Rather than turning off bugs entirely, I like to adjust settings that indirectly make them less aggressive. I usually spike the moisture setting so that I spawn in a forest rather than a desert. Dense trees consume pollution in the early game and gives me more time before my cloud reaches the nests. I also like to play with the water coverage settings to create large lakes and rivers, making more choke points and reducing the need for long, fortified walls.
Rather than turning off bugs entirely, I like to adjust settings that indirectly make them less aggressive. I usually spike the moisture setting so that I spawn in a forest rather than a desert. Dense trees consume pollution in the early game and gives me more time before my cloud reaches the nests. I also like to play with the water coverage settings to create large lakes and rivers, making more choke points and reducing the need for long, fortified walls.