Earwigs are a common pest in Arizona, though not one that you need to be too concerned about inside your home. Earwigs prefer to live outdoors and feed on vegetation as well as other insects. Though they look formidable with their long, flat bodies and forceps, they are harmless to people and animals.

Earwigs live mainly outside the home, and they don’t establish themselves indoors regularly. With that being said, they can end up inside in many ways. Sometimes it’s as simple as an earwig that lives in your garden or around the foundation of your home crawling up your house and entering through an opening. Especially during particularly hot summers, earwigs have a tendency to end up inside.

Earwigs are night travelers, staying hidden during the hot day. Similar to bed bugs, earwigs are considered to be hitch hikers, scurrying into hiding spots before the sun comes up. As such, earwigs can travel a long distance on unsuspecting items, including:

1)    Newspapers  and Mail

It’s not unheard of for an earwig to end up in the house after climbing into a newspaper delivery bag in the morning. Afterall, earwigs thrive outdoors in damp environments, and try to find hiding before the sun comes up. A newspaper tossed onto your front step or lawn early in the morning is a great place for an earwig to take up hiding.  Just like the newspaper, the mail is an easy target for earwigs. You’ll probably find an earwig among your catalogs and bills more than once a year, as they thrive in the dark folds of your mail.

2)   Luggage

Earwigs can climb into dark, damp suitcases fairly easily. The dark environment filled with clothing is ideal for earwigs that seek refuge from daylight. Interestingly, earwigs can’t crawl long distances and they rarely fly, but they travel very far due to their ability to hitchhike on luggage.

3)   Cardboard boxes

Cardboard boxes, especially those that have been sitting outside or in a damp, dark area, are prime hiding spots for earwigs. The flaps on a cardboard box offer earwigs shelter. It is not uncommon for someone to pick up a cardboard box of items at a garage sale and find a few earwigs among their new possessions.

4)   Outside the Home

Earwigs thrive in dark, damp areas. Because Arizona is so dry, that means they’re often driven deep into the soil or under rocks, stepping stones and down spouts. You might be working in your garden, pick up a potted plant and find earwigs scurrying underneath it.

5)   Inside the Home

When earwigs do get inside, often on some of the items listed above, they move quickly and can show up just about anywhere. We’ve heard plenty of stories of people screaming when they see an earwig in the shower, or find one on their towel or even in their beds.

The important thing to remember about earwigs is that though they’re a nuisance and look menacing, they are harmless to you and your pets. Although they can’t cause you any physical harm, they can wreck havoc on your garden and can be controlled with a pest control service.