84 EARWIGS. 



a common habit of Earwigs to lay their eggs under clods of 

 earth, or in holes in the earth, or similar places, and to take 

 care of them, all measures of cultivation which would stir the 

 surface early in spring and disturb the Earwigs and their 

 progeny would be of service. Taking care that walls should 

 be in good order and well "pointed," and also tbat house 

 walls should be free from creeping or climbing plants, would 

 lessen much shelter for the insects from which they come out 

 to feed on wall fruit, or to enter our houses. 



(2). In trapping, all the measures in use are simply varieties 

 of plans based on the dislike of the Earwig to exposure to 

 light, and its consequent habit of availing itself of dry and 

 dark shelter after its nocturnal ravages. Simply for garden 

 use probably the most convenient plan is the long known 

 method of traj^ping by putting a little bunch of hay or straw 

 in the bottom of a moderate- sized or rather small iiower-pot, 

 and then setting the pot wrong way up on the top of a stake 

 to which the infested plant (as a Dahlia, for instance) is 

 fastened. If the hay is well pressed into the bottom of the 

 pot, its own elasticity keeps it from falling out whilst the pot 

 is being turned wrong way up ; and each morning the hay 

 should be examined, or shaken out over a gravel walk, or 

 broad board, or some hard smooth surface, so that the 

 Earwigs which fall down, and would, if allowed, run away 

 quickly, may be killed before they can escape. The pots can 

 be examined and the Earwigs killed very rapidly, and a very 

 useful clearance made. 



On June 26th, 1896, I received, per favour of the editor of 

 the ' Agricultural Gazette,' some communication regarding 

 much injury that was being done to the Hops of a corre- 

 spondent by Earwig attack to the leafage, and the following 

 note (published in the 'Agricultural Gazette' for July 6th) 

 shows good results from broadscale application of the above 

 plan : — 



"Yesterday I had about three hundred flower-pots, each 

 with a wisp of straw in it, put on sticks, and this morning 

 each flower-pot had from live to twenty-five Earwigs in it. I 

 propose to put up about one thousand flower-pots, and hope 

 in that way to lessen the attack." 



In a bad attack of Earwigs on an experimental plantation 

 of Tobacco tried by the late Mr. Faunce de Laune, at 

 Sharsted Court, near Sittingbourne, in 1886, the following 

 note was sent me regarding the plans being tried to catch 

 the Earwigs : — 



" We have several plans of catching these insects. . . . 

 The plan I have found to answer best is by hanging old bags 

 on gates near the Tobacco, or on stakes amongst the plants ; 



