Earwig Removal in Ottawa

Danger / Damage

Earwigs look scarier than they are, and they’re not really a serious threat to people. The bigger “damage” usually happens outside, where they can chew up seedlings, flower petals, and soft fruits, and make your garden look rough fast. Indoors, repeated sightings are your real warning sign: there’s often a damp hiding spot that keeps sending them back.

Active Months

In Ottawa, earwig problems ramp up from late spring through early fall, especially during humid weeks and rainy stretches. After heavy rain, outdoor hiding spots flood, and earwigs push toward foundations, door thresholds, and basements in search of shelter. You can still see them indoors anytime the home stays damp, even when the weather cools down.

Appearance

You’ll usually notice a small, quick insect that darts for cover the second you turn the light on. It’s typically brown to dark reddish-brown with long antennae and a distinct set of pincers at the back end. If you keep spotting them near sinks, tubs, under mats, or along baseboards, that pattern is a strong clue they’re nesting nearby.

Habitat

Moisture and sheltered clutter are the big magnets, so indoor hotspots include basements, laundry rooms, bathrooms, under-sink cabinets, floor drains, and areas behind baseboards. Outside, they pile up under mulch, wet leaves, stones, garden debris, and woodpiles, especially when those sit close to your foundation. They slip inside through tiny gaps around doors, windows, vents, and openings where pipes or cables enter.

Life Cycle

Earwigs lay eggs in protected, damp areas, which lets populations build quietly without you noticing at first. Once the young hatch, they stay close to the same shelter zones and mature over the season, so “random sightings” can turn into a steady pattern. Professional Earwig Removal helps interrupt that cycle by treating the hotspots that keep producing repeat activity.