Do earwigs crawl into your ears and lay eggs?

Do earwigs crawl into your ears and lay eggs? No, earwigs do not crawl into human ears and lay eggs, this is myth and old superstition that gave them their name earwig, from Anglo-Saxon ear wicga meaning ear creature, but it is false. Earwigs are nocturnal insects that prefer dark damp places like under mulch, leaf litter, rocks, and in soil, not human ears, and they lay eggs in small burrows in soil outdoors, guarding them, not in human bodies. While any small insect could theoretically accidentally enter ear if person sleeps on floor in heavily infested area, it is extremely rare for earwigs and there are no documented cases of earwigs laying eggs in human ears. They do not seek out ears, are not attracted to ear wax, and avoid human contact. So earwigs do not crawl into ears and lay eggs, myth is unfounded, risk is virtually zero, they are harmless in that regard.