It used to be the case that whenever an insect or a spider came into the house, I would kill it (especially the latter). As far as I was concerned, they were unwelcome inside and my only way to deal with them was to kill them. In recent years, however, I have changed from killing insects and spiders that come into the house to catching them in a glass and releasing them outside.
Why the change? The main reason is because I didn't like that I was killing innocent creatures. Insects and spiders come into the house in search of food or warmth, not because they are intentionally trying to hurt me or anyone else. In fact, I don't think they've ever harmed me in the comfort of my house! Believe it or not, I felt bad about what I had done to members of their respective species'.
The second reason was because, before we left Oregon, there was a spider living in my brother's room behind his bookcase. It had been there for a long time and we had given it a name, although it's doubtful that it knew or cared about that. No, the spider just kept to itself and caught flies; it didn't bother us and we didn't bother it.
For these reasons, I now make the effort to rescue and release these beings rather than kill them. They have every right to exist as we do and they shouldn't be needlessly slaughtered for what they are.
I kill moths... afraid of moths (dad catches and releases). However, I like other bugs; they don't bother me. Spiders are cool, in my opinion. :) We have tons in our basement and they eat the pesky bugs.
ReplyDeleteHeh, I'm fine with moths. :) I'm still not a fan of spiders but I don't automatically kill them anymore.
DeleteI kill mosquitoes. That's about it. Don't know why they are on the planet. Just to irritate me, I guess.
ReplyDeleteI rarely see mosquitoes, but I know they're around because they bite other people.
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