What is dangerous earwig for a man: myth and reality

Recall your reaction when you accidentally came across a quickly wiping earwig or otherwise ordinary two-tail at home or on the street. Most people shudder and frown, and some also begin to quickly leave the meeting place with this unpleasant-looking insect. There are a lot of terrible stories about the earwig that her bite is poisonous and capable of killing a person, that she can creep into the ear, and through it, biting the membrane, penetrate the head and lay down its larvae there. What is dangerous earwig for a person? How to behave when it is detected? How to prevent a bite? And which of the stories is true, but what is the myth?

It is interesting! On the territory of our country there is mainly an earwig or a common fork, but simply a two-tail. It is extremely rare to encounter a coastal earwig, which lives mainly on the Black Sea coast.

Earwig Description

The insect has a small long brown body with two impressive claws in the tail area. In case of danger, she rises on her forelegs, bends strongly, lifts her tail and exposes her tserki, while releasing odorous substance. All this makes her look like a poisonous and scary scorpion. In fact, an earwig needs such a tail in order to hunt and keep the small insects and larvae that it feeds on, well, for protection.

Also, some species on the body have underdeveloped wings that are securely hidden under solid elytra, but for a full flight they are not suitable, if the earwigs fly, then in extreme cases it is very inept. The insect prefers to be active at dusk and at night, during the day it hides in dark and humid places. Live earwigs groups, in wetlands, there can be incredibly many.

Earwig habitat. Benefits and harm to humans

Two-tailed birds live mainly in rural areas in gardens, in vegetable gardens or in a person’s house. Since the insect loves moist, dark and cool places, therefore, in residential premises they prefer bathrooms, cellars and other damp rooms with poor ventilation. In order to prevent the arrival of his house by uninvited guests, first of all, you need to keep it in order.

Harm caused by an earwig to humans

The harmful nature of the activity of a double-tail for humans consists in eating and causing damage to the crop. They are omnivorous and prefer fruits, vegetables, plants, garden flowers, especially roses and dahlias, gnaw at the ends of leaves and tree roots, make their way to beehives and destroy bees. With a large congestion, they can destroy all seedlings.

Recommendation! When you fall asleep humus in a greenhouse, well check it for the presence of earwigs, otherwise you may lose the whole crop!

In search of food, insects crawl into the house and feed on food debris, indoor plants, can climb into the closet and damage clothes.

The benefits of earwigs for humans

In fairness, it is worth noting that there are moments in the life of the insect that are beneficial to humans. It serves as an indispensable nurse of gardens and orchards, eating fallen rotten fruits, small insect pests and their larvae. Feeding on a spider mite and aphids, which is very difficult to remove, they destroy parasites that cause serious damage to plants.

What is dangerous earwig for man

To begin with, the earwig is not toxic at all, the substance that it ejects in an extreme situation for it is designed to repel the enemy with a pungent odor. During defense, the earwig bites with its claws, but for an adult it will be almost imperceptible, while the child can feel the bite of the earwig harder. Allergy sufferers may experience an allergic reaction in the form of redness and swelling of the skin, and herpes-like vesicles may also appear.

Advice! If you have been bitten by an earwig and have an allergic reaction, you need to treat this place with any disinfectant and take an antihistamine tablet.

The double-tail in the auricle can be accidental, just like any other insect. If suddenly an earwig crawls into your ear, you just need to drip hydrogen peroxide or vegetable oil. If it does not come out, seek help from the ENT specialist, he will carefully remove it. In any case, do not panic. The insect is not able to climb deeply, much less lay its eggs there.

It is interesting! For Germans, the name of this insect in translation sounds like “an ear worm”, for the French “pierce the ears”, the Russian name also has the word “ear”. There is an opinion that this is due to the ability of the double-tail to crawl into the ear, and that the earwig in the ear can pierce the membrane for deeper penetration. In fact, this is a myth.

You are now aware of whether earwigs are dangerous. But even after learning that this insect is not so dangerous for humans, at the sight of it many will still be disgusted. After all, the repulsive appearance, as well as years of acquired hatred for the two-tail, so simply will not go anywhere.