This is something I've been thinking a lot about recently but I'm still not sure what is right. My rule of thumb has been that I'll kill any bug that is infesting my house or causing a problem to my health. Like I would kill termites or bed bugs if I had those, or like a leech or a tick. But recently I've been getting a lot of flies in my apartment and while they are technically "infesting" the place, they're not doing anything to harm me, just annoy me. Is it wrong to kill them?
Also I would like to say that if I encountered any of these bugs out in nature I would leave them alone and not harm them, this is only in the context of a threat to your sanitation or home
Indoors: all pests but only pests. They'll take over and get you sick / very unhappy if you don't deal with them thoroughly. Flies included - they tend to cross-contaminate, as they lay eggs on gross things, then land on and eat food you later ingest. If you have a pet that poops indoors, they're gonna create a fecal-oral route, a very common vector for pathogens.
Outdoors: only the ones actively trying to hurt me like hornets, horseflies, etc.
Serious health/infrastructure/ecological risk. Spiders, scorpions, bees, even wasps all get spared. Mosquitos? Argentine ants? Spotted lanternfly? Execute on sight.
oh i've spent years thinking about this and still don't really know where i stand either. my general attitude is to gravitate toward "never" but like you had said, if I got bedbugs well... they gotta go, ya know. and if i'm being honest i certainly have killed some bugs that didn't need to die - so I suppose for me it comes down to the same sort of harm reduction ethos underlying veganism more broadly, do your best. you can never reduce your harm to zero.
as for the flies, you could try to make one of those traps that's like a cup with a paper covering it that has a hole in the middle and then fill the cup with something that attracts the flies. when there are a bunch in there, cover the cup and take em outside.
Cool beans, I'm glad everyone seems to be broadly on the same page on this. I'll look into doing the whole cup thing to get rid of them
I think you're good. I know I kill roaches and mosquitos, fuck those things. I try to put everything else outside if possible, but I know flies are a nightmare to catch and they just will not go away if you have a bunch of them. (Growing up next to a dairy farm sucked, and, actually, is part of the reason I'm vegan.) I wouldn't think you're less vegan for killing flies infesting your house. I get that it feels bad though, of course it does, especially since they're not really harmful other than being annoying as shit. It's a bit of a grey area, for sure
One example that comes to mind is the use of pesticides on crops. It sucks that we have to do it, but when the alternative is famine, you've run up against the limits of "where possible and practicable."
Mosquitoes and flies get the smack, same with venomous spiders. If I find a black widow inside or on the porch it's smashin' time.
I'm more scared for my nieces and nephews than for me. It would hurt like hell but not kill me. But the 4 year old? Shit could be fatal as it would take a long time for an ambulance to show up at my rural abode.
Spiders I usually trap and throw outside, unless they are content to sit in a corner web chilling all day. They don't bother me so I don't bother them.
Leave them alone if they're outside, and that includes systemic stuff like pollution/etc
If they're in my house it's gloves off. I'll definitely try to put them outside if they're big/calm enough to catch in a cup or whatever, but flies can get fucked
Nah, any bugs in my house die, just leave the spiders alone, they will help you murder the intruders
if its a cool bug tho I might put it in a tank and ponder it
Horseflies/gadfly and mosquitos are on my permanent shit-list, no matter where I am and will be terminated with extreme prejudice.. Everything else I just carry out of the house if it can't survive inside properly. Flies seem to make an exit by themselves usually, but if they start to infest the place they will get bonked too.
Indoors? Except spiders, anything too small to put outside gets killed before it can lay eggs and create a bigger problem or spread disease. The occasional tiny spider is fine to ignore as long as they're not in a food prep area or bedroom, but it's usually a sign of a bigger problem. They tend to go away when their prey does.
Outdoors? Anything that hurts the plants.
Obviously mosquitoes and ticks get killed in any and all circumstances because diseases.
I have a very severe phobia towards certain insects, one of which (large beetles/cockroaches) I panic spray if they're too big for me to maintain my composure and take them outside. The other, worse, one (caterpillars) I simply collapse into a shivering mess of frayed nerves and I humiliate myself by asking someone else to remove them for me, because I can't even manage to think about them without feeling way too uncomfortable to push myself into doing it.
Yes I know I need therapy but I don't have the money for it ATM, and my phobia is way too severe for me to willfully expose myself to them in a controlled manner.
I never ever kill bees or pretty much any other insect, though.
I really feel that, I'm terrified of roaches, they're a kill on sight thing for me. I used to not be able to even look at them and had to get someone else to kill them but now that I live alone I can't do that and I have to do it myself. I feel so fucking unclean whenever see one, even if I take multiple showers afterwards I'll feel dirty for the rest of the day even if I didn't make contact with it. I have reoccurring nightmares about getting attacked by them
Most other insects I leave alone as well. Like moths and spiders and crickets I all leave alone
