@Kimberly54 First of all, I live in the tropics where a huge plethora of insects are endemic, second of all, no, I don't necessarily consider bugs in the house to be "gross and disgusting". They're just little creatures, which I realize some people are terrified of.
That said, a cockroach or a scorpion will get smacked with a shoe in quick order. The spiders I have (by no means an infestation, and if I saw an egg sac, I'd dispose of it) are harmless and keep other annoying insects at bay, so I don't usually kill them, though I make sure the guest quarters are spider-free by thorough vacuuming, even turning the bed frame on its side (foam mattress, so not heavy) and vacuuming the bottom. I also check behind picture frames, as I once found a whole army of big ants, complete with hundreds of eggs, had made a home there.
So my approach is thorough frequent cleaning and not having a lot of stuff around where insects can hide out- quite minimalist, as opposed to poison.
As far as ants go, those little traps with the boric acid/sugar solution in them do work for the tiny sugar ants- it just takes awhile, as they take it back their nests and it takes some time for the nests to be poisoned. But all ants are not attracted to sugar. If you can follow the trail of ants to their nest, you can use those little pellets that they take into the nest, which kills the nest. Then you are just poisoning the nest, rather than having to use poison in your house.
And I was told and tried it and it did work- a line of cinnamon is something they don't like to cross. Spread across the window sills, across the doorways and wherever else you determine they are getting in. Smells great, too.