Killing bugs - is it wrong?

[Viptorian]

Well, I'm Buddhist, so that kinda makes the act a killing a big no-no regardless of what it is.

Thankfully I live in a place that doesn't get mosquitoes often - makes this whole not killing thing easier.

 

[Denamic]

I hate the annoying little fuckers.
That's why I like spiders.
They assist me in my crusade against insects.

I support insect genocide.

 

[Stone Wera]

No it's not wrong.
They come into my neighborhood, increasing the crime rate etc, etc...

 

[SextusMaximus]

Yes, but as reflexes go, I've killed a fair few I'm afraid.

 

[Amberella]

I put any type of bug I find in my room outside. Although when it's winder, I tend to put them in our basement. <.< We probably have a ton of spider colonies down there right now. xD

 

[Zero=Interrupt]

Kill 'em. I don't take too kindly to surreptitious listening devices, unless I'm the one who planted them.

 

[MetalDooley]

If they're outside then fine.If they come into my house I'll kill flies and wasps without a second thought.Other types I'll generally try to catch and put outside

 

[Commissar Sae]

Yeah I'm pretty sure most guys tormented bugs at some point in their childhood. Now I pretty much only kill parasites and bloodusckers. Caught a tick on my cat at one point, was thouroughly freaked out and spent a good few minutes crushing the ever loving crap out of it. Those things are disgusting.

 

[J. MB]

Not in the slightest. I don't see the killing of any living thing as wrong because the world will get along just fine without them.

 

[Audio]

Mosquitoes must die.
Other stuff that are just creepy are fine, as long as they dont use me as a runway or eat me.

Every kid torments bugs but I hope you think twice about pouring 'spitter goo' down an ants nest..that's nasty o__o

 

[Mawmon]

Honestly, it's not like they're on an endangered species list.
Those little bastards outnumber us by several orders of magnitude and it is our duty to try to level the playing field.
In short, they've got it coming.

 

[ultimateownage]

If they come near me they are dead, if a spider comes near me it won't be near me for long, I'll be 5 miles away. I never kill bugs for fun, except for that time I was in my garden with a paintball gun, shooting slugs, that was fun. It would blow them in half, and then a black thing would float out of their body.

Honestly, it's not like they're on an endangered species list.
Those little bastards outnumber us by several orders of magnitude and it is our duty to try to level the playing field.
In short, they've got it coming.

I shall be the first to say, welcome to the escapist! I hope you enjoy your stay, oh and don't go near the basement.

 

[Dogstile]

If its in the house, it dies. Simple as that really. There was some number i read about years ago that there are about 6 million ants to every one human, so I find its acceptable to kill the little gits.

 

[DarkRyter]

When I was a kid, I was pretty messed up and unhappy. My way of taking my rage out on the world was to kill bugs with my brother. We would pour salt on snails, pull legs off daddy long legs and pour cleaning chemicals into ant-hives.

Because of this horrid behaviour I developed a guilt complex in my adulthood about harming any creature, no matter how small. For the last ten years I've been like a Buddhist or a hippy, I won't even kill spiders or flies.

Lately some annoying little insects have arrived on my street due to increased heat and I'm waking up with little itchy bites on my hands which I'm 90&% sure are because of these mini-daddy long legs creatures.

Last night a critter landed on my hand as I played Red Dead Redemption and SMACK, I killed the little bugger like John Marston without knowing if he was even a blood sucker. I felt bad, real bad,

My questions to you Escapists are:

Do you feel it is wrong to kill insects/other bugs?

Under what circumstances do you think it is morally acceptable?

Do you feel a pang of guilt for crushing a bug that wasn't harming you in any way?

The way I see it, it's either him or me. Might as well be him.

 

[mrmisanthrope]

To tell the truth I'm the same way. Bugs aren't trying to do anything to me, they are just trying to live out their tiny bug lives. I feel like I could only kill things that are actively trying to do me harm without feeling guilty about it.

 

[SD-Fiend]

I don't feel bad but I wish my sister would stop going after every bug she sees and try's to kill them for no reason if I ccan I will take them out of my house unless it's a cockroach those cant be touched and must die

 

[Kasawd]

1) I do not think it wrong to bring wrath down upon the insects.

2) I suppose if you would require justification to kill pests, hornet nests and silkworms would be the easiest to justify.

3) Not at all. Have you seen the millipedes? Seriously, they get to die for being so damned frightening.

 

[Ishadus]

I feel no compunctions against killing parasitic things, but killing something for no better reason than it's in your proximity and you find it slightly annoying...well that's pretty childish.

Yes the world will survive if you remove an insect out of the population (as semi-large mammals we kill thousands completely unintentionally anyway) but if you're asking from a general morality standpoint, it seems like a choice between 2 options.

1) Kill something that is no harm to you.
2) Don't kill something that is no harm to you.

I'd think the latter is a little more enlightened. I also think people's growing sense of entitlement is bullshit, whether it's a justification to take something you didn't earn or whether it's doing whatever the fuck you want with the environment and its animal life "just because."

What's so great about humanity that makes us better? Look around, people are jerks!

 

[RAMBO22]

From my point of view, the morality of the killing is decided from motive. If you are motivated by malice, anger, etc in killing the bug/s then it's wrong, if you are trying to remove a pestilence that may be harmful to your health then it's survival.

 

[Marter]

Do you feel it is wrong to kill insects/other bugs?
No, they aren't aware of the happiness that life brings, so I'm not taking anything from them.

Under what circumstances do you think it is morally acceptable?
Any time they are either on my property, or bothering me when I'm outside. (Mosquitoes mostly outside)

Do you feel a pang of guilt for crushing a bug that wasn't harming you in any way?
I don't crush bugs that aren't harming some part of me, but I wouldn't if I did.