But President Donald Trump’s

. She was hoping for an exterminator recommendation, but I gave her a simple, do-it-yourself solution that is easier on the wallet and environment, and even more effective.It got me thinking about the importance of taking a beat to

— and, if so, how much — rather than immediately reaching for a spray can or calling in the big guns.We’re all familiar withlike ladybugs, dragonflies and bees, but it’s high time we reconsider our definition of “pests” and collectively add other, less-familiar insects to the friendly bug list. Native beetles, assassin bugs and even wasps are among those that make significant contributions to the environment despite their threatening appearance.

Great Britain’s Royal Horticultural Society has even removed the pest designation from slugs and snails, typically considered garden menaces. As it happens, they, too, play an essential role in the ecosystem, consuming rotting vegetation and serving as an important, frogs and other animals, with some species even helping to control algae.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise — everything on Earth has a purpose, whether we realize it or not.

Fortunately, as gardeners learn more about the relationships between different life-forms, they are viewing insects as essential components of a sustainable landscape rather than nuisances.Republicans are planning to

into immigration enforcement with more money for deportation officers, detention space and removal flights.The plan aims to remove 1 million immigrants annually and house 100,000 people in detention centers. It calls for 10,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and investigators.

ICE houses people it arrests at a network of detention centers around the country, including government-run facilities, privately contracted facilities and local jails.Lyons also said the agency has about 3,500 beds available at Fort Bliss in Texas and is currently holding 69 detainees there. He said money to pay for detaining those people at Fort Bliss and other military bases would come out of the Defense Department’s budget.