I'm not like some tree-hugging hippie, or even a vegetarian, but I always feel a little twinge of remorse when I kill a bug. One time a couple of years ago at the apartment complex where we were living, there was a wasp's nest on the railing of the stairs leading up to our floor. I got stung on the foot and came back with some bug spray and annihilated those suckers. Then I felt like crying. They didn't sting me to be mean. They were protecting their nest. I feel sad thinking about it now and every time I walked by that dead nest for the next few days I felt like I'd run over a kitten or something.
Also, I hardly ever kill spiders, if I can help it. Not only because they trap and eat other bugs (like mosquitos) but because I saw Charlotte's Web and it really resonated with me. (Aside: Last week we went out to eat and walked by a pet store on the way to the restaurant and they had little piglets. Piglets!!! I really wanted one but Mike said no. If I ever got one, his name would be Wilbur.)
Anyway, also, our volleyball coach says killing spiders is bad luck. I don't know about all that but I do know that unless it's like a black widow or something really huge and hairy I hardly ever kill them. If I see them in the house, I get a cup and a piece of paper (unopened mail works well) and trap it and let it go outside. Silly? Maybe. But it makes me feel a little bit better about myself.
I do discriminate, though. Mosquitos for example never get my sympathy. Neither do ants. Especially when they get into leftover chocolate cake on the counter that was really really delicious but you had to throw away because the ants got into it, and then you spend half an hour spraying said ants with bug spray and wiping them all up and wiping everything down because you don't want any bug spray residue on the countertop where you prepare food. That was just an example.
So let's hear it: do you feel bad when you kill bugs?
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The rule in my house (I learned this from scouting) is if it's in OUR house, we can kill it (but don't always because it's just messy and gross sometimes). If we're in its house, meaning outside, we don't kill it unless it's posing a direct threat to us. I usually feel bad, though, except for mosquitoes. I'm with you on that one.
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