Fossils confirm the presence of flies predating humans in this world. Ancient Greeks used fire to chase away locusts to the Sea, Greek mathematician Pythagoras drained the marshes to clear malaria, the Chinese used predatory ants against pests like beetles and caterpillars. They even invented an Innovative system of tying adjacent branches with ropes to help the ants move freely across citrus trees and finish off the pests. People realized by 300 BC that there was a relationship between climate and periodic biological phenomena and they began planting crops at specific Seasons to avoid pest attacks. However Pest Control took a backwards turn in medieval Europe because of ignorance and superstition. People believed that pests and fleas were punishment from God. In fact, it wasn't until the Renaissance when people started looking at insects as a phenomenon of the natural world order that they could control rather than God's agent to punish the humans for their sins. They learned to use plant extracts like lemon oil and wormwood, chemicals like Arsenic and sulfur. Pretty soon scientist discovered that nicotine, certain herbs and arsenic repelled insects, and these substances became major Pest Control Instruments of the age. Franz bruckmann developed the earliest mechanical insect trap in the early 1700s. The use of pesticides gains ground from the late 1800s thanks to the invention of various synthetic insecticides, like DDT. The development of organophosphate says nerve gases during World War II had an interesting side use as Pest Control agents.