Pesky earwigs swarm Jurupa valley, creeping out neighbors

Things may look calm on the surface, but if you look closely, there's an invasion of earwigs, some of which seem to be creeping out. 

"Everyone's been seeing the pincher bugs lately, even in the houses too," resident Kayla Becerra said. 

Becerra lives in Jurupa Valley, where earwigs, also known as pinchers, seem to be thriving. 

Rain is the key to the proliferation, as parts of Southern California saw more than 20 inches this winter. 

"The environment is conducive for them to actually breed more and law more eggs," UC Riverside entomologist Dr. Chow-Yang Lee said. "The presence is very much associated with moisture. So, dryer years, you tend to see less of the earwigs compared to those years with more moisture."

He added that earwigs don't really bother anyone and are not bad for the environment or residents' homes. 

"They just kind of crawl in the house," Ontario resident Iqbal Singh said. "We catch them and put them back in the backyard."

Around the Inland Empire, earwigs typically feed on vegetation. Since they like wet, cool places, experts recommend drying out the areas around your home, under rocks and mulch, if you cannot stomach their sight. 

The earwigs will most likely disappear below the surface in a few weeks once the weather warms up.