While we’re all bound to encounter bugs of one sort or another in the home at certain points in the year, there are certain creepy crawlies that the majority of us can live without.
If you happen to live in a rural area, you’re most likely well accustomed to flies, ants, spiders, and the like taking up residence—or at least attempting to—in your home during the summer months and beyond.
Some people aren’t fazed by the yearly bug invasion; others are less, shall we say, tolerant of the idea. Spiders building their webs in my corners I can live with, and the odd fly buzzing around the kitchen is hardly going to ruin my day.
I take exception, however, to earwigs…
Let’s get one thing straight: having bugs in your home is unfortunately inevitable. But earwigs? Those sinister, unnervingly quick little creatures with pincers that look like they’re straight out of a horror movie? Oh, come on! Nobody asked for this horror show in real life.
You’ll most certainly have seen an earwig in your home at some point, even if you didn’t recognize it for what it was. The truth is, these little insects are about as far from cute as you could possibly come, yet they might look like they pack a nasty sting or bite. Remarkably, they’re completely harmless.
Harmless or not, having a horde of earwigs vulgarizing your cozy abode isn’t exactly anyone’s idea of a good time. I, for one, found one particularly genius hack for dealing with them incredibly useful.
Facebook user Alicia Alexander hit the jackpot with a tried-and-tested method for handling earwig invasions, and trust me, this could be your new best friend too.
According to Alicia, filling a shallow bowl with half a cup of olive oil, then placing said bowl in your backyard or on your deck, is the perfect way to trap earwigs.
The below picture reportedly shows how many earwigs Alicia had managed to accumulate after less than 24 hours:
And here’s that same bowl after 36 hours…
Earwigs are apparently attracted to the sweet aroma of olive oil. But once the little critters climb into the bowl, they’re stuck! They can’t muster the strength to climb back out. If you’re battling an earwig infestation, this might just be the ideal solution!
What They Mean
Okay, time for a little tough love. The large number of earwigs in your home might be waving a red flag that you shouldn’t ignore. Unusual numbers of these creepy critters could indicate problems with rotting wood. Earwigs are among the array of insects attracted to wood rot. So, check any wooden structures you have at home, alright?
More often than not, earwigs simply seek warmer conditions inside your house and, believe it or not, you stressing over their presence is unnecessary. They’re highly unlikely to affect your day-to-day life in any profound way.
So, did you know about this simple hack to get rid of earwigs? If you didn’t, now you do, and wouldn’t it be grand to live just a little less creepily?
