Do you kill insects?

Discussion in 'Vegetarian' started by hummblebee, Apr 16, 2007.

  1. hummblebee

    hummblebee hipstertist.

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    I'm curious what you all think about insects.

    Personally, I tend always to leave them alone to do their thing... But the blood-sucking or parasitic ones (ticks, fleas, mosquitos, lice, etc.) I have no pity for and usually kill them once I encounter them (since usually when I encounter them it's "them or me"). If a roach or beetle is in my house I'll either leave it alone or pick it up and put it outside. Ants, I'm kind of split on... I have a very hard time tolerating any bugs that crawl on me uninvited. :& I often kill them as instinct.. if I find them in the kitchen I usually sponge them up and wash them down the drain.

    The reason it comes to mind is because my mailbox is badly infested with ants. It doesn't seem to bother the mailman one bit, but getting the mail now entails the frantic shaking of every item in the box, and now fifteen minutes later I'm still finding the buggers crawling on me. I'm torn about what to do.

    I actually had a spider friend a few months ago. I watched it get big, rebuilding his web every day on my porch. :) We were buddies. Eventually his webs started getting so big and intricate that I'd have to duck on my way out the back door, and one day I lost my patience and broke a load-bearing thread, knocking the thing out of place. Haven't seen my buddy since that day. :(
     
  2. drumminmama

    drumminmama Super Moderator Lifetime Supporter

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    ants: I avoid and use deterrents like cinnamon.
    roaches: don't seem to like Colorado
    spiders: brown recluse/ black widow get moved if possible to do so safely (and a good distance away into an empty lot) swatted otherwise
    other spiders: moved to front yard bushes. even in winter.
    scorpions: irrational fear: I run away and sweetie deals with them. some survive, some get swatted.
    once something has bitten me: swat.
     
  3. Ezzie

    Ezzie Member

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    I tend to leave them alone except for wasps who I will swat =/ Temperamental kamikaze flies with stingers ^_^

    Bees though i'll try my hardest to get them back outside as they only sting under the direst of situations and they also contribute to the ecosystem :p
     
  4. Lady Neko

    Lady Neko Member

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    i tend to avoid bugs all together. some creep me out and rather than kill i run away. i am chicken but hey this way we both survive.
     
  5. Freekowtski

    Freekowtski Member

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    I live near a bee colony, and every morning when I open the windows to let the fresh air in, an amount of fifteen or sixteen bees enter. It's impossible to make them go away, so I try to kill them. The funny thing is that the town hall told us that these are protected species, and they don't do anything in respect.

    But, most of insects, I try to avoid them...
     
  6. WalkerInTheWoods

    WalkerInTheWoods Member

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    I try to avoid killing any insects if I can help it. If I see any spiders inside the house I check to make sure they are not dangerous. If not they are free to go where they want, as that usually is where their food is at which is other insects. I have not had any problems with other insects using this method of insect control. Atleast not for very long. :) If I do come across any insects I just let them be. Even inside I rarely see them again so they are no bother.

    If ants are invading your mailbox it is for a reason. Try cleaning it. It sounds like there is something in there they want. While I have not tried this others have said this works. Buy a bag of sugar and leave a trail from your mailbox to some remote area of your yard and leave the bag there. This, in theory, should lure the ants away from your mailbox and keep them out of your way.
     
  7. Dakota's Mom

    Dakota's Mom Senior Member

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    I try to deter insects from coming into my house. When the ants start to come in in the spring I spray peppermint oil around all the door facings and window sills. The ants avoid the spray and stay outside. I try to take spiders outside when I can get them out. Sometimes in the process of getting them out I accidently smash one, but I try. Roaches and misquitoes just don't deserve to live. It's funny how we all have our limits. Bees usually don't bother you if you leave them alone.

