Shopping for the best store-bought earwig traps is stranger than it sounds. Most major pest-control brands do not sell a sophisticated trap built exclusively for earwigs. What you mostly find are sticky traps designed for crawling insects, and that changes what you should expect from them.
For indoor use, our top pick is the Catchmaster Crawling Pest, Spider & Insect Glue Board Trap because it is inexpensive, low-profile and easy to distribute along several earwig travel routes. TERRO’s Spider & Insect Trap is the better budget choice, while JT Eaton’s Stick-Em Mighty Glue Board makes more sense when you want a much larger adhesive surface.
These traps intercept earwigs rather than lure them from across a room. That distinction matters. Outdoors, oil and shelter traps remain better matched to established earwig trapping methods. Indoors, however, a well-placed commercial glue board can be a convenient way to catch wandering earwigs without mixing bait or maintaining an open liquid trap.
The Best Store-Bought Earwig Traps at a Glance
| Trap | Current Price | Quantity | How It Catches Earwigs | Best Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catchmaster Crawling Pest, Spider & Insect Glue Board Traps | $10.49 | 12 | Adhesive interception | Best overall indoor choice |
| TERRO Spider & Insect Trap T3206 | $5.29 | Multiple traps per package | Adhesive interception | Best inexpensive option |
| JT Eaton Stick-Em Mighty Glue Board Model 157 | $41.17 per 12-case at Home Depot | 12 | Large heavy-duty adhesive board | Best large glue surface |
Prices are current USD as checked in September 2026 and can change.
Best Overall: Catchmaster Crawling Pest, Spider & Insect Glue Board Traps
Catchmaster’s Crawling Pest, Spider & Insect Glue Board Traps are the option we would buy first for an indoor earwig problem. The current manufacturer price is $10.49 for 12 traps, which works out to about $0.87 per trap. That low per-trap cost matters because glue traps work much better when you can place several of them along likely travel routes instead of relying on one board.
The traps use adhesive rather than pesticide and require no bait. They can lie flat or fold into a tunnel. For earwigs, the tunnel configuration is especially interesting because earwigs naturally seek narrow, protected spaces. Catchmaster markets the product for spiders, ants, roaches, crickets and other crawling insects rather than earwigs specifically, so we would view it as an interception trap rather than a dedicated earwig lure.
That is also why placement matters. Put the boards flush against baseboards, near exterior doors, beneath sinks or around other floor-level areas where earwigs have actually appeared. Earwigs primarily move by crawling, and wandering individuals frequently follow edges and protected routes rather than crossing the middle of an open room.
The twelve-pack is the biggest advantage here. Instead of trying to guess the single best location, you can monitor several possible routes at the same time. That makes this trap useful for both catching earwigs and figuring out where they are entering.
For persistent indoor activity, compare what the traps catch with what attracts earwigs in the first place. A glue board catches the wanderers. It does not correct the outdoor source or entry gap.
Our verdict: Best balance of price, quantity and flexibility for indoor earwig monitoring and interception.
Best Budget Pick: TERRO Spider & Insect Trap
The TERRO Spider & Insect Trap T3206 currently sells for $5.29 directly from the manufacturer. It uses a non-toxic sticky surface designed to capture spiders, ants, cockroaches, crickets and other crawling insects.
Like the Catchmaster trap, it can be placed flat or folded. The folded design keeps more of the adhesive enclosed, which is useful in areas where you do not want an exposed sticky board sitting on the floor. TERRO specifically recommends placement around baseboards, corners, behind doors, under furniture, below sinks and under appliances.
Those are sensible locations for earwigs too because indoor earwigs tend to remain near floors and protected spaces. However, the trap does not contain an earwig-specific attractant. An earwig has to encounter the adhesive as it moves through the area.
At its current price, TERRO makes sense when you only need to cover a few locations. We would choose the larger Catchmaster pack for a basement, multiple exterior doors or several rooms because spreading traps across more routes improves your chances of identifying where the insects are appearing.
One feature we particularly like is the ability to fold the trap and shield the adhesive. Any exposed glue board can collect dust, hair and debris, which gradually reduces useful sticky area. A folded trap offers more protection in busy household locations.
Our verdict: Best low-cost choice for a small indoor earwig problem or a few targeted monitoring locations.
Best Large Glue Board: JT Eaton Stick-Em Mighty Glue Board
The JT Eaton Stick-Em Mighty Glue Board Model 157 is a very different product. Each board measures approximately 6.75 by 8.75 inches and provides more than 83 square inches of adhesive surface. The manufacturer describes it as a heavy-duty board for mice, rats, snakes and insects, and it requires no added bait.
