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It started as an ordinary summer afternoon.
My six-year-old daughter had been playing in the backyard, chasing butterflies, collecting tiny rocks, and pretending she was on a jungle adventure. Like most parents, I kept an eye on her while taking care of a few chores nearby.
Everything seemed perfectly normal.
Then I heard her call my name.
Not a scream.
Just a worried little voice.
“Mom… something pinched me.”
I walked over expecting to find a mosquito bite or maybe a thorn from one of the bushes. Instead, she pointed toward a small dark insect crawling across the patio.
I’d never seen anything like it before.
It had a long body, six legs, antennae, and what looked like giant pincers sticking out from the back of its body.
Honestly, it looked terrifying.
I quickly moved my daughter away from it and gently brushed the insect into a container so I could get a better look without touching it.
The bite itself wasn’t severe.
There was a small red mark on her finger, and she said it hurt for a few minutes but wasn’t getting worse.
Still, seeing such a strange-looking insect made my imagination run wild.
I immediately called my sister-in-law, who lives only a few blocks away.
Before I even finished describing it, she interrupted me.
“Wait… does it have big pinchers on the back?”
“Yes!”
“Oh no,” she replied. “I’ve found several of those in my garage lately.”
That only made me more concerned.
If they were appearing in multiple homes, I wanted to know exactly what they were.
Like many people would, I grabbed my phone and searched online.
Within minutes, I discovered the insect was an earwig.
Despite its frightening appearance, earwigs are surprisingly common in many parts of the world.
Their most recognizable feature is the pair of forceps, or pincers, at the end of their abdomen.
These pincers look intimidating, but in most species they are primarily used for defense, catching prey, and during mating rituals—not for attacking people.
One of the biggest myths surrounding earwigs is that they crawl into people’s ears while they sleep.
The insect’s very name has helped spread that old legend for centuries.
Fortunately, there is no scientific evidence that earwigs normally seek out human ears or burrow into people’s brains.
Experts consider that story to be a myth.
In reality, earwigs usually prefer dark, damp hiding places.
They spend much of the day under rocks, flowerpots, mulch, piles of leaves, pieces of wood, or cracks around gardens and homes.
They’re mostly active at night.
Many people never even realize earwigs are around because they hide so well during daylight hours.
Although their pincers can pinch skin if they feel trapped or threatened, they are generally not considered dangerous to humans.