Dave's Pest Control

Category: Ants

  • Those Pesky Ants!

    Those Pesky Ants!

    Ants are one of the most common and persistent pests in the United States, and they are particularly problematic in Florida. With over 200 species of ants found in the state, Florida residents are no strangers to the nuisance caused by these pesky insects. Dave’s Pest Control offers services in Volusia, Flagler, Seminole Lake, and Orange County.

    Ant infestations can be difficult to control, and can cause damage to homes, contaminate food, and even pose a threat to human health. From fire ants to carpenter ants, these pests can quickly become a major headache for homeowners and businesses. As such, understanding the behavior and habits of ants is essential in effectively managing and preventing infestations.

    In this article, we will delve deeper into the most common ant species found in Florida, the damages and threats ants pose to yards and homes, and the best ways to control and prevent their infestations.

    Ants are a common pest problem in Florida, and the warm and humid climate provides the ideal conditions for these insects to thrive. Ants prefer temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees. Florida’s year-round warmth means that ant colonies can continue to grow and reproduce throughout the year, rather than going dormant during the colder months.

    One of the biggest challenges in dealing with ant in Florida is that there are so many different ant species present in the state.

    Ants Common in Florida

    • Pharaoh Ants: While they may be small in size, pharaoh ants are one of the most challenging ant species to control due to their ability to establish massive colonies within homes and other structures. These ants are known for their remarkable adaptability, which allows them to relocate quickly and form multiple nests in response to disturbances. Pharaoh ants are also notorious for their voracious appetite and their tendency to spread disease-causing organisms as they forage for food.
    • Argentine Ants: These medium-sized ants are known for their aggressive and territorial behavior, often displacing other ant species in the areas they colonize. Argentine ants are also highly adaptable, allowing them to thrive in a wide range of environments. These ants feed on a wide variety of foods and can be a significant nuisance when they infest homes or other structures.
    • Carpenter Ants: With workers measuring up to 1 inch in length, carpenter ants are among the largest ant species found in Florida. Carpenter ants are impressive predators, feeding on a variety of insects and other prey. They like to infest previously damaged wood either by termites or water damage.
    • Fire Ants: Fire ants are almost everywhere in Florida. These small, reddish-brown ants are famous for their painful sting. Fire ants are highly aggressive and territorial, swarming and attacking perceived threats with remarkable speed and ferocity. These ants are also known for their large, sprawling colonies, which can cover vast areas of land.
    • Crazy Ants: With their erratic, unpredictable behavior, crazy ants are among the most fascinating ant species found in Florida. These ants get their name from their tendency to run around in random, zigzagging patterns, making them difficult to track and control. Crazy ants are also known for their ability to form massive colonies and displace other ant species in the areas they colonize. These ants feed on a wide variety of foods and can be a significant pest in many parts of Florida.
    • Big-Headed Ants: They are an invasive species of ant that can be found in Florida. These ants are known for their ability to rapidly form large super colonies and outcompete native ant species, which can have negative impacts on local ecosystems. Big-headed ants are omnivorous and feed on a wide variety of plant and animal matter, including insects, seeds, and honeydew produced by aphids. These are some of the most common types of ants in Florida.

    Let’s not forget about the fact that they can spread all sorts of nasty bacteria and other germs as they scurry around your kitchen. Ant infestations can be a significant problem for Floridians, as many ant species have adapted to living in human environments. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to keep your home safe from ant infestations.

    • Keep your home clean and free of food debris: Ants are attracted to sources of food, so it’s essential to keep your home as clean as possible. This means wiping down counters and tables after meals, storing food in airtight containers, and promptly cleaning up spills and crumbs.
    • Seal all entry points: Ants can enter your home through even the tiniest cracks and crevices, so it’s essential to seal up any potential entry points. This includes gaps around doors and windows, as well as cracks in your foundation or walls.
    • Eliminate standing water: Many ant species are attracted to standing water, so it’s crucial to eliminate any areas of your home where water may collect. This includes fixing leaky pipes and faucets and ensuring that your gutters and downspouts are working properly.
    • Maintain your yards: Ants often use vegetation as a bridge to access your home, so it’s important to keep trees, shrubs, and other plants trimmed back away from your home.
    • If you’re experiencing an ant infestation in your home, it’s important to seek professional help. Consult with Dave’s Pest Control and get a free estimate!

