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Where do we stand on killing insects?

25K views 222 replies 104 participants last post by  tofukitty 
#1 ·
I'm not talking pretty little butterflies that flutter from flower to flower, or even dragonflies that scare me but do no harm.

I'm talking cockroaches. Disgusting, black, reslient cockroaches. I was cleaning out my kitchen today and in addition to spiders, i found cocckroaches too. DISGUSTING. Just talking abt this makes me itch like crazy.

Anyway, my roomies doesn't like that I shouldnt spray mortein in the kitchen to kill the spiders as there was food lying arnd. Fine, so I heated up a pot of water to pour on them..and he nearly had a heart attack. He just wants me to leave the spiders alone as they arent poisonous or anytihng. I mean hello...spiders in your kitchen are GROSS. Plus, there's the cockraoch issue. I've gotten so pissed i have a special metal ruler contraption that I use to smash the cockroaches when I see them. They're german cockraoches so they're tiny.

Ok so the issue is that insects are dirty. I know spiders eat roaches but this is Australia...spiders grow till they're the size of crabs.

My roomies also laughed in my face and told me sarcastically that I was a "great" vegetarian for noteating animals but killing insects.

So...where tdo we stand?? Are veg*ns not supposed to even kill insects?
That's just crazy.
 
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#4 ·
I think it depends on the person, technically insects are animals but plenty of scientists don't believe bugs feel pain or have the capacity to do so. i kill bugs when i have to, like with flies that you can't get to leave, i can't leave that in the house because i'm not about to have a maggot infestation and then a fly infestation, i'm afraid of spiders, i do kill them, i've had a couple close calls with spiders that turned out to be brown widows, can be worse than black widows, and i wasn't taking my chances with that.
 
#6 ·
I don't think there's a specific stance on insects in the veg*n community, it varies from person to person. I'm fortunate to live in a country where I don't have to worry abut things like poisonous spiders.

I only kill insects that are harmful to my cats, fleas and ticks, since there is no practical way to remove those harmlessly and I'm not willing to let my cats suffer for my beliefs. Other than that I don't kill insects or spiders, even ones I'm scared of. I have a little net and a plastic trap thing to harmlessly catch insects and spiders and release them outside if need be.
 
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#11 ·
It seems that insects don't feel pain, so it could be "ok" to kill them, if your more interested in the pain animals feel thant in the fact that they are living beings. But the debate is still on among scientist, so it's up to you.

Personally, I tried not to kill any insects, but hating them, well, being afraid of them, especially spiders and roaches, I sometimes do. But I try to avoid it as much as possible, which is quite easy anyway in the UK (or before, when I lived in France ; I've always lives in big cities, not in the countryside, so less insects crawling in, less dilemmas !)
 
#12 ·
hmmm finding one cockroach in the house i would release it. but if it would be a situation like it was back in the days when i was living in USSR and our building was infested and you would see like 10 of them each night you got up for water or bathroom, hell yeah i would kill them. i am sure most would.

i also kill mosquitos.
 
#13 ·
Insects are part of the animal kingdom, too. It would be hypocritical to be against killing animals for consumption but OK with killing them just because they are bothering you. Besides, humans for some reason think we own this place. If you erect a building in the middle of a habitat, you'll have visitors. It would be very rude not to share with our fellow life-forms, don't you think?

I don't kill bugsies. It has a lot to do with being Buddhist and nature-loving, though. Not just restricted to being vegan. All animals have a place in our ecosystem. They all serve a purpose, they all contribute to maintaining the delicate balance. Killing one little spider sends a shiver through the whole web of life.

That being said, it doesn't mean I'm comfortable with spiders or other creepy critters sleeping in my bed with me. But if I see a little guy, I'll usually take it outside and set into the grass (or if it's particularly frightening, have someone more fearless than I do so while I supervise, lol). Sometimes they're scared of me, though, so they scurry out of sight. If that's the case, I just continue on with my business. You didn't see me and I didn't see you. :)

Just a side note, spraying for insects isn't all that effective. There are a lot more spiders in your walls than you realize, and some of them will be born with a natural immunity to whatever agent is in your pesticide. Those ones survive and reproduce, creating a higher percentage of offspring with that immunity than the last batch. For this reason, the Orkin man has to switch between pesticides all the time and you'll have to keep spraying reguarly, which can be costly, and in between sprays the number of spiders will likely skyrocket. Better off lettin' em be, imo.
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by manics_fan View Post

I don't think there's a specific stance on insects in the veg*n community, it varies from person to person. I'm fortunate to live in a country where I don't have to worry abut things like poisonous spiders.

