Noticing more earwigs and other pesky bugs this summer? Don’t call pest control just yet.
The warmer weather we saw over the winter means there are in fact more earwigs and other critters.
“I think that this summer, there’s going to be a lot more insects in general, just because the winter was warm, a lot of insects that would have been killed off by it or at least reduced in number by colder temperatures, were able to survive throughout the winter,” said Aaron Fairweather, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Guelph focusing on entomology.
“They’re just going to be more abundant, and earwigs are certainly an example of that.”
Throughout the winter, adult earwigs die off, and the eggs are left throughout the cold months. A certain per cent will be killed by colder temperatures, “but because of how warm it was, a lot more of them will be persisting into the next year.”
The same goes for carpenter ants and wasp queens, although some insects, like fireflies, might decline in population because of the warmer weather drying up vernal pools (temporary flooded forest areas in the spring).
“You might see them more often in your gardens and that kind of thing. They can be a nuisance, but they're still quite beneficial.”
Earwigs are omnivorous scavengers that will feed on everything from fruits and vegetables to decaying organic material, worms, snails and other pests.
“They're cleaning up the environment, taking care of a lot of those dead bodies, and mushrooms and decomposing matter,” Fairweather said.
They’re also one of the only insects to show parental care – even more so than reptiles.
“If you find earwigs, often they'll be wrapped around their eggs and trying to protect them. And they even feed their babies personally,” they said.
Still, they’re not the most popular bug, and can be intimidating with their pincers and name – although Fairweather assures they don’t pierce human skin, aren’t actually interested in your ears, and likely won’t infest your house, even if you’re seeing more than normal.
This is because they need cold, damp soil to lay their eggs.
“You'll only really find them in kind of dark and dingy places. So you might find them in your basement. They aren't going to do any damage to your house. And they're not very abundant – because of the way that they reproduce, they won't end up actually growing inside your home.”
Fairweather suggests if you do see one inside your home, just pick it up and put it back outside.
“Think people give them a bad rap when they're not doing all that much to people,” they said.