    Ants can be a buzzkill in your home or business, but Dave’s Pest Control is here to save the day! Don’t let these pesky pests ruin your picnic or invade your personal space any longer. Call Dave’s Pest Control today to schedule an inspection and learn more about our ant solutions. Our trained professionals will help you identify entry points, remove existing infestations, and implement preventative measures to protect your home and your family. Don’t let ants ruin your day, Call Dave’s Pest Control today.

  • Invasive and Destructive Pests in your Landscape

    The Imported Red Fire Ant

    Anyone living in Florida knows what a fire ant mound looks like; but to the untrained eye, it may look like an ordinary pile of sand. None the wiser, you may walk right on top of it, setting off a flurry of angry fire ants moving at incredible speed for an unrelenting onslaught of stinging and biting all over your feet and legs and upwards.

    A non-Floridian onlooker, seeing you smack your legs and shins while jumping around may think you’re a lunatic, but a savvy Florida native knows exactly what is happening.

    While this scene may look hilarious, it is no joke to the one getting unmercifully bitten and stung all over. Fire ant colonies number not in the thousands, but the tens of thousands, all intent on biting and stinging.

    Fire ants both bite and sting, grabbing onto your skin with their pincers and bending their abdomen down to sting you. The hellfire-like venom they inject is called solenopsin and contains an alkaline venom which is 95% water insoluble. This toxic venom has cytotoxic, hemolytic, antibacterial, and insecticidal properties, which inflicts extreme pain at the sting sites that feels like you are on fire. Fire ants sting repeatedly, making an attack that much worse and widespread.

    The alkaloids in the venom are responsible for producing the pimple-like postulates that erupt on the skin. The venom also has up to four major allergenic proteins causing intense itching and can cause an anaphylactic response. This has been observed in both animals and humans.

    Fire ants are an invasive species accidentally brought into the United States from Brazil inside a cargo shipment some 80 years ago. Since then, these tiny ants have wreaked havoc, spreading across the southeastern United States.

    Fire ants can enter your home through small cracks or openings. Unlike most ants, fire ants will eat just about anything. They are not picky when it comes to feeding themselves.

    From the perspective of an ant, the world is not infinitely as large as we see it. For an ant, your life is all about survival and reproduction. Your world is nothing but a large colony of cloned replicas of yourself feeding and caring for the next generation of adults.

    Like the fictitious characters “The Borg” featured on the television show Star Trek, fire ants have a collective mind and work as one. When faced with an obstacle like water, fire ants will cling together in a large mass and float until land is reached. Though some ants may fall off and drown, the sacrifice of a few to save the many applies here.

    Fire Ant Mounds

    Fire ants make large dirt mounds, often in areas that get a lot of sunlight. The mound we see is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Beneath the surface is a dizzying maze of tunnels and chambers that make up the colony. The tunnels can stretch to 10 feet underground. This is why many homeowners who destroy a mound, later discover another one has popped up a few feet away. Some fire ant mounds can be so deep that the ants seem unstoppable as homeowners battle them every year.

    Typical granular and powder pyrethrins may work on the surface, but ants tunnel down deep, escaping the poison, and start a new colony elsewhere.

    In Volusia and Flagler Counties, fire ants are everywhere. In fact, there are more fire ants in Florida than people. Ants as a species outnumber humans by 1.5 million to one. In other words, for each human alive, there are over one million ants. In our coastal towns of Flagler Beach, Ormond Beach, and New Smyrna Beach, fire ants are literally everywhere. You can find them easily just by looking around for a few minutes in the woods. Nests are also commonly found next to the bases of trees.

    Fire ants get their name from the painful bites they produce when their nest is disturbed. If a single ant bites you, you may feel a small amount of pain or discomfort, but if 1000 or more fire ants bite you at once, the pain will be much worse.

    Getting bitten by fire ants is described as a burning pain. Red, swollen itchy bumps emerge from each bite. Secondary infections from scratching the bumps are also common. The swollen, itchy bumps can remain for 30 days or more. Scarring also is common and can last for many months or forever.

    Although fire ants are not deadly, the sheer number of them is sufficient cause for terror. Getting stung by one bug hurts but getting stung by hundreds to thousands of angry ants would be the impetus for calling pest control and maybe a trip to the emergency room.

