Killing bugs - is it wrong?

[MiracleOfSound]

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?

 

[El Poncho]

When they come into my room and have the balls to fly around me is when I find it acceptable to kill them. Just don't torture them, I feel bad when I don't kill it swiftly.

 

[mad825]

................

who cares?

ok it may not seem nice however it's not like you are going make them extinct, the only way for that to happen if you completely remove the environment they like..completely...from earth

 

[Explosm]

Insect are fucks. Theres so many of them killing a few wouldnt hurt, at least they arent pissing you off anymore.

And as toturing them goes... Meh they are insects

 

[Macgyvercas]

Question 1) No. Their very existance annoys me, so I feel I'm justified.
Question 2) All circustances, especially for entertainment (see burning ants with a magnifying glass
Question 3) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No.

 

[Claptrap]

We're at the top of the food chain, So err, I kill the annoying fucks.

 

[Neikun]

As pests, everyone is an insects predator.
Should you go out of your way to kill a bug? No.
Should you be cruel in the methods you kill them? No.
Is it bad that you kill bugs that are bothering you? No.

 

[Aerodynamic]

I don't kill them when I just feel like it.

But if those fuckers come into my house they better expect death.

 

[Yassen]

Insects don't have minds the same way larger animals do. Alot of them function with hiveminds where the individual doesn't matter in the slightest. Killing a single bee because you're worried it'll sting you won't matter to any of the other bees so long as you don't appear as a threat to all of them.

So no, I don't feel guilty killing bugs. In the grand scheme of things, I'm not doing any major damage to the ecosystem. Bugs are the most common life-form on land.

Killing them for fun however is still messed and would be a bad indicator for that persons mental health.

 

[ethaninja]

When they come into my room and have the balls to fly around me is when I find it acceptable to kill them. Just don't torture them, I feel bad when I don't kill it swiftly.

Ditto. These are my standards. If a fly is trying to find its way into my eyes/mouth/nose etc, I should be permitted to kick its ass into a wall. Sadisticaly torturing a lower being is just sad in my opinion

 

[Hippobatman]

I try not to kill bugs if possible.

The exception is mosquitoes and ticks. If I encounter those, I smack them without hesitation.

Flies and spiders don't harm me, therefore I don't harm them, and I've always been fascinated by ants, so anytime someone messed up a hive, I'd yell at them.

So, instead of killing bugs that come into my room, I rather let them out.

 

[BonsaiK]

I don't kill bugs unless they are annoying me, doing something potentially dangerous to my safety (like existing - remember, I live in Australia) or unhygenic to my environment.

 

[neoontime]

sometime

i kill them though anytime they are in my house

yes, especially if its a caterpy and i step on it

 

[JoshGod]

its called a territory bugs should understand that. they come near you and splat.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

................

who cares?

I'm sure all the world's ills could be cured by adapting this moral stance to every situation!

Depends.

PS Are you vegetarian?

Ha, no. I love me a big steak. I still believe we're carnivorous creatures, but killing for reasons other than sustenance or self preservation rubs me up the wrong way.

 

[p3t3r]

oh come on everyone rips the legs and stuff of bugs when they are small. my dad ripped the leg of a daddy long leg once just to show me that the leg would still move

 

[Curious Georgie]

No, it's not wrong, it's natural. If it tries to kill/harm/leech off us, we kill it. I'd kill a puppy if it was trying to rip my throat open, wouldn't you?