As temperatures drop through late September and October, earwigs become one of the most common autumn callouts we see across Long Eaton, Sandiacre, Clifton and Ruddington. They are not dangerous and rarely cause structural damage, but a sudden indoor surge is unsettling for homeowners — and the reasons they turn up differ noticeably between these areas.
Why earwigs move indoors in autumn
Earwigs shelter outdoors through summer under bark, mulch, stones and garden debris, feeding on decaying plant matter and soft-bodied insects. Once night temperatures fall, they instinctively seek tighter, warmer gaps — which is exactly what a house offers. They squeeze through gaps as narrow as a couple of millimetres: worn window seals, loose airbrick mesh, gaps around pipework, and the tiny voids under skirting boards and door thresholds.
Long Eaton and Sandiacre: gardens, allotments and canal-side terraces
Long Eaton and Sandiacre have a high concentration of allotments, established back gardens and canal-side terraces along the Erewash Canal corridor. Compost heaps, log piles, raised beds and garden furniture left out over summer are all prime earwig habitat right next to the house. We regularly find the entry point is a woodpile stacked against an external wall, or a shed base with a gap that leads straight to an adjoining property’s airbrick. Older terraced housing in this area often has original single-glazed timber window frames too, which shrink slightly in cooler weather and open up draught gaps earwigs exploit.
Clifton and Ruddington: estate housing versus village properties
Clifton and Ruddington present a different picture. Clifton’s estate housing, much of it built with UPVC fascias, soffits and modern cavity walls, sees earwigs enter through poorly sealed soffit vents and gaps where pipework passes through external cladding — often unnoticed until residents find several in a bathroom or kitchen. Ruddington, with its mix of older stone and brick village properties near Rushcliffe Country Park, tends to see entry through traditional airbricks, cellar gaps and gaps around outbuildings, particularly on properties backing onto fields or hedgerows where earwig populations outdoors are naturally higher.
Signs you have an earwig problem, not just a stray visitor
- Finding several earwigs a day in the same room, especially bathrooms, kitchens or conservatories
- Earwigs appearing inside light fittings, behind picture frames or in curtain folds overnight
- A noticeable increase after a spell of colder or wetter weather
- Damage to soft fruit, dahlias or seedlings in an attached greenhouse or porch
Why DIY sprays often fall short
Off-the-shelf sprays kill earwigs on contact but do nothing about the gaps they are using to get in, so the same problem recurs every cool evening. A proper treatment identifies and seals or treats entry points at the source — airbricks, soffit gaps, door thresholds and foundation-level cracks — alongside targeted treatment of nearby harbourage such as log piles, compost areas and garden features. This is particularly important for the older housing stock common across Long Eaton, Sandiacre and Ruddington, where multiple small entry points are the norm rather than a single obvious gap.
Book an inspection
If you’re noticing more earwigs indoors than usual in Long Eaton, Sandiacre, Clifton or Ruddington, we can identify exactly how they’re getting in and deal with it properly rather than just spraying what you can see. Call NestBusters on 0742 984 9483 or visit nottinghampest.co.uk to book an inspection.
