Killing bugs - is it wrong?

[crudus]

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?

1. nope
2. self-defense
3 Now I don't go out of my way to kill a bug,[footnote]unless my girlfriend with withholding sex until I kill the spider she saw in the bathroom. If our positions were switch I would want him to do the same.[/footnote] but if I pour salt onto snails and just pulled legs off a bug one at a time I would indeed feel guilty. If I were to do that for whatever reason I would have the decency to kill it first(as painlessly as possible).

 

[Sebenko]

There is nothing wrong with it. Anyone who tells you otherwise is someone who had a petrock and got angry if they dropped it, or gets angry if you step on grass. There are literally billions of them. You can argue there are billions of humans, we can't reproduce nearly as fast as them, and we serve a much greater purpose than they do.
Do I say you could go into an ecosystem where there are no humans, bugs play an important role, and create a super animal that can counter it in every way? No. If the bugs are bothering you anywhere humans frequent, you have every right.

You know, without bees we'd only live a matter of weeks?

So by what measure do we serve a "much greater purpose"?

Yes, I realize that about bees. The fact of the matter is, unless there is some sort of unified effort on it, one human could not kill an notable amount of bees. We, as a species have recognized that we need bees, as I recall several efforts supporting them. To further add on to that, a majority of humans are scared of bees, and I know several who run should they even see one. To further that point, there are bee farms, meaning that we have some sort of effort to use them for honey. For pollination, there are plenty of areas where humans don't frequent that i'm sure there are tons of bees. If you're talking you find one in new york city, I'm sure someone would try, but they have a nasty sting and a habit of getting away quickly. Finally, I believe that according to what humans have completed thus far, and the ability of conscious thought, we deserve to research, expand, and live upon this planet which we were put on.

Sorry for long post.

Colony collapse disorder. Look it up.

And anything that requires something else to exist cannot be considered a greater need.

Food is a greater need than science, for example. (Although, really, that's a bad example, as they're linked now, and will continue to be if we want to feed the human race)

People would still be around for a while.

I hope by a while you mean however long it takes to starve to death.

pretty much everything is pollinated by bees- trees, flowers, vegetables.

 

[Kiriona]

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.

...L.O.L.
Pretty much how I feel... How DARE they come into MY house and buzz around my face!

OT: I guess it depends on your idea of 'the sanctity of life.' Is ALL life sacred? Or do we get to choose what life is sacred? Personally, I don't think ANY life is sacred... but then, I'm an antisocial homebody with a psychotic hatred for people.

 

[fenrizz]

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.

I completely agree with this.
Kill them, but don't be cruel.

 

[Grounogeos]

Even though there are more insects on the planet than all the other animals combined, I won't kill them without a good reason. Senseless killing is one of the defining traits of humans, and it's one of the ones I hate the most.

Most insects I find I leave alone, but if it's a fly, mosquito, or a bee in the house, I'll squash it; flies because they crawl all over food after being born in the fucking garbage (and the buzzing drives me crazy), mosquitoes for obvious reasons, and bees (when they're inside) because I'm allergic and have a tendency to freak out when they come near me.

 

[CoverYourHead]

If they invade my territory their lives are forfeit. Those little buggers are really annoying.

 

[duckfi8]

If it is this eliminate it with extreme prejudice.

 

[childofbodom]

For the first question I say: Yes AND no. The explanation to this is explained on question 2: Yes, if it has in any way threatened or harmed you. And for the third: Yes, sometimes I actually do. Because they haven't done anything to me or anyone else that I know of. Though I killed a wasp recently, not because it directly threatened anyone, but because of the sympathy towards others (allergics and such). I am in no way buddhist or hippies, but life should be treasured, even if it's not your own, or human.

 

[InnerRebellion]

I used to capture bugs and put them in a box and fight to the death...

 

[A random person]

I kill things that fly around in my room, roaches (OK, they're actually Palmetto beetles), and otherwise pests. I don't kill harmless bugs like Ladybugs, however, and my dad got angry at me when I killed a caterpillar in rage.

 

[manaman]

People would still be around for a while.

