Ixnay on the illkay

[LunaMom]

Don't take me too seriously here, it's a little tongue-in-cheek, but here it goes...

For the first few years I was always careful about how I treated insects in my home in front of dd. I'm not scared of bugs, but I just don't want them in my house, YK? And unless the bug is harmful, why kill it? So dd would see me catch the bug under a cup or on a piece of paper and put it outside. She really got upset once when a friend stepped on a bug in front of her. I was thrilled, not that she was upset, but that she had such respect for living creatures.

Then we got this problem with huge ants, and I was seeing a good ten or more of them a day, and those suckers move really fast. So I was a little more likely to just squish them. Now dd wants to step on bugs outside occasionally, and I tell her not to. I feel like a hypocrite.

So two days ago dd and I opened the door to the house and this huge spider ran in. "Get it, Mommy, get it!" So I caught it under a cup. Big bugs are too yucky to squish and I don't mind spiders, especially because they kill mosquitoes and other nasties. But then as I was sliding the cup onto a piece of cardboard, about fifty baby spiders, each the size of a pinhead, appeared on my rug! Apparently Mom carries them on her back or something and they came off and out from under the cup! Well, they were racing around everywhere and I had visions of how many huge spiders I'd have in my house in a few weeks if they got away, so I grabbed a paper towel and started squishing! Dh walked in and I started explaining, and I said without thinking, "Well, I've got Mom under the cup, but I killed all the babies," and he said, "Honey, ixnay on the illkay..." Oops.

Dd wasn't upset or anything, but I just wanted to share and ask how others handle bugs in their home! I think too much, don't I?

[BAU3]

That's too funny.

My philosophy:

Dpending on which type of bug it is... if it looks like something that may crawl back in a hole some where.. well, I give it a chance to go..
if its a spider..........
small: live and let live
med. to large: sorry, got to squish or dispose of in such a way that I come in least contact with it.. I just cant mess around with trying to get it out... I dont like big spiders.
spiders in webs: they're o.k... they tend to stay put.
various bugs that aren't too scary.. I do put outside.
out doors: live and let live.

my 2 1/2 yo ds always stops when he sees any bug,.. "hey little fella..".. then "mom, can I hold him?

[Justice2]

My daughter...lord she is an enviromentalist.... The other day I was dusting the window seal and (we live very far out in the country where "insects" are extremely prevailent (sp?))) this huge spider fell out of the top of the window and I immediately freak (spiders are not my favorite of God's creatures) and begin stomping around it. It was very fast moving and I couldn't catch it. My dd (8 years old) is having a hissy on the couch. No, Mom, please don't kill it, it's not going to hurt you. She is really upset, crying and screaming this at me over and over. Through my haze of terror I realize that she is doing this and completely against my better judgement, I let the icky thing live....gives me the willies! She grabs some toilet paper, scoops it up and carries it out the front door, apologizing to it on my behalf. How sad is that, my own daughter laughs at my silly fear.

[candiland]

We have always made a conscious effort to never kill any bugs or anything in front of our DD.
However, she loves torturing bugs. Just a month or so ago, I heard her playing on our back porch with some of those big black ants (she calls them "Puffies".) I saw her out there banging her little shovel, then she said, "Hi, Puffy, why don't you go play with your little friends? Oh, that's right. I KILLED THEM ALL." And she gave an evil little snicker
Needless to say, I had a vision of Jeffrey Daumer briefly, before I collapsed into a heap of giggles. I know killing things isn't that funny, but my God!, where does a three year old come up with this stuff????

[asherah]

I wish I understood why people dislike and are so unkind to spiders.

They are remarkable and very very useful creatures. I always set them gently outside... yes, even poisonous ones (though carefully and out of the way of people).

I don't kill insects except mosquitos.. or rampaging wasps, hornets or yellowjackets that pose a direct threat.

I am trying hard to raise my ds with respect for animals.. and without fear. Spiders don't deserve our loathing. Neither do snakes.. in fact, unreasonable human loathing has endangered some snakes.. and other animals.. which are also very useful creatures.

