The Big Blue Bug is a giant termite mascot belonging to pest control company Big Blue Bug Solutions in Providence, Rhode Island. At 928 times the size of an actual termite, standing 9 feet tall and 58 feet long, and weighing in at a whopping 4,000 pounds, the bug was constructed over a 4-day period from wire mesh and fiberglass in late 1980. The bug was built by Avenia Sign Company at a cost of $20,000. The fiberglass bug was assembled on site, which required raising the roof. Originally, the bug was painted purple — the color of an actual swarming termite — but the paint soon faded to a pale blue. By then, the landmark was so well known that it was never repainted its original color. In 1990, the pest control company decided to hold a bug-naming contest, and Nibbles Woodaway was the winner. The bug has made numerous media appearances, including in the films Dumb and Dumber and Dumb and Dumber To, along with The Today Show, The Daily Show and Family Guy. The bug is annually dressed for Independence Day, Halloween, the season opener of the Pawtucket Red Sox baseball team, and Christmas. In fact, in April 2020, in support of the frontline workers facing COVID-19, the Big Blue Bug put on a surgical mask. Since 1990, the company has sold stuffed toys in the bug’s likeness.
