Stone patio base - anything that will discourage earwigs?

jcaimbridge

Hello, I am constructing a stone patio. The type of stone I plan to use is large field stone (plenty of it in upstate NY). As far as obtaining the stone goes it would of course be much easier to use flagstone, but I don't like the plain look of it (what I've collected is mostly flat, but I also like the irregularity of it).

The main concern of this post is what to use as a base. I've read that one can simply use landscape fabric or geotextile, but my current issue is that there are lots of earwigs in this soil. If there are particular types of bases or extra steps one can take that will discourage the earwigs from remaining in the soil, I would like to take advantage of them and I will go at great lengths to do so--even if it means digging several feet down and swapping out all of the soil with something else. It would be a shame to put so much work in this and end up with something that is just another home for these insects.

To give an idea of how bad it is, we already regularly spray around the perimeter of our house just so we're not overrun indoors (last two summers were a nightmare--there's a lot of them. The last straw was when I stuffed my nightly earplugs into my ear only to find that there was one hanging out on the insertion end of it. Yes, it was as bad of an experience as you can imagine). You can see them scurrying all over the place when you dig out chunks of the soil, and I don't dare to sit in the grass as they'll be crawling on me within minutes.

If these were just ants or spiders, I wouldn't care (yes, we have those too, but they seem to mind their own business and keep their numbers in check), but earwigs get in and under everything, reproduce like crazy, and cause a considerable amount of anxiety for my family and I.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Fix'n it

what are you using to kill them now ? is it working ? how well ?

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creeper

The earwigs are looking for cool, damp spots to hide in the daytime. Under flagstone is perfect. It does sound like you have an excessive amount of them. I think, like anything, they are cyclic. This summer is hot and humid..perfect for them.

Someone said roll up wet newspaper and place around the garden. In the morning they crawl in there and you just toss the whole thing away.