pail of soapy water to kill them.

5. Refill the cans with the vegetable oil-bacon fat blend and reset the traps at the base of your tree. Continue trapping until you no longer catch earwigs.

Preventing Future Outbreaks

1. Apply a layer of tanglefoot, a sticky gel that prevent insects from crawling up to your tree's fruit, surrounding the bottom of your plum tree's trunk.

2. Prune your tree regularly, removing dead or thin branches and picking fruit as soon as it ripens.

3. Earwigs have natural predators, including songbirds. Attracting animals that eat earwigs can keep your garden's earwig population under control. Add a water source for birds and set out a songbird seed blend to draw them to your tree.

4. Check your earwig population regularly. Set folded newspapers near the trunk of your tree in the morning. Earwigs sleep in protected areas during the day. If they're in your garden, they'll hide in the newspapers, and you'll find them there mid-day. As soon as you see earwigs returning to hide in your newspapers, restart your can-trapping program.

Tips & Warnings

• Earwigs can benefit your garden, eating aphids, gnats and other pests that destroy crops. Consider leaving earwigs to do their natural job if their presence in your plum tree is limited.

References

• University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources; Earwig Management Guidelines; M.L. Flint; September 2002
• University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension; Controlling Earwigs; P.J. Pellitteri; 1999
• Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences; European Earwigs; Steve Jacobs Sr.; January 2009