This "Bugs" Me

I kill very few bugs freely - the rest I leave or free. I kill ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, and pantry moths with great glee.

Good enough, littlek!! Good for you!! Thank you for that!

im often scared of killing them as i fear i will be engulfed in the night by hoardes of said bugs relatives driven by rage and seeking desperate revenge!

Married to an entomologist here - we follow the littleK philosophy.

Remember this Stray Cat: Human life would disappear without the work of ants and bees.

Yeah, I think for me its a karma thing.Killing them would be quicker but Im sure they have a family that would miss them if I killed it and they may seek revenge.
I dont really see the point i killing something if its not threatening me.
But, your argument is fair enough though I wouldnt like to be you on Insect Judgement Day!

I too, hate bugs. I try not to kill them if I don't have to, except spiders.

I had an ant problem on my patio and felt very bad about killing them because they were where they were suppose to be. But I ended up getting some spray to spray around the parameter of my patio to keep them off and away.

I will not hesitate to kill a spider in my house. Get out. I do not hang out in your home so get out of mine!! I will also swat a bee because my husband and I are both allergic and if one gets into the house and goes crazy, it could very well sting us.

I will only kill parasitic insects. The rest, I let fly or crawl around the house, in order to scare the better half.
Once I have had enough enjoyment, or have tired of her screaming, I do the cup or glass trick and set them free.

Around August, we get these HUGE fuckin' alien grasshoppers. Up to three inches long, up to an inch wide. So big, they rarely land on their feet when they jump. They fall over. They are mostly black, but with brilliant neon yellow, green, and red designs on their bellies and legs. They look like you should not mess with them.

But that's not the worst of it. They assemble like Voltron (old cartoon). Apparently my front porch has been designated the "mating deck." They hump on my front porch, in pairs, in trios, sometimes in fours. That's right, there'll be like four of them mounted in one huge cluster. And that gets me all worked up. I hope my girlfriend gets the hint.

I'm with Stray Cat in the stomp-'em-and-squish-'em category.

And I have no remorse.

Except maybe that I didn't get them on the first try.

Live and let live, I say, except for the nasty ones. Therein hangs a tale...

Many years ago, whilst under the influence of something or other, I was standing under a shelter, watching a warm rain come down. I noticed a small bug crawling in from the rain and coming right to where I was standing. The bug thinks to escape the rain, I mused, but is unaware of the much greater danger of my foot. Should I step on it? No, I decided, because what if some power that I knew nothing about was making the same decision about me at the same moment?

It was, like, cosmic...

are we all just bugs under the foot of some greater being, just waiting to be squashed?

You pose an interesting theory D'artagnan...

Funny what you both say. I once said this to some mean uncaring sole. He stomped on a bug, don't remember what kind or anything. So I said what did you do that for he wasn't doing anything - just hanging around outside. His response - so what it is just some big dumb bug. My response - so what if I giant happened by and stomped on you and said so what - he is just some big dumb guy. He really didn't appreciate my comment.

Basically if outside, leave them alone (except for mosquitoes as swatting them is self-defense). In the house, if feasible try to carry them outside. I think the co-worker thing was a bit far fetched. I would have just let the sucker alone.

I feel every life is important even nasty bugs.

Thanks for posting everybody. Some interesting and witty replies here.

First, let me just say, as far as the bugs outside go, I agree they should be left alone. I'm not saying I get a flashlight and go out looking for bugs to stomp on.

I'm just talking about the ones who have the audacity to come into my home or workplace. I think it's unhealthy and unsanitary for them to be in my home or office, so I can't go along with just leaving them alone, once they are inside.

I agree with Bella, once they cross that line, they're fair game. I totally agree with Eva too -- I only chase them as long as it takes me to hit them with a rolled up newspaper.

But this has led me to wonder....is this a reflection of who we've become as a society? Just hang in there with me for a minute.

Our grandparents, or great-grandparents were so used to dealing with "life" and "death" -- up close and personal. They gave birth to their children at home. If someone died, they died at home. Now, we haul them off to a hospital. Nothing against hospitals, but we seem to have distanced ourselves from -- and sanitized "life" and "death" -- as much as possible.

Our ancestors raised, slaughtered and cleaned their own food too. If the food was getting low, it was time to say goodbye to ol' Fuzzy the Chicken. Or Bessie the Cow. They just did what they had to do, and "death" was a natural part of life. Something had to die in order for something else to live.

Now we go to supermarkets where everything is wrapped up in pretty cellophane packages, so we don't have to deal with the unpleasantness -- or the reality -- of how it got there.

What I'm trying to say is, have we become such an overly sensitive, sanitized society of sissies (hey! that was some pretty good alliteration there) that we can not even deal with the death of a bug?

Just some of my musings.....

An appreciation for insects and spiders can be gained by learning a little about them and also by looking at them through a magnifying glass or 10 power loupe. There's nothing like looking at a jumping spider enlarged ten times with a loupe held up against your eye and the spider two inches from your eyeball staring back at you.

To see jumping spiders, which are liked by everybody who knows them, check out my thread, "More weird animals and animal traits" in the "Science and Mathmatics" forum.

ummmm, well, o.k., coluber. I don't know about those jumping spiders...that might just bring out the "cat" in me....but maybe I'll pay you a visit. It does sorta sound interesting....