Pest management is complex. If you want to learn, a good place to start is here:

Integrated Pest Management
This lecture is presented in two parts. Each part is 90-minutes in length. Recorded in Sacramento County in California's Sacramento Valley, this lecture is by Mary Louise Flint, Ph.D., Director, IPM Education and Publications, UC Statewide IPM Project and Extension Entomologist & Cooperative Extension Specialist.

Education:
B.S. Plant Science, University of California, Davis
Ph.D. Entomology, University of California, Berkeley

Appointment:
100% Cooperative Extension

Research Interests:
Integrated pest management of landscape, agricultural and garden pests; biological control of arthropod pests; alternatives to pesticides; adoption of alternative practices by practitioners; innovative delivery of pest management information.

Topics discussed in the Integrated Pest Management Lecture:

* IPM references and resources
* Preventing pest problems
* Natural common enemies
* Making less toxic pesticide choices
* Controlling aphids, scales, caterpillars, coddling moths, tree borers, snails and slugs, and lawn insects.

You can watch the programs now online:

Just make sure you have Real Player installed or download it free.

Integrated Pest Management Part1 90 minutes

Integrated Pest Management Part 2 90 minutes

You'll want to bookmark the following link to Professor Flint's Lab Research on:
Controlling Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Vegetables and Melons

I promise you'll learn one or two things to put in your gardening bag of pest management arsenals.

;)

This is my first time to grow eggplant. Even in the severe drought we are having and me watering it regularly it is doing well. I have had to spray it with as I've had a problem with flea bugs eatting it. I mist it with a light concentration of water/a couple of drops of dish detergent and it's kept it in check. Got lots of blooms. good luck.

Is this a pest I should be worried about ruining my eggplants? If so, what can I do?

No, more likely is that you have normal "blossom drop" going on and the earwig just was along for the ride.;) There is a FAQ here on blossom drop that you might want to review - just click on the FAQ button at the top of the page - and a search for it will get you many discussions to read.

Blossom drop is a common problem for all blooming fruit plants. It just means the bloom wasn't pollinated. It has several possible causes - many of which are beyond your control (like the weather and the lack of pollinators this year)- but many you can control such as avoiding high nitrogen fertilizers, hand pollination, consistent deep watering rather than frequent shallow watering, etc. The plant usually adjusts to the conditions and once the blooms are getting pollinated adequately you'll get fruit. ;)

Dave

Potato Beetles love eggplant.

I have the same problem. I had a bunch a nice yellow blooms yesterday and now they are on the ground. I assume it was the rain.

I also have ants hanging around the remaining unopened flower bulbs. I don't know if they are causing problems.

The ants are probably there to farm their aphids... look around on the underside of leaves you probably have some aphids. I have some aphids and the ants are tending to them like a rancher tends to his sheep. Nothing bad though, the aphids are small population controlled by alot of predators that live in my garden. I try to avoid using pesticide.

My eggplants seem to have a problem pollinating lately. There are still some new fruit forming but it seems like too many flowers are dropping. The plants themselves have barely grown too, since the day I transplanted them into the garden. Very, very little growth since then.

I guess they're not happy about something I wish I knew what...

I shall let them live then. :)

Now that you mention it, I do recall hearing about bug ranching somewhere.

There is actually quite an ant nest in my bed and I was wondering what to do about them. I guess they can stay if they are earning their keep. Do you know if they bother worms?