The New York Times - Buzz off

We’ve all been there: You go to sleep in a peaceful home, and you wake up to a hostile invasion. Seemingly out of nowhere, a literal colony is living in your home, no rent paid.

If you try to kill household ants the wrong way, you can actually split the colony—and make the problem worse. That won’t happen with our favorite ant-killer, Terro T300 Liquid Ant Baits. These traps are simple to use, widely available, and effective.

Plus, what to do about pure evil (fire ants)→

Ah, the sweet sound of buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz while you’re trying to focus on … anything else. Houseflies are awful.

We have several recommendations for eradicating flies:

• The Pic Fly Swatter is our favorite overall swatter. It’s the longest one we tested, so the head naturally moves a little faster than others, and it has a slightly better reach. The wire handle has just the right amount of flex, which creates a satisfying whip as the swat makes contact.
• The Hope Woodworking Leather Fly Swatter is great if you prioritize long-term durability, or you just want a swatter that simply screams luxury.
• The Executioner (yes, the name is rather intense) is good for something a bit more frightful. It’s basically a tennis racket that stuns or kills bugs with an electrical current running through the head. It may seem like a gimmick, but it has a couple of advantages over a traditional flyswatter: It’s better than a swatter at killing a bug midflight, and there’s no squished-bug mess to clean up. Plus, it’s satisfying to swing.

What if flies love my trash can?→

The first step in dealing with a bedbug infestation is to hire a reputable pest-control operator and carefully follow their instructions. Alongside that, we’ll show you how to find and identify bedbugs, how to clean infested surfaces, and how to keep the bugs from spreading.

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Help me, please→

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Traveling this summer? Make sure you don’t bring home any of these hitchhikers with you.

The BugZooka is none other than a bug vacuum. It sucks bugs into an enclosed chamber, unharmed, for later release outside. We like it for capturing slower-moving bugs, such as spiders or ladybugs, which you may not want to kill. It offers strong suction and extends to about 2 feet, allowing you adequate distance from the creepy-crawly thing.

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Although, mercifully, it doesn’t have a built-in magnifying lens, the BugZooka does have a nice clear collection chamber, so you can use it to investigate your catches from behind a plastic barrier. Like a mini temporary bug zoo.

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More bug control gear that actually works→

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That’s it for in-house bugs. See you tomorrow for how to tackle the rest of the bug kingdom. Sorry to infest your inbox like this, but also, you’re welcome.