In an article submitted to Scientific American, research shows that birds use discarded cigarette butts in their nests as an insecticide.

According to the article, it is NOT believed that the nicotine is the ingredient that drives the bugs away, but one of the other toxins in the butt:

It's also possible that nicotine wasn't the main driver, but one of the other toxic chemicals found in cigarettes, such as hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, or ammonia drove the parasites out of the nest. - Hannah Waters, Scientific American

Cyanide, arsenic, and ammonia?  Light up, folks!

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