    Lubber Grasshoppers

    Lubber grasshoppers can be seen every spring in Volusia and Flagler Counties. Every year, they crawl out of the ground in a relentless search for food. As they feed, the chewing and stripping of foliage destroys the plants.

    These grasshoppers are easily identified by their large size and vibrant colored markings. Usually, they can be found outside all over shrubbery, plants, and grasses. They chew irregular holes in plants and can destroy an average size plant in a matter of days.

    The immature lubber nymphs are very different in appearance from the adult grasshoppers. Young nymphs are all black with a distinct yellow line running down their bodies. As they mature, they go through several molts. Each time they molt, they change from all black to a more orange-yellow color.

    Lubber grasshoppers do a lot of damage to plants. Their favorite is sunflowers, but they will eat many different types of plants and grasses. When these grasshoppers emerge from the ground, they do so in large numbers. Finding 50 or more lubber grasshoppers on one plant is not unusual.

    Not many predators will eat these grasshoppers. Lubbers secrete a vile foam, making themselves toxic to most predators. Some may even spit or make a hissing sound if they feel threatened. The foamy secretion is often called “tobacco spit.”

    Lubber grasshoppers can be difficult to control. Directly spraying the grasshoppers with a pyrethrum may work if they are in their first or second molting. Larger grasshoppers should be removed by hand and destroyed. Using chemical sprays on mature grasshoppers usually doesn’t work well.

    Preventative treatments using a systemic insecticide like imidacloprid may help stop damage from nymph lubber grasshoppers, as well as aphids, beetles, scale, and mealybugs.

    If you see these grasshoppers eating your favorite plants, call Dave’s Pest Control for a free consultation on how we can get rid of them.

    Eastern Subterranean Termites

    The eastern subterranean termite soldiers are responsible for defending the colony from attack. Ants and termites are mortal enemies. The intricate tunnels and hollowed out wood that termites create make perfect homes for ants. Epic battles between termites and ants are waged. Termite soldiers use their long mandibles in defense against the onslaught of any invader.

    Damage from subterranean termites can go unnoticed for a long time before the culprits are found. Sometimes it can take up to five years before a termite colony swarms. When termites swarm, hundreds to thousands of small black bugs with long iridescent wings litter your home or place of business. This is an indication that a mature termite colony is nearby.

    Termites live in a social order like ants do. There is a queen, a king, workers, and soldiers. These stations in life are called castes and many insect colonies have this common division of labor. Each caste plays a different role in the colony. If you were to take away one caste—the workers, for example—the whole colony would die off.

    Worker termites do just about everything in the colony. They gather food and feed all the other termites, build nests, and carve out galleries. Worker termites can be either male or female, depending on the needs of the colony.

    Many homeowners do some spring cleaning before the long days of summer set in. Trips to the local garden stores are common as people clean up their yards. For example, you may purchase new mulch for your landscaping beds. This simple purchase and chore can be like the Trojan Horse that concealed the Greek soldiers inside it to enter the city of Troy. Many months or years later you find subterranean termites in your living room wall that were hidden in the mulch you brought home.

    In Florida, termites are responsible for millions of dollars of damage and considered one of the most destructive pests we have. Protecting your home should be as important as protecting your other assets. We all insure our vehicles for damage from crashes and accidents; your home should also be protected from damage by termites.

    If you notice damage to your home or find hundreds of bugs and wings all over your home, there is a good chance that you have had termites for several years.

    Owning and maintaining your home can be a lot of responsibility. Let Dave’s Pest Control take some of the burden off your shoulders. By providing regular maintenance and inspections, you can have the peace of mind of knowing your most valuable assets and your loved ones are protected from destructive, invasive pests in and around your home or place of business.

    Call us today for a free consultation.

  • Happy New Year & Big Headed Ants

    Happy New Year & Big Headed Ants

    As we prepare for 2021 and say goodbye to 2020, we are reminded of how much of our lives were changed last year. We rang in the New Year eagerly, as we usually do, with massive crowds in Times Square. Men and women of all ages, freezing in the New York winter weather, waited in excited anticipation for the ball to drop.

    Most people can recall a special memory from past New Year’s Eve celebrations, and last year was another one relegated to the memory scrapbook. The new year has begun, and we’ve settled into familiar, if somewhat altered, routines of January.

