Poll: Harmless insects

[SteakHeart]

I'd let it live. I flippin' love bugs, and if one just crawled up, I'd probably examine it to see what kind it was.

 

[Cazza]

I just leave it be. If it's over food or something I get it out of the room.

 

[snowman6251]

If it flies, it dies. Spiders get to live on the condition that they stay out of my space. Behind furniture? Rock on. Out of reach? Go for it. On my desk? DEATH!

And then things like centipedes and silverfish also have to die because they creep me out.

 

[Queen Michael]

I wouldn't. I don't think being annoying should be punishable by death.

 

[Eternalsun]

I kill all of them/

 

[Berserker119]

I don't kill them, just because I have sucky accuracy. I can't hit a fly for beans. Spiders are cool, and I feed them, if I get a chance, and I run away screaming from ants.

 

[DeepComet5581]

I have both Arachophobia and Insectophobia. What do you think I'd do?

 

[Crimson_Dragoon]

I don't like them in my house, but otherwise they don't bother me. I've got a good sized spider in the corner of my garage, but its not hurting anyone, so I see no reason to get rid of it.

 

[Cheesus333]

[HEADING=2]Die Mr. Buzzy![/HEADING]

YOU CAN'T KILL HIM! HE HAS A NAME!

Yeah, if I name something and it dies or I lose it, I get seriously upset by it. I've actually had a situation before where I wouldn't talk to my friend for a day after he killed a greenfly I had named Steven.

PS. May Steven rest in peace. He was the best of us, taken cruelly by the worst.

 

[Hateren47]

If they sit still for long enough (anything but flies really) I catch them in a paper towel and dispose them in the toilet. If I have to go, even just a little, I will piss on them before I flush. Just to mock them. Yeah..

 

[MagicMouse]

If I could, I would erase EVERY fly and mosquito from existence without a second thought.

Mosquitos serve no productive purpose on this earth, they live only to make us miserable.

um this is actually incorrect.... mosquitoes play a huge role in the ecosystem and foodchain and all around the world.... the are the most common animal on the entire planet... bar none

I know that, Hatred isn't very scientific though....

Also I'm sure you are already corrected on this but, I believe most common goes to ants.

 

[The Ambrosian]

I am terrified of spiders. Flys and that I will kill if they're persistent like a lot of them are.

 

[MrMixelPixel]

I agree, but I disagree at the same time. You cut an earthworm in half, it squirms, coils into a ball and flops around. You cut a plant in half, it just lies there and rots away. Anything with even the slightest brain function has the capacity to feel pain. The further down the insect kingdom you go, the smaller that capacity may be, but it doesn't mean it isn't there.

Even if you still don;t agree with that, you can at least agree that insects have a desire to live and not die even if it's on an instinctual level; it's also one we share with them. The second we start become mindful of these things, it's difficult to rationalize killing anything that desires to live.

Self defense I can understand, but even a scorpion won't kill someone, may make you sick, but not kill you. So exacting revenge on a scorpion is still mindless killing IMO.

So as for the OP - NO, anything and everything in my house lives even Black Widows, Scorpions, bees and those nasty looking beetle things. Number of times I've gotten stung over the years - zero. Guess karma makes some sense after all...

Bugs can't feel pain, they can feel certain sensations... but pain is not one of them. If they do not have the desired nerve cells to feel it, then well it isn't felt. Granted, they know when they are in danger so that is the closest thing to pain they can feel. The only reason pain is even an issue is because; it is just good to know for the Mantis that gets head eaten while it's still alive. Or a Moth that loses one of it's wings do to an accident. So yes, I am still in disagreement on that.

Yes, we can definitely agree they want to stay alive. While their want to live may be programed differently than ours. The reason I say that is because certain insects seem very ready to throw their life away to do something like protect their hive or mate with another animal or even to give birth. All that aside, I'm still positive they have the desire to keep on going.

Self Defense for certain bugs makes a lot of sense at times. There are bugs that can kill you. Scorpions and spiders here in the states will most likely not kill you. It all depends on how old and big you are. Or whether you are allergic to certain bugs and their stings or bites. However in other places there are bugs that can kill a healthy adult. The Funnel Web Spider is a perfect example. Aggressive, Wanders a lot, and has the potential to kill. So killing a bug like that is possibly the safest option. However to exact revenge on a bug is incredibly silly IMO. It's bug... I mean really.

Hey look, I'm back on topic. No bug in my room, dies. At least not by my hand. If I see a bug in the house it isn't killed by me. If anything it stays. Unless it can cause me to get dangerously sick, then I will remove it from the premise. Granted with the amount handling I have given bugs, I have probably been stung and bitten, a lot of times. I wish I could say I am building up an immunity... but it still hurts to get stung... like... A LOT.

 

[Shoqiyqa]

I have a crippling fear of all insects except spiders.

That's like saying you're scared of all fish except dolphins.

... spiders rent insects ... dolphins rent fish

Eggggggzacktleeeeeee!

I've thought of another one that gets a reaction from me: horse-flies. Mosquito bites and the bites of those little 2mm moth-shaped things with the black and white wings itch and swell, but I can deal. Horse-fly bites are a missing chunk of flesh followed by a swelling like a slice off a golf ball under my skin, and they always go for somewhere it'll be really inconvenient, like between my fingers. I'd kill them more often if I didn't react so violently and keep shaking them off. Punching a fence post is totally worth doing if there's a horse-fly on my knuckles. TOTALLY.

 

[XJ-0461]

Depends. Sometimes I'll smash the little fucker with my shoe, especially if it's late at night. Other times I'll take an empty glass and catch it, then slip some card under the cup and release the bug out of a window. It really hinges on how I feel at the time.

 

[Sir-jackington]

I used to be really interested in bugs and stuff when i was young but now if i see a bug it will be introduced to the bottom of my shoe etc.

 

[oppp7]

Even though logic states killing won't matter, I'm too much of a pussy to kill bugs. Unless it's for entomology class. I can normally throw away morality in the name of science.

 

[-KC-]

fkn Cockroaches :-[

 

[similar.squirrel]

I cannot abide flies, but if it's at all possible to shoo one out a window I will do that.
I take no pleasure in killing anything, and I leave spiders and moths alone. Moths especially, since they rank among my favourite animals.

We live beside a field containing livestock, though, which means that we get veritable swarms during the summer. I've taken to using flypaper lately. Hanging insect-graveyards are pretty macabre, but a better alternative to the buggers crawling all over the kitchen. Disgusting little critters, flies.

Oh. I'm not a huge fan of mosquitoes either, but you don't get them in Ireland. And I haven't seen a midge in years [have any of you Irishmen noticed this?]

 

[A random person]

I'm generally kind to Lady Bugs, sometimes letting them crawl on my finger. I also remember getting a bucket and keeping a caterpillar as a pet when I was 7.

On the flipside, however, I essentially executed an injured bee when I was young (some kids were standing in a circle around it, and I decided to crush it), and tortured a cockroach. I also firmly believe we need to bring those Mosquito-killing lasers here, remove the distinction between those with and without Malaria, and drive the damn species to extinction.