That's a great observation, Delores. Lots of people have come to the forums to complain about earwigs....the damage can be considerable, as you know.

Those who have never experienced firsthand earwig havoc will try to tell you that earwigs don't cause those kinds of problems, but they can be very destructive in some locations.

Thanks rhizo I have actually never had any experience with earwigs and had no clue about what could be eating the flowers, just that it was making me mad!
It was here on the forum that I found out from doing searches that earwigs were a likely suspect.
The thing is I never saw what was eating the blossoms and after more searching I found out that it was because they only come out and munch at nightâ¦â¦.thats when I started wondering if artificial light would confuse them.
Seems to be working so far at leastâ¦â¦fingers crossed.
Its rare indeed for me to out fox some garden foe so I am half way expecting the earwigs to retaliate with a new approach!!

it was 38 degrees last night in my z5 MI ... many summer bugs arent very active as it cools in fall ...

did you research to find out if the lights were the real solution.. or coincidence????

ken

I don't try to grow corn anymore because of earwigs...nasty buggers climb into the developing ears and feast!

Ken in my research I found out they come out at night, which is why I never saw themâ¦â¦â¦.so then just thought I would give the all night light a try. Dumb luck

I watched a squirrel was eating my cosmos!

brilliant!

After most of my cosmos were destroyed, I sprinkled some cayenne pepper all over the plants that were left. They've been left untouched... I make sure I sprinkle the pepper on every day.