Like many of us, Justin Huang struggled with catching bugs in his house. Killing them felt bad and trying to trap one to release outdoors wasn’t always successful. His invention, Cup-a-Bug, enables you to easily capture and release bugs by placing the clear cup over them, pulling a lever that closes a “floor” beneath them, then transporting them outside for release. The three-foot handle ensures you remain far enough away to avoid squeamishness.

It’s hard to improve on something that’s been around for millennia, but Mylen Yamamoto found a way. While on a flight to Asia, Yamamoto found the chopsticks she was using kept rolling off the tray table. So she devised Cropsticks. Made of eco-friendly bamboo rather than wood, they come with an attached “shelf” that, when snapped off, provide a place to rest your chopsticks, without having them touch the table.

Cute animal videos are pretty irresistible. So after Eugenia Chen’s video of her Pomeranian in a panda costume went viral, she thought pet owners might want similar adorable costumes for their own furry friends. Her Pandaloon pet costumes come in a line of endearing characters, ranging from a teddy bear and penguin to a lion, a bunny and, of course, a panda. In a range of sizes for small and medium pets, the costumes are adjustable to fit snuggly yet safely.

Aabesh De was a plant person with a challenge: He couldn’t keep his plants alive. The engineer sought a technology solution to the problem and came up with Flora—a sensor inserted into your plant’s soil that monitors moisture, light, temperature and other factors that contribute to a plant’s health. He then built an app that identifies ideal conditions for scores of plants and, when paired with the sensors, would provide users with readouts of when conditions are ideal or whether action such as watering or additional light is needed.