I would not mindlessly kill anything.. only for food or safety.

[mcimom]

our policy is nothing wrong w/bugs, but they don't belong in the house.

i've explained that spiders eat other bugs and that's why i let them stay in our house b/c they help us keep the "naughty" bugs out.

when bugs are outside, we are respectful "if you don't bother them, they won't bother you" is our mantra

but when bugs are inside the house, i'm sorry - i don't always have the time or inclination for the scoop up and set free outside method.

but i do try to model the best behavior i can. i don't make an issue out of killing a bug in front of my dd's and when fil squashed a bug on our back patio the other day, my 4yo dd said "grandpa, that was just plain mean. if you just leave that bug alone, he'll leave you alone. there's nothing to be afraid of and that was just unnecessary."

so cute! did i mention she's 4 going on 40?

[teachma]

I was one of those children who cried when my parents killed bugs. Don't know why- I'm not even particularly sensitive in general, but it bothered me. I haven't ever killed an insect in my home, neither when I was alone nor when ds was present. Fortunately, dh is like-minded in this respect. So, we have a "bug box" which I believe is actually the outer box from my engagement ring, and we capture bugs in that and release them outside. The bug box is always handy- on the top shelf of our living room bookcase. Ds does know all about killing bugs though, because the women at his former child care do it all the time. Recently, at our house, ds took a piece of cloth and squished a bug with it. I asked about what he had done, and he said, "Well they kill bugs all the time at Carol's house." I absentmindedly said something like, "They do? Why?" to which he replied, "Well, I guess it's because they don't have a bug box like we do." So I guess my having modeled the gentle treatment of insects doesn't matter one bit!

[famousmockngbrd]

Originally posted by candiland
Just a month or so ago, I heard her playing on our back porch with some of those big black ants (she calls them "Puffies".) I saw her out there banging her little shovel, then she said, "Hi, Puffy, why don't you go play with your little friends? Oh, that's right. I KILLED THEM ALL." And she gave an evil little snicker
Needless to say, I had a vision of Jeffrey Daumer briefly, before I collapsed into a heap of giggles. I know killing things isn't that funny, but my God!, where does a three year old come up with this stuff????

:LOL Ahahahahahahahah!!! :LOL

OMG, I literally LOL at this post. :LOL Heeheeheeheehee...

All I can see is an Addams cartoon with little Wednesday sitting there...

OK, anyway... I wanted to say that this thread really means something to me. I *hate* to kill things arbitrarily, i.e. because they belong to an "icky" species. I shoo flies out the window all the time, despite my personal conviction that flies are *loathsome*. So when my cats get fleas, I have a moral dilemma. Do I kill the fleas because they cause my cats discomfort, or do I let them live because they have as much right to exist as I do, and they are just being fleas?? Well, I kill them. I don't have a good philosophical reason to back this up, it's basically just because I like my cats better than the fleas. Pretty fascist of me, I admit.

[JesseMomme]

I try to respect all living things, but sometimes my boundaries are crossed....

I put a HUGE spider (a hairy jumper, don't know the species) into a cup the other day and set him outside. I really do like spiders, just not in the house. I'll let spiders in webs stay put if they're out of the way, since I hate houseflys and knats etc. There aren't many very poisonous arachnids around these parts, so I'm not too freaky. My cousin is a different story. A spider surprised her in the shower, jumped at her face, and she screamed and ran out into my living room, I thought someone was getting killed she screamed so loud. I thought I'd die laughing.

We had a huge black house ant problem awhile ago, and finally I was just killing them, after one decided to chew on my toe. Then dh told me not to kill them since the highly socialized creatures pick up on the "I"m in trouble" chemical signals and come looking for the threat. Hey, wait a minute, I'm the threat!! I had nightmares of hundreds of ants hunting me down. But seriously, I grew a complex over trying to get rid of them, I found them fascinating, but didn't want them eating the jelly I forgot to wipe off of the counter.

Then I think several nieghbors have had their apt's sprayed b/c I havne' seen any in a while.