    Kathi
     
  8. Willy_Wonka_27

    Willy_Wonka_27 Surrender to the Flow

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    if an insect is biting me, such as a tick or mosquito, i will smack it. other than that the only time i kill insects is when i accidentally step on one, or when my shovel chops one in my garden.

    i leave insects in my house alone, which usually ends up in my cat catching and eating them. but who am i to interrupt nature.
     
  9. homeschoolmama

    homeschoolmama Senior Member

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    I use chalk to deter ants & don't have a problem with them very often. Most spiders I don't mind so much either - if I find them indoors they get bottled up to be released outside, but I won't kill them.

    But biting or disease-carrying bugs are different. When flies get into my house, I kill them because we tend to let more in while trying to release the one that got in to start with & I don't want anyone getting sick. I have no problem killing mosquitos though, and we have some little jumping spiders that leave a golf-ball size welt when they bite. When I manage to catch those, I'll kill them too.
    love,
    mom
     
  10. Ryver

    Ryver Member

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    I usually never kill them. Unless of course my girlfriend won't stop giving me a hard time about a spider or wasp. But even then they usually just get put outside.

    peace
    ryv
     
  11. verseau_miracle

    verseau_miracle Banned

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    I never kill them
     
  12. dharmadrums

    dharmadrums Member

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    Well, I'm sure that I inadvertently kill millions of tiny living organisms each day. So I say a mantra for them all. But if I have the choice to avoid killing something, especially something in my house, I favor the catch and release method. I would never intentionally kill anything. If I need to try and stop an "invasion," I will always try an organic method - something that will deter, but not kill, the insects.
     
  13. themysterytramp

    themysterytramp Member

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    guess im lucky cos we dont have many dangerous insects where i live. so i just leave them alone or help them get outside if their trapped or whatever. cos im a gardener i might kill the old worm but i dont mean too. n i always apologise to one if i mess up its little house. which is worrying.
     
  14. Miss_Beatle

    Miss_Beatle Beatlemaniac

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    No, I don't kill them.

    Ironic to, because their my biggest fear in the world, i really am terrified of them, but yet, I never want to kill them. I usually always get someone to get them for me when their in the house, but I make sure that they don't kill the bug, that they instead just put them outside safely.
     
  15. wanderin_blues

    wanderin_blues Banned

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    im not a strict veggie just sos you knows.
    the only bugs i ever kill are mosquitoes and other blood-sucking ones.
    even with them, i respect that they have a place in the ecosystem just like everything else but i dont feel bad killing them.
    bees are in rather short supply here, so im always careful with them and put them outside gently.
    i like spiders and let them live in my house to catch the flies.
    i kill bluebottle flies if they get inside cause theyre kinda yucky and theyve probably been in dog poo before settling on my food.
    ants, i leave alone unless they take up residence in my house.
    ive always like bugs and i put all undesired spiders, beetles, woodbugs, centipedes, wasps, moths, crane flies, earwigs, and whatever else outside. or i feed the crane flies to spiders cause its so cool to watch.
     
  16. Magical Fire Lady

    Magical Fire Lady Senior Member

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    I don't kill them.. bugs freak me out though, I DO NOT like them near me. I usually will just put them outside, or if I am outside just run as fast as I can hah. The only exception is sometimes I clap mosquitos in my hands cuz they're bastards, and sometimes ants invade my house and you just gotta wash them down the sink or something.
     
  17. sweetdreadlover

    sweetdreadlover TattooedRainbowGurl

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    Nope. No insect killing for me..I put them outside and leave them to their own being...even if i get a mosquito or flea on me, it goes back to nature..lol
     
  18. Elle

    Elle Senior Member

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    I don't like to kill insects. I will remove them and relocate them outdoors or just leave them be. Even ants. I actually have a great respect for ants. The only ones I don't tolerate are the parasites...fleas and ticks. If I see one of those (it's rare because we use prevention) it's usually on my dog or cat and then I rid of the little guy.
     
  19. Sage-Phoenix

    Sage-Phoenix Imagine

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    Same here :)
     
  20. honeyfugle

    honeyfugle pumpkin

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    i dont kill insects.
     

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