    Those memories include the days when we first heard stories of a deadly respiratory virus spreading rapidly on the other side of the planet; we paid little attention. Major news stories were of Kobe Bryant’s untimely demise – a victim of a horrific helicopter crash. Minor news stories of sick people in China were of little consequence to most Americans.

    By late February, though, the United States began to experience confirmed cases of this new virus named COVID-19. This acronym is the abbreviated form of corona, CO, VI for virus, and D for disease; the 19 is for the year the virus was discovered.

    Dave’s Pest Control has been implementing best safety and prevention practices guided by the CDC (Center for Disease Control), the U.S. government, and state government. We are adhering to social distancing, issuing masks to all employees, distributing hand sanitizer to all employees, and allowing remote work and meetings for office employees where possible.

    Pest control is an essential business, designated as such by the Department of Homeland Security and The State of Florida. We have changed all our operational routines to keep the safety of each customer, employee, and our community at the forefront of all action.
    As our neighborhood businesses in Volusia and Flagler counties were ordered to shut down, we sheltered ourselves and stayed in our homes for the most part. But in a state of panic, people went out only to spend large amounts of money buying up everything deemed essential: hand sanitizer and wipes, toilet paper, toothpaste, medical care supplies, and many other items which were quickly depleted in stores everywhere.

    The pandemic that started in 2019 and tore through 2020 was not the first time the U.S. faced an invisible enemy. Earlier viruses have shaped our history in several different ways.

    The influenza outbreak in 1918 was unprecedented in both its rapid transmission and the extremely high mortality rate. The outbreak occurred when, for the first time period in the U.S. history, large groups of people were living closely together. Population was rising fast, and many people lived in small apartments in the cities.

    The deadly virus strain spread rapidly, sparing no one in its wake of misery and death. Not before, nor after this time period, would so many people die so quickly. This influenza epidemic killed over 50 million people, far exceeding the number of deaths caused by WWI.

    Today, there is a much better understanding of what causes sickness, thus bringing about improved living and sanitation conditions, clean drinking water, adequate sanitation facilities in our homes, and access to medical care when needed. These improvements have greatly reduced sickness and death in in the U.S., but as ever, we always have more to learn.

    While it’s commonly known that viruses can bring sickness, disease, and death to people, it is not so commonly known that we can use viruses to control invasive pests. This method is called biological control and there are many examples.

    New biological insecticides have been developed using viruses to control insects. These viruses are called baculoviridae viruses and are known to infect invertebrates like roaches and spiders in both the larvae stage and adult stage.

    Their use is often extended to food crops for the control of caterpillars and worms. Once applied, the virus causes a lethal infection inside the pest. The corpse liquifies, spilling virus particles for other caterpillars to pick up. The application is not harmful to the plants that are treated, nor to beneficial insects. As such, the crops are not harmful to humans and are safe to consume.

    Our Battle with Mosquitos

    Unfortunately for us, mosquitoes are a nuisance all year round. We would need a very cold, hard winter freeze to kill mosquitoes and their larvae. A hard freeze is defined as two hours below 28 degrees Fahrenheit, and this rarely happens in our part of Florida.

    Mosquitoes lay eggs in low lying areas, and they remain dormant until rainfall causes them to hatch. They grow into blood-sucking adults that seek out blood. While feeding on our blood, mosquitoes can transmit diseases.

    Zika is a virus transmitted by mosquitoes. Although cases are rare, some people can develop high fever and paralysis. Pregnant women can give birth to children with extreme birth defects. In addition to Zika, other diseases can wreak havoc on our immune system. Dengue fever, Malaria, West Nile and Encephalitis are a few of them. All have similar symptoms: fever, headaches, and rashes.

    Fortunately, there are very few cases of Zika and other mosquito borne illnesses in Volusia and Flagler counties.

    Dave’s Pest Control uses biological methods to control mosquitoes. The products are non-toxic to humans and effectively attract and kill all mosquito larvae and adults. The effectiveness of the trap is not limited to the trap; it also extends to the surrounding areas.

    The traps lure mosquitoes in as they are ready to lay their eggs. When the female mosquito deposits her eggs, she gets the mosquito killing powder on her body. When this female flies to another location to lay eggs, she contaminates the new breeding site with the powder from her body, which kills the new larvae at the new breeding site.

