We recently moved our couch over to make room for visitors and discovered several dead earwigs in the impression from one of the legs. We've moved the couch before and not seen anything, and we haven't seen any live earwigs, but now we're wondering what to do. Is there any way to save the couch and get rid of the earwigs or is our best bet to throw the couch out?

Thanks!

Have you need seen them elsewhere in the house?

Don't get rid of the couch. Vacuum it and clean it as much as you can... but a few earwigs that got underneath.. no big deal.

Do you commonly have them outside? You can look online for control measures outside, like reducung moisture, sealing windows and doors...

We tend to have them around my house, and a few always get inside. Wife hates them... but its no big deal.

My understanding is that though they can show up in numbers from time to time, they are temporary pests.

Check your plants to see if they're getting eaten.

But I wouldn't throw out a couch for a few earwigs anymore than id replace a window for the few dead flies.

We have earwigs in my house too and they are so disgusting! To get rid of them we had to spray the basement with earwig killer. You could spray the bottom of your couch... that might help. But a chemical free solution would be to place some trays of sunlight dish detergent under the couch. The earwigs are attracted to the detergent but then get stuck in it. That's what we do upstairs where we can't spray because of the pets!

We're pretty sure the earwigs are actually coming from the couch and not from outside. The couch sat in a driveway (covered) for a couple of weeks before we moved in here. We've lived here for about 5 months and never saw a sign of them until this week - and then just the dead ones that looked like they had come from the actual leg of the couch. We're thinking there might be eggs inside the frame/upholstery of the couch. We might try the detergent thing, but are there any other suggestions. We really would like to save the couch, but it really weirds me out to even sit on it now.

Thanks!

OK I think I've got the same problem as you, We bought this couch used, and apparently it sat outside for a while before we got it. So now its been 3 days and I've killed 3 earwigs... no horror movies for me till I'm sure I got this cleaned up.

Anyway
So far I've heard fantastic spray (the countertop cleaner) will kill them on contact. But can be expensive. And soapy water will kill them too, but this will attract them as well. So you set out a little saucer with soapy water in it, they are attracted to the smell of the soap, and drown/die in the saucer. One other is to roll up a few sheets of newspaper into a crumpled tube, And moisten it, they love tight squeezes and damp places so you leave that under the couch overnight, and then in the morning, its supposed to be filled with them. Then you just toss them.

Personally id rather them dead then trapped in paper, so Im going to use the soap method, and then get some roach motels.
Hope it works for you and for me.

Earwigs love dark places, so hiding in a couch that's been outside is a given. Their food source is decaying organic matter. (That helps to keep them away f/ house but not once already inside.) Try the soap fix (I'd not heard of it and no idea if works) or boric acid powder. Sprinkle under cushions and in crevices, and on floor under and around couch. It abrades bodies and dries them out. If you vac up live ones, make sure you dispose of vac bag right away.