I don't tolerate bees, hornets or wasps in my house. You sting, you get stuck in my house, you lose. Sayonara. I grew up in a n old house where brown wasps loved to build nests in the windows and they frequently found their way inside, never to find their way back out. Growing up I was stung by wasps countless times. If outdoors, I respect them with space. Plus Dh is allergic, to the point where he throws up all day and is dizzy.


oh another bug I never tolerated in my house I still don't have a name for. they were brown/black striped and had about 10-20 legs and moved FAST, ranged from 1-3 inches long, they liked pipes and damp areas and only came out at night most of the time. I always saw them in older buildings/houses. They also tended to disappear when the weather started getting cooler. I never knew if they were dangerous or not but they FREAKED me out. I always switched into primal search and destroy mode when I saw one. I never relented until I squished them (nasty business) or they completely escaped. They were very good at seeing what I was doing, the way they'd dart from one direction to the next. I was SO GLAD to move out of our last place that would get them in the spring/summer, this modern apt. doesn't get them (I had even asked)

[feebeeglee]

candiland!

OMG!



that is TOO funny!

[saturnine25]

We don't kill bugs, for the most part- we usually rescue them and put them outdoors. However, dd and MIL recently spent a pleasant afternoon stomping ants (she just admitted to it), and now it is dd's favorite outdoor activity.

[Justice2]

Candiland...that is too funny!!!

I did something similar when I was four. My mom often tells the story of me running through the house yelling "I KILLED THE PILLAR", I KILLED THE PILLAR", laughing the whole time. With me, it wasn't ants, it was catepillars (you know those things that turn into beautiful butterflies...go figure).

[jeca]

I kill all bugs

When I was about 2 I was at my grandma's house and My leg fell in a hole in her yard, Well I don't know what kind of hole it was but all sorts of bugs lived there and they were crawling all over my leg coming out of the hole. Some were trying to escape I guess but some were biting me. They were everywhere and I was just crying and screaming until someone came and got me. My leg was covers in bugs and bites.

Need I say more. I have a serious bug phobia, I still do but at least now I can kill on my own now. I don't like ants, spiders, rollies, ladybugs, butterflies, worms, caterpillers, moths, flies, whatever. I use to just csream and cry until I saw my son reacting the same way when he was about 2 so I had to readjust my attitude be brave and kill, kill, kill. Sorry no saving here paybacks a b*&^$

[Ravin]

The stripey critters with 10-20 legs are centipedes. Some species sting or bite.

My policy has always been: they come in my space, I'll do my best to kill them. As my bug-squashing skills are poor, they often get away. Outdoors I consider their space, unless they're a territorial species w/ a stinger--no wasps under my eaves, etc., or they think I'm lunch--female mosquitoes will brook no patience with me. Ants being the sort of creatures they are, I'd rather just keep them from coming inside by finding where they got in and sealing up the route, but I figure that if they're so common and durable a species as to occupy the space around my house, I'm not endangering them by killing them (I live well within the suburbs).

Spiders I'll leave alone if they stay up near the ceiling, particularly daddy longlegs. But I once had a spider egg sac hatch in my barracks room window (In Great Lakes, IL.) Most of the baby spiders blew in and started building teeny webs on/above my bunk (it was a bottom bunk). So I laid down, looked up...and screeched. I woke up at least one roommate with my spider-killing spree (sprayed them with Simple Green, the only chemical on hand, and brushed away/squashed the rest). Luckily I was the highest rank in the room, so I got my way about keeping the window closed after that!

Larger animals I wouldn't kill, snakes and so forth, but those generally have the sense to stay where people aren't around here.

As a child I can't say I was particularly sensitive. One of my favorite educational experiences at the age of ten was a GT biology class at the university entitled "Cuttin' Up Critters" (It was Texas). We dissected a number of creatures and I found it great fun...lo and behold, I'm a biology major in college--though I'm now more interested in studying evolution and behavior than cutting them up to see anatomy. I also remember trying to get ants with a magnifying glass--mostly just charred grass instead since the ants wouldn't hold still for it. And when my best friend (who was a couple of years older) had to do an insect collection for HS freshman biology, I collected the better part of half the insects for her, in return for getting to read her brother's comic books (wasn't allowed to buy comics for myself). Saved me the trouble when I got into that class, I just raided her collection for all the good specimens!