    We have had great success using these mosquito traps in the swampy coastal towns of New Smyrna Beach, Daytona Beach, and Flagler Beach, and inland cities of Deltona and Orange city.

    Our expert pest control technicians can help you choose the right amount and type of mosquito buckets needed for your property. We will work with you on choosing the right location for each bucket to achieve the best results.

    The new year holds many possibilities. Our future is not predetermined and is dependent on the day-to-day choices we make.

    Dave’s Pest Control is dedicated to providing excellent customer service. We can safely eliminate nuisance pests and give you peace of mind, knowing that your home or business is protected from pests.

  • Different Types of Ants in Florida

    Different Types of Ants in Florida

    The roots of pest control can be traced all the way back to the ancient Sumerians. They are the first and earliest known civilization. There are written records of the Sumerians using sulfur to kill bugs. The Ancient Romans and Ancient Greeks were also known to use toxic compounds to kill unwanted bugs and insects. It would seem we have been pestered by bugs since the very beginning.

    Essential workers

    This is a new term coined for American workers during the pandemic of 2020. Never before has our economy been pushed so close to the brink of collapse. In a span of just a few weeks, the strongest economy the world, almost came to a grinding halt. We faced an invisible enemy. A virus called Covid 19. As stores were emptied of their supplies, American workers were split into two groups: essential, and non-essential. Pest control falls into the essential category. Working through these times has been challenging as well as an important learning experience.

    What does it mean to be an essential worker today? It means as workers, we provide an essential duty or function vital to our societies day to day operations. The supply chains of energy, food, shelter, waste and water mustn’t go uninterrupted. As pest control operators, we fight against disease and pestilence. Insects have always been known to bring bad things. Keeping them away is incredibly important to the health of our citizens and the food we eat. The United States Department of Agriculture, who is responsible for inspecting and enforcing all laws pertaining to incoming shipments of agricultural food commodities, budget for 2019 was 140 billion dollars.

    If an insect, say from China, was accidentally imported into New York City, it may have no natural predators and could potentially cause a lot of harm.

    This was the case when the Asian Longhorn Beetle was accidentally introduced into Canada by wooden shipping containers. Defined as an invasive pest, this white spotted bug quickly spread, killing trees with no known predators to control them. There are many instances of bugs traveling within shipping containers. The bubonic plague, or better known as “the black death’’, was a bacterial infection spread by flea infested rats brought in from ships as stowaways traveling from overseas.

    Battling Bugs in Florida

    In Florida, there have been many insects that have been translocated due to the movement of mankind. One of the most common pests are ants. There are over 12,000 ant species in the world, many call Florida home. Many can lift 20 times their body weight. Calls for pest control due to ants are very high, especially during the summer months. Most ants feed on sugary saps and nectar from plants. They eat aphids and the liquid honeydew they form. They can be found on fruits like oranges, mangos, and other sweet fruits. Eusocial insects like ants can have incredibly high numbers. If we made a list of the bugs that bug us the most, ants would be definitely in the top five.

    Types of Ants in Florida

    There are 8 major types of ants that are commonly found in Florida, specially in Volusia County. Let’s get into details of what these types look like and what are their features.

    The Red Imported Fire Ant – RIFA

    The Red Imported Fire Ant was first introduced into Florida sometime in the 1930s. It has since spread to every county in Florida, and can now be found all over the southern United States and in most of the Southern Hemisphere. They have also been found as far north as the Appalachian mountains.

    These ants get their name partially from the painful, repeated stings. When a fire ant stings us, it uses its mandibles to bite down on a fold of skin, and bends its abdomen over to sting you. In a fraction of a second, venom is injected into your flesh and pumped into your blood stream. A pheromone is then released alerting the rest of the colony to attack. When their colony is disturbed, hundreds, and even thousands of fire ants will come to the defense of their nest.

    You will often see a mound of soil piled up along roadways, curbs and tree stumps. Large mounds of soil can also be found piled up high in the middle of grassy fields. Many pets have accidentally disturbed a nest causing a frenzy of stinging ants and an unexpected trip to the veterinary clinic. Within the mound, it is not unusual to see discarded dead ants meticulously piled around the exterior.