Home Depot currently lists a 12-pack of JT Eaton Stick-Em Mighty Glue Boards for $41.17, or about $3.43 per board. That is substantially more expensive per trap than the smaller Catchmaster boards, so we would not choose it simply because an earwig appeared beside a bathroom baseboard.
Its advantage is coverage. A large board can intercept pests across a wider section of floor, making it useful in unfinished basements, utility areas, garages or other places where there is enough room for a larger adhesive surface.
The board can also be folded, which lets you create a more protected passage rather than leaving the entire adhesive panel exposed. JT Eaton’s current product catalog confirms that the Model 157 is designed to capture insects as well as rodents and comes ready to use without bait.
For earwigs specifically, though, bigger does not automatically mean better. A small trap positioned directly on an active route can outperform a huge board placed several feet away from where the insects actually travel.
Our verdict: Worth considering for larger utility spaces, but unnecessary for most small indoor earwig problems.
Why We Prefer Glue Boards Indoors, Not Outdoors
Commercial glue traps make the most sense indoors because they solve an indoor problem neatly. They sit flat against a wall, require no open liquid bait and reveal whether earwigs are actually using a particular route.
Outdoors, we would choose differently. Established earwig management takes advantage of their attraction to oils and their tendency to seek dark daytime shelters. Shallow containers partly filled with fish oil or vegetable oil can attract and trap substantial numbers of earwigs. Rolled cardboard, newspaper, bamboo and short hose sections can also exploit their shelter-seeking behavior.
That gives homemade traps an unusual advantage in this particular pest category. A store-bought trap is more convenient, but convenience does not automatically make it biologically better suited to the insect.
Several DIY earwig traps use those behaviors instead. The soy sauce and oil earwig trap is another alternative when you specifically want an attractive pitfall rather than an interception trap.
Store-Bought Earwig Traps Do Not Need an Earwig Scent
It is tempting to assume the best commercial trap should contain a special earwig lure. For indoor glue boards, that is not really the point.
These traps work because a crawling insect physically crosses the adhesive. Manufacturers such as Catchmaster tell users to position their boards along walls and pest pathways for that reason. Correct placement gives the trap access to the insect’s route.
We would therefore be skeptical of paying a premium merely because a generic sticky trap has “earwig” added to an online product title. The useful specifications are more mundane: adhesive area, pack size, whether the board folds, whether it fits tight locations and how much each trap costs.
A commercial glue board also gives you information. Finding repeated catches near one basement door but none across the rest of the room points you toward a likely activity zone. That can help you decide where exclusion work belongs.
For the actual exclusion work, see how to keep earwigs out of the house and prevent earwigs from getting into your house.
A Store-Bought Trap Will Not Solve the Source of the Problem
This is the limitation we would keep in mind before buying any of these products.
European earwigs do not establish reproducing indoor populations in the way German cockroaches or bed bugs can. Indoor earwigs generally originate outdoors, and long-term control depends more on reducing entry and correcting favorable exterior conditions than on endlessly replacing sticky boards.
Glue traps are therefore most useful as removal and monitoring tools. They tell you where crawling insects are moving and catch some of the individuals that pass through. Persistent indoor catches should push your attention toward exterior gaps, doors, foundation areas and nearby earwig habitat.
Outdoors, unnecessary debris, vegetation and moisture can provide favorable shelter. Earwigs hide in dark, tight spaces during the day and become active at night. Understanding what attracts earwigs helps explain why trapping alone sometimes produces an endless stream of catches.
That is the main reason we would not spend heavily on oversized indoor traps before checking the source. Catching the twentieth earwig tells you less than figuring out how all twenty reached the same basement.
Which Store-Bought Earwig Trap Should You Buy?
For most indoor problems, Catchmaster Crawling Pest, Spider & Insect Glue Board Traps are our pick. Twelve boards for $10.49 gives you enough traps to cover several baseboards, doors and suspected travel routes without spending much per location.
Choose the TERRO Spider & Insect Trap when you have a small problem and only want a few inexpensive traps. Its foldable design is particularly useful where you want the adhesive partly enclosed.
Choose the JT Eaton Stick-Em Mighty Glue Board when adhesive surface area matters more than price. It suits garages, utility areas and unfinished spaces better than a small bathroom or kitchen problem.
We would skip expensive products that promise special earwig attraction without explaining how that attraction works. Established earwig trapping methods give us a much clearer basis for judging a trap. Indoors, interception with glue boards is convenient. Outdoors, oil and shelter traps remain strong options.
For a broader treatment problem rather than simply selecting a trap, move to how to get rid of earwigs. A trap is one tool, not an entire control plan.
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