Ear pince-nez: useful or dangerous?

Of course, ear pussies do not belong in the apartment. But are they dangerous and do they really creep in your ear at night? Find the facts here.

The ear pince-nez - or earwigs in general - has not really gotten warm since the Middle Ages. New findings have completely changed the light on him: Now he should no longer be a malicious parasite of our ears, but a useful garden helper. We explain to you whether the ear pince-nez is useful, harmful or dangerous.

First of all, we want to describe the pince-nez in a very sober way in terms of its way of life, then we will clarify whether pince-nez actually do anything to our ears. And after we have summarized whether it is a beneficial insect or a pest, we will explain to you how a pince-nez hotel in the garden can encourage the small animals.

Ear pince-nez: description and way of life

Earwigs belong to the earwig order (Dermaptera). The included genus has existed for at least 34 million years Forficula, which also includes the ear pince-nez found here and in North America. Although ear pikers are flight insects taxonomically, most of them rarely or never fly. Their membranous hind wings are hidden under the hardened forewings, which they can fold up in a complicated manner. The common earwig (Forficula auricularia) the hind wings are so reduced that it can hardly fly. It has biting-chewing mouthparts and is omnivorous. He is rarely interested in selected types of ornamental plants or fruits. With a body length of only 9 to 16 mm, it is a small representative of its order - earwigs up to 6.5 cm in length live in Australia.

The pincers - called cerci - are used in hunting, defense, wing unfolding and mating. Forficula auricularia is what is commonly referred to in Germany as "the ear pince-nez" or, optionally, ear hawks, ear lice or even Ohrawusler. Its way of life is cryptic, under damp leaves or bark, in cracks and crevices it finds food and also lays its eggs there. He only got into the house by chance, but sheds, garages, balconies and garden sheds are often chosen as quarters. Here's how to do it Ear puss in house, apartment and garden can get rid of or combat with traps.

Ear pince-nez: myth or truth?

In the Middle Ages, it was believed that earwigs crawled into our ears at night, tore the eardrum with their forceps, and then laid their eggs in our skulls. The Middle Ages may have been a long time ago, but the naming still left a certain unease. Incidentally, this was even anchored in the Latin name: auricula means something like "little ears". And it is just as easy to explain why ear pikers like to stay in beds: Beds are often slightly damp - only these days when they are not ventilated, but in the Middle Ages there was hardly any moisture in houses, especially in times of rain to drive out. Also the tightness and the darkness like the ears and that's probably how the myth of the dangerous, crawling pest originated. Perhaps as a revenge, the animals were later used as ear medicine: ground and sprinkled in the ears, they were supposed to cure hearing loss, ear diseases or even deafness.

Tip ear pince-nez bite: The "bite" of an ear pincer, i.e. pinching the end of the abdomen with the pliers (cerci) is not poisonous and does not hurt either. It can happen, however, that a pince-nez defends itself in this way if it is pressured too much. He is also able to shoot enemies up to 10 cm away with a secretion - a chemical weapon that is harmless to us.

The ear pince as a pest

On grain stores, ripening grapes and peaches, as well as on some ornamental plants - including Clematis (Clematis), Trumpet flower (Campsis radicans), Angel trumpet (Brugmansia) and Dahlias (Dahlia) - ear peas can appear as a pest. This behavior is the exception rather than the rule, but it is not yet Plant protection products are approved for combating, so that an infestation in commercial farming can cause problems can lead. Since the ear pince-nez often get into the crop during harvest, they also cause additional costs, because the harvest now has to be monitored more elaborately. In the vast majority of cases, however, the ear pince-nez is limited to other insects to continue consuming damaged fruits and plants - so he is almost never responsible for the primary damage responsible.

It can occasionally appear in human dwellings, but there is no plague, as the animals never produce more than two generations per year. In damp and dark sheds, garages, garden sheds and on shady balconies, however, they like to look for quarters that they then populate too many. If you want to dissolve such a camp, learn from this article Ear peckers in the apartmenthow this can be done. Our Plantura is an effective way of combating uncomfortable tenants Ant remedies. It can also be used indoors and, if used correctly, poses no danger.

The ear pince as a beneficial organism

There's a reason there aren't yet any real open-field ear pucks controls: they're actually either harmless, or even quite useful, most of the time. Since they mainly feed on detritus - i.e. organic waste - and fungi and algae, they are Part of the valuable soil life and participates in the formation of humus and the release of nutrients. Because it also eats small insects, it partially serves as a beneficial insect: Aphids and other slower plant pests are occasionally eaten, as well as the eggs of various butterflies and even Powdery mildew mushrooms. Last but not least, catchy tunes are of course themselves food for garden guests like sparrows, hedgehogs and shrews. So if you want to use the power of ear pincers and occasionally a nibbled leaf edge or one secondarily colonized apples should not hesitate to settle ear pimples rather than them fight.

Conclusion: is the ear pince-nez useful or dangerous?

In the garden the ear pince-nez is more useful than harmful and also in our gazebos and sheds it is more annoying and unpleasant than actually dangerous. Its big pincers and its primeval appearance are especially frightening to children. Here you should refrain from passing on the old wives' tales of the parasitic ear crawlers. There are many non-toxic and therefore also safe for humans and (pets) methods to get rid of the animal - we have them for you in this article Ear pince-nez in the apartment summarized. We recommend removing ear peasants from human dwellings using our Plantura ant remedy consistently to keep it away, but to tolerate or even encourage it in the garden. It's very easy: with an ear pince-nez hotel that you can easily make yourself according to our instructions.

Tip: Our Plantura Ant middlel can not only with ear pimples but of course also with Ants (Formicidae), Cellar lobsters (Porcellio scaber) and Silverfish (Lepisma saccharrina) effectively remedy the situation.

Attract ear pussies: hotels, flower pots and more.

To encourage ear pikers, you can make a good shelter for them. Such an ear-pecker hotel quickly leads to regular gatherings of the very sociable animals. Eggs are also laid here and are protected from many predators.

How is a pince-nez hotel built?

1. Use a classic clay pot. If you want to hang it up later, it should have a hole in it.
2. Fill the pot with straw, hay or wood wool and dust it with a handful of soil.
3. Pinch out a round shape from chick wire that protrudes about 3 cm above the edge of the pot when it is held out.
4. Close the clay pot with the grid by bending it around the pot opening and looping a wire around it and twisting it tightly.
5. You can put the prepared pot in the bed or hang it on trees or sticks. When hanging up, make sure that the pot is in direct contact with the tree or with another natural means of climbing. It is also beneficial if the inside of the pot does not get too wet when it rains: You can cover the hole in the bottom with glued-on potsherds, for example.

Tip: Of course, you can also decorate the pot to turn the ear pince-nez hotel into an eye-catcher in the garden. Or you can use particularly beautiful ceramics straight away. A ceramic ear pince-nez hotel can easily be made out of any hollow, open garden decoration. However, if you do not want to attract the ear pince-nez but want to get rid of it, you will find everything you need to know about successful here Combating ear pimples.