    The mound is only the tip of the iceberg. There are many chambers and tunnels extending up to six feet below the surface. There could be up to 60,000 workers in a typical fire ant colony. Queens can live from 5 to 7 years and have up to 1,000 eggs a day. After a heavy rain and during warm evenings, nuptial flight begins. Hundreds of swarming alates emerge and mate. After insemination by a winged male, queens can be recognized by the scars from where her wings broke off. Fire ants can also have multiple queens. This may seem unusual for eusocial bugs like fire ants, but this gives them a greater advantage for survival and is very common among ant species.

    Professional pest control technicians are best trained to deal with Fire Ants. Trying to eliminate a Fire Ant colony on your own is dangerous and not recommended. Most people will only treat the visible mound on top, and get attacked right where they are standing.

    Pyramid Ants

    Another common ant species found in Florida are Pyramid Ants. They are often seen darting in and out of a cone shaped dome made of sand. They make their nests along cracks in cement and sidewalks. Pyramid Ants are native to Florida and feed on other insects like invasive fire ants. They will bite if disturbed, but not a ferocious attack like Fire Ants. They are a bright red color so they are often mistaken for fire ants prompting calls for pest control service. Sometimes you can find a Pyramid ant mound in close proximity of a fire ant mound.

    Carpenter Ants

    Carpenter ants are also problematic insects that often get into our homes and businesses. They are most active during dusk and prefer rotting, decayed wood. They do not actually eat wood, but rather nest within the wood itself. They are some of the largest ants in Florida and are identified by their black and red colors. Besides nesting in wood, they also will nest inside insulation within walls and attics.

    Carpenter ants are best dealt with by pest control professionals. If not treated correctly, these ants can split into multiple colonies making matters much worse. They often have a central or “main” colony, surrounded by multiple satellite colonies. They will swarm with winged adults to mate and start a new colony. If you see swarming ants, this could be an indication you have a large active colony near by.

    Crazy Ants

    Crazy ants were also accidentally introduced into the United States. Originally from South East Asia, They were brought in by shipping containers. They get their name from their erratic behavior and movements. Crazy ants are attracted to electricity. Reports of electrical damage from these ants is not uncommon. They are often found darting in and out from behind electrical outlets. Behind the walls, thousands of ants can be found crawling along electrical lines. There could be up to 20 queens in a crazy ant colony making control difficult.

    Pharaoh Ants

    Pharaoh ants are a major pest indoors. It is not known from where they originally came from, but they are now found all over the world, including all of Florida and here in Volusia county. Pharaoh ants are very small, about an eighth of an inch. They have a habit of bringing bait back to their nest, so the use of baits by pest control technicians are often a main method of extermination. Trying to control Pharaoh ants with general pyrethroids are often futile. Multiple queens can be present, and workers will fragment and form new colonies. They are very light in color and have a darker abdomen.

    Argentine Ants

    Argentine ants are similar to Pharaoh ants in that they infest cracks and crevices of our homes, prompting calls for pest control. They also have huge numbers and will break off into separate larger colonies, making control much more difficult. Baits and non repellent insecticides are the preferred method in dealing with these pests. Native to Argentina, these little ants have been distributed all over the world infesting thousands of homes and businesses.

    Ghost Ants

    Ghost ants are very small and are often called sugar ants. They are often found in kitchens. They also have multiple queens and are very difficult to control. They get the name “ghost” because they are extremely hard to see. In addition to their small size, they are light in color and can blend in easily on counter tops, especially if they are walking on top of granite or marble.

    Thief Ants

    Thief ants are also very small, and like ghost ants, they will invade kitchens. They get the name because they like to nest near other ants and steal their food. They are attracted to grease and can infest homes and commercial kitchens. A typical thief ant colony can contain up to eight queens and many separate colonies. Because of their small size, they can easily get into small spaces and even get into packaged foods.

    Knowing which species of ant you have, and the behavioral characteristics of that ant, is especially important when trying to eradicate ants from any structure as the treatment and method to exterminate is different depending on the ant species.

    Helping Neighbors

    Professional pest control technicians today are busier than ever, doing our part to help our neighbors keep unwanted pests away from their homes and businesses. The health and safety of our families depend on us to deliver exceptional service in an unprecedented time. Our cohabitation with the insect world mustn’t be a precarious compromise of allowance. It must be one of knowledge and foresight to keep unwanted bugs away from our lives.