Have you ever wondered why some gardeners put small terracotta plant pots on stakes or canes in their gardens? It may seem like a strange phenomenon or eccentric decorative choice, but there are actually a few functional reasons for this habit. In fact, TikTok user @bricksnblooms shares how she uses this gardening hack to keep herself safe while pottering around in the garden, as well as helping to get rid of pesky earwigs. She says that topping stakes with plant pots acts as a safety precaution, helping her to see the stakes when she’s working in the garden so she doesn’t injure herself by poking out her eye. She also says she loves how they look, which you may or may not agree with — see what you think!
Other gardeners have used this hack for different reasons, for example, some gardeners place pots on stakes as netting supports. If you have a garden full of earwigs you might find this cute gardening hack handy too. While earwigs may be great little soldiers assisting you in keeping any fruit aphid populations under control, they also like to munch on certain plants, especially flowers like clematis, dahlia, and chrysanthemums. Here’s how to catch them with pots on canes, and why it works.
How to catch earwigs using terracotta plant pots
Earwigs tend to be naturally nocturnal creatures that come out at night to feed. This means that during the day they look for safe, dark places to hide, like under bark, in the top layer of your soil, and under plant pots. If you’ve ever noticed earwigs scattering whenever you lift a plant pot up off the ground, you can use this knowledge to your advantage to help encourage more earwigs into a fruit-bearing garden and protect your fruit trees from fruit aphids. Or alternatively, use it as a method to monitor earwig numbers or even reduce the population of earwigs in your garden.
Simply fill small terracotta pots with straw, hay, or shredded paper. Next, place them upside-down on canes dotted around your garden. Pay attention to positioning them close to the plants that might be a target – particularly plants with new growth. If you don’t want to use canes or stakes, put your fencing to good use instead! Now you have an easy way to carry out a daily check and organically collect and remove any earwigs that are becoming a destructive problem in your garden, without using nasty chemicals.
