Kat,

While I have problems with earwigs, I don't find the problems any worse when I use newspaper or cardboard than just using a good layer of mulch. The cardboard/newspaper will decompose, but will have seriously smothered a lot of unwanted plants in the garden in the meantime.

I bet chickens are a darn good control for both them and the slugs.

In small beds, I lay down a board. The earwigs gather underneath it during the day, and I then pick it up and knock them off into a bucket of soapy water. I've had a fair amount of success bringing the population down to a tolerable level in the past, but only in small beds. I just live with them and complain in the bigger beds.