[vein]

Originally posted by JesseMomme

oh another bug I never tolerated in my house I still don't have a name for. they were brown/black striped and had about 10-20 legs and moved FAST, ranged from 1-3 inches long, they liked pipes and damp areas and only came out at night most of the

ARGHHHHH. *shudder* These are the things of my nightmares. I've seen two in the 4 years I've lived here (the house was built in 39). The first time, I threw a shoe several times until I hit it, and this last time a month ago I threw a pack of D cell batteries at it (all I could find) to kill it. While I was screaming.

Now I'm having flashbacks to the crunch sound it made squishing under the batteries.

I can't turn off the lights now.

The other thing I wouldn't tolerate are scorpions. When we lived in TX, we ended up with two, both in my room. (go figure) Both times they showed up my dad was out of town and the first time, I was screaming, my mom was screaming, and she was spraying hair spray at the ceiling where it was clinging RIGHT above my bed. The second time, it was under my desk, where I saw it after my mom had her feet not one foot away just minutes before. *shudder*

Edited to add, when I lived in New Orleans in an apt by myself, I had killed a huge cockroach (those suckers LOVED it there, right along with the flying termites) and had to have a friend of mine come scoop it up from under the paper because I was too afraid of it. I still thank my friend for doing that every time I talk to him.

This is getting really long, but, edited to add AGAIN: it's fish fly season here. Nasty little bugs near the lake that smell like rotting fish, make noises like popping bacon when you drive on them, and literally COAT houses, signs (most gas stations in the area turn their lights off at dark to keep them away), street lights, and people. You have to drive like you're driving on snow or you WILL slide and crash. It's my least favourite "season" here.

[JesseMomme]

I had looked on the net before a few years ago and never found anything and this thread made me think to look again and lo and behold I found four or five different pages talking about the exact centipede I was describing.
Warning - has picture that gives one who hates these the heebiejeebies

Taken from http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/housece.html -

Centipedes are common arthropods with long, flattened, segmented bodies with one pair of legs per segment. The house centipede is up to 1 1/2 inches long and has 15 pairs of very long, almost thread-like, slender legs. Each leg is encircled by dark and white bands. The body is brown to grayish-yellow and has three dark stripes on top.
Though house centipedes are found both indoors and outdoors it is the occasional one on the bathroom or bedroom wall, or the one accidentally trapped in the bathtub, sink, or lavatory that causes the most concern. However, these locations are not where they normally originate. Centipedes prefer to live in damp portions of basements, closets, bathrooms, unexcavated areas under the house and beneath the bark of firewood stored indoors. They do not come up through the drain pipes.

House centipedes feed on small insects, insect larvae, and on spiders. Thus they are beneficial, though most homeowners take a different point-of-view and consider them a nuisance. Technically, the house centipede could bite, but it is considered harmless to people.

House centipede control consists of drying up and cleaning, as much as possible, the areas that serve as habitat and food source for centipedes. Residual insecticides can be applied to usual hiding places such as crawl spaces, dark corners in basements, baseboard cracks and crevices, openings in concrete slabs, under shelves, around stored boxes, and so forth. Residual insecticides available to homeowners include aerosols or hand pump products such as the "ant and roach killers" and "home pest control sprays" and dusts such as boric acid. Centipedes discovered outdoors should not be controlled.

It includes the first actual picture I have seen on the net of this thing that the though of now is making me jitterish and I'm not going to sleep well....a few other sites I found had a paragraph and some pencil drawings.

Appearently I had gotten to know these creatures well. They came out at night, always where it was damp etc etc. I figured they were carniverous and ate insects, we did have a fly problem too.

and OT, but it seems like the university webpages are plagerizing each other.