I only kill insects that are harmful to my cats, fleas and ticks, since there is no practical way to remove those harmlessly and I'm not willing to let my cats suffer for my beliefs. Other than that I don't kill insects or spiders, even ones I'm scared of. I have a little net and a plastic trap thing to harmlessly catch insects and spiders and release them outside if need be.
Haha, that's what I need! A harmless catching deviced situated at a suitable distance away from me. :)
 
#15 ·
We had a bit of a cockroach problem in our building because our neighbors wouldn't allow pest control in. I killed any cockroaches I saw. I felt bad about it, but the alternative was being overrun by them.

Normally, when I'm not worried about my food and brains being eaten, I catch and release.
 
#16 ·
i catch and release as well.

the spider is just being a spider. hanging out in its web. its not out to jump on you and eat you.

but, i dont know how i feel about infestations.

i mean, do i just let termites eat my house or do i save my dwelling?

when it comes down to survival, im going to try and win.
 
#19 ·
I kill ants, as we've had infestations and they're a problem for us. And I slap mosquitos if they're on me. I'll slap at things in general if i see them on me, actually, even if it's just an 'aghh get off' type slap.

Also, I'll never kill spiders intentionally, they're 'good' bugs (I'm sure everyone here realizes they're not insects, but it's not like we're going to make the title '[...] insects and also spiders').

I kill mealworms/mealworm beetles/earthworms intentionally in that I feed them to my lizard. It's what he eats, I'm not a feed my pet vegetarian type. He's omnivorous, so he gets banana and things too, but even when he was voluntarily subsisting on that, he wasn't looking good. Likewise, I show my chickens where to look now and then, fr ants or worms or whatever crawly things they might like.
 
#20 ·
I kill them if they're inside because to be honest, I'm afraid of them and have no intention of handling them. I've had plenty of people try to convince that there's nothing to fear, and frankly, it just doesn't work, particularly with spiders. If there's a window I can let them out of without touching them, I will, but if not...
 
#22 ·
If I can I shoosh them outside and let them go thats my first choice always.....that being said if a huge black spider was on my ceiling or something.....I wont dispose of it.....I will get someone else to deal with it.....thats just how I am....

Peace
 
#23 ·
One of my best friends is terrified of spiders, and she gets them ranging from normal, to golf ball, to half of a baseball (as in, chopped in half, the flat side being where its legs are) in size. She can't kill them because she's trrified, so usually I trap them and put them outside. I'm not normally squeamish with spiders, but that big? Ugh.

I'm kind of scared to live in a basement apartment ever now.
 
#24 ·
Self defense... Same philosophy as any other animal, or people for that matter, I won't hesitate to attack/kill/hurt something that is a direct threat, and I go out of my way to be compassionate towards those that are not. And statistically speaking, mosquitoes cause more human deaths than any other animal in the world (besides people). I have no remorse over smashing a bug that wants to suck my blood and give me some random disease, even if that's what it was meant to do. Roaches I'm not too fond of either. In some climates, they may be merely a nuisance. In others, they will take over your home and lay eggs all over the place and then good luck getting rid of them. Once that happens, they get into your food and can be much more than a nuisance. Cats, if you have them, can pick up worms and other parasites from roaches. So, again, I go through great lengths to kill any roaches i see.

The bugs that really aren't a threat, however, I don't kill. I never kill spiders, for example, because they don't tend to carry disease, they don't tend to create infestations, and they only bite people on accident (with few exceptions and none of those exceptions being in America). Plus I think they're just cool to watch :p When I lived in Las Vegas I found black widows and scorpions pretty regularly. Knowing that they have no desire to mess with people, I would simply transport them to a safe place.
 
#25 ·
I don't kill spiders, i prefer to scoop them up into a container and release them outside, that's if they are stuck in the bath and might be washed away, otherwise i will just leave them be. Moths on the other hand, can be a real pain in the arse, especially at night, almost constantly flapping around you, and getting in your face, although i still don't kill them though, i try to shoo them away. Cockroaches have never been a problem for me, because i have only ever known of one of them that got into my bedroom, and i just simply picked the little fella up, and put him out of the window.
 
#26 ·
I am terrified of all insects, I invested in a spider/bug catcher for £5 from ebay best thing I bought as it allows me to pick insects up that I wouldnt like to handle myself (especially spiders and woodlice...ick) and put them outside.
There have been times ive accidently killed a bug when trying to pick it up and Ive felt really awful about it. I wouldnt kill an insect just because.
 
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