I hope by a while you mean however long it takes to starve to death.

pretty much everything is pollinated by bees- trees, flowers, vegetables.

Funny they are also pollinated by some flies, butterflies, and some birds. Bees may by far be the most effective pollinator, but they are not by far the only one. On top of that: Some 80% of the food crops require pollination to seed, that leaves 20% that don't as well as the fact that around 66% to 75% of the food delivered to market is dependent on animal pollinators in the modern industry. Humans would still be around even if all the bees disappeared. You might note I never said there would be a lot of them, but people would still be around.

 

[odanhammer]

Depends , if you don't have to kill something.. why would you want to?
I have to kill any wasp/bee's that come around my house, as my wife runs a daycare and some of the children might get stung as they are under the age of 5.

However if i see a fly in the room , if i can lure it outside , i try.
Generally i kill a bug if i can't get it away or outside without harming myself or others.

And yes i think most kids kill bugs at one time or another.
If you feel bad for killing some ants , then prehaps you should put a few sugar cubes next to an ants nest and not kill anymore nests unless they become a pest.

I don't kill bugs.. i kill pests.

 

[Necrofudge]

If it is this eliminate it with extreme prejudice.

But its so adorable... I would gladly feed my dog to that thing.

 

[Eric the Orange]

Not really, but then again I'm not really a caring person.

 

[RandomRican]

Torturing mosquitos should be encouraged throughout the world

 

[credop]

I like the Eddie Izzard idealism. Spiders, keep them because they do stuff, they eat annoying flies. But flies, they do fuck all so kill them.

 

[F-I-D-O]

My cat chases flies, mosquitoes, spiders, cockroaches, and anything else that moves and is smaller than it. Often my cat will kill them slowly when he catches them. He does not posses the ability to kill swiftly, or at least does not exercise it. Does this make my cat an evil murderer?
Humans, as part of nature, are natural. Everything we do is NATURAL, so killing a bug because it annoys you is natural. If the bug is feeding on you, then that is the bug believing it can kill/exploit you for its own gain. Kill it, and show you are a superior organism. While I do not go outside with a ghostbusters pack that shoots RAID, I still kill a bug that attempts to eat me, crawl on me, steal my food, or enter my home. I defend what I have, and killing is the only definitive way. If enough spiders are killed in your home, they will likely stop coming in.
On to the original question, my cat eats its kills. This gives my cat nutrition (yes, I do feed it) and establishes my cat as higher on the food chain than that unfortunate beetle. Even if it doesn't eat it, it still shows superiority, and I doubt he feels guilt.
Don't let killing bugs bother you to much.

P.S. My cat is now looking at me horrified as I just threw his cockroach (which he killed and offered to me) outside. I'm more scared of my cat than what would happen when the insect's brethren find the body.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

I like the Eddie Izzard idealism. Spiders, keep them because they do stuff, they eat annoying flies. But flies, they do fuck all so kill them.

/agree

Personally, I leave them alone if they leave me alone, however, I live on the 3rd floor, if they're so damn determined to get into my property and fuck me off by flying around and freaking me out, they're getting a rolled up magazine crit to the face.

Bees and spiders I'll generally try to catch and fling out the window, but daddy long legs I get dozens of thru the summer, so screw em, they're gonna lose their essential 3rd dimension when I find em in my home.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/138358/ricky_gervais_daddy_longlegs/

I'm certainly not in favour of pulling legs off and the like tho, end em quickly and move on.

 

[Tharwen]

I don't like killing them. If I find myself doing it, I wonder if there's actually a reason for it, and when I realise there isn't, I stop.

 

[paiged]

If they're in my house they're fair game. That being said, I don't always end up killing them. If they are near where I sleep, fly around my head, or are going to bite me they have it coming.

If they're a ladybug, or a caterpillar or something I usually take it outside.

If I'm outside I usually won't kill any bugs at all. Except for moths. I hate those things, seriously.

I don't really feel guilty about it though. If I invaded their home and tried destroying it or feeding off of them I'm sure they'd want me dead too.