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| "Come to kill us all!" |
We have had earwigs in the house since we moved to Springdale. The back pincers are used by males to spar with each other. They might pinch someone, but that is rare. They head inside for the weather, as slugs and earthworms do. They like wet places.
I find their invasions to be short-term and minor. Their strange name comes from the fear that they will go after human ears in the dark. But they are scavengers who feed on insects and plant material.
Birds and spiders will eat them, so why kill the bird food outside?
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| The earwig mothers protect their eggs and newborn, so think of that on Mother's Day. |
Birds are the close air support of the garden, so I fill their baths twice a day and feed them at least once. Suet is always in the baskets and bags and refilled by the pound.
One grumpy clerk at Walmart asked me, "Are you still feeding your birds? We quit. They were messing up my beans - those black birds." She meant starlings. I said, "You should feed them more."
Her mind was made up.
This morning I filled about 12 birdbaths with fresh water and put out the new seed, a delicious mixture of sunflowers, corn, and nuts. When I came inside and looked out the window, all the birds were zooming in.
They began bathing and feeding at once.
We had three neighborhood girls, sisters, come over for some Avon business their mother does. Mrs. Ichabod invited the girls to watch the feeder, which is a few inches from the bedroom window. Beautiful goldfinches landed and fed, as close as anyone could wish. The birds are all used to us being around, moving near the window, and watching.
They earn their keep in food and water. Insect pests, I see a tiny bit of damage here and there, nothing more.
