When we are confronted by an insect, our natural reaction is to use our hands to wipe and swipe and flick and push away and squash the thing annoying you. Or hit it with a rolled-up newspaper. At the very least we would wave something in a bid to get the insect to go and bother someone else.
A single fly, perhaps?
A cloud of midges?
An ant in your lunchbox?
A wasp attracted to your fizzy drink?
A descending ocean of cockroaches?