Philosophy on Bug- and/or Spider-Killing

[Apocalipstic]

There are lots of poisonous and scary bugs, spiders and snakes in TN.

Spiders, if they are not Brown Recluses or something huge and poisonous, I just let them be...if left to my own devices, bugs too.

If it looks scary and Cynthia is around, I ask her to deal....she was a Nature Specialist with the Girl Scouts after all. Heh.

If, alas, I must deal with the bugs as I did several years ago when my then G/F was terrified of bugs and had to have them killed or she screamed incessantly....I got the 30 foot away wasp foam (or hair spray). I could then get far enough away from said bug to incapacitate it...proceeding from there with a swift burial at sea in the toilet.

On one occasion we were lying in bed when the shadow of a HUGE millipede flashed on the wall...hugeeeeeeeeeeee....while she jumped up and down on the bed screaming at the top of her lungs (and she had great projection) I threw the phone book across the room like a shirkin and trapped the thing, then I jumped up and down on the phone book for a good five minutes while she screamed "is it dead???". No, baby, it survived 220 lbs of fish jumping on it.

Once she called me at work (she worked an hour away) to tell em that a grasshopper was looking at her and trying to break in her car. Yeay...Good times.

[rockybcn]

Now who could squash a ladybug??? I can´t even think about harming the little beauties! For some reason I have to take a daddylongleg outside and release it too. Most other spiders are considered squishable! I have a thing about checking the insides of my shoes if they havent been worn in awhile....just incase one of those lil freeloaders thinks it has squatters rights!

[Ldyluck88]

I might sound terrible, but I cannot stand bugs or spiders, flies or any crawley thing!! I have been bitten many times by spiders and I swell up like a balloon as I'm allergic. I won't bother them if they don't bother me. I don't go out of my way looking for them, but heaven help the ones who do occupy my space!!

[sharkchomp]

Spiders get a free ride in the large plastic cup to the great outdoors, unless 'lightning' Scooby gets them first. Then I can find them dead, in a little ball on my comforter usually near my pillow. Thanks pal! In my last house, I had a little spider under the window sill above my sink. He (or his descendants) lived there all the while that I lived there.

Bugs usually don't have a chance in my house. If 'lightning' Scooby doesn't get them, then 'scootn' Vegas gets them - she dives onto them and scoots on her back across the floor, effectively squishing them without getting biten or stung.

Flying insects are [usually] effectively eliminated, although the troops occassionally sustain some casualties. If 'lightning' Scooby gets stung too many times, then he calls for the Commander [me] and I bring down the 'magazine' of death.

~~~shark~~~~~~~

[apretty]

øther:

i want E to kill the outdoorsy stuff that finds itself indoors (moths mainly, i've never even seen a spider in here) but le tigre takes things with his bare hand and releases them outside. *

*i forgot, once there was a bird that flew in the kitchen and landed on the coffee maker. E saved it.

[Queerasfck]

Originally Posted by apretty

øther:

i want E to kill the outdoorsy stuff that finds itself indoors (moths mainly, i've never even seen a spider in here) but le tigre takes things with his bare hand and releases them outside. *

*i forgot, once there was a bird that flew in the kitchen and landed on the coffee maker. E saved it.

She forgot to mention lizards. There used to be an albino gecko lizard by our front door. She doesn't like lizards. She can't even watch the Geico commercials.

[NJFemmie]

Originally Posted by EzeeTiger

She forgot to mention lizards. There used to be an albino gecko lizard by our front door. She doesn't like lizards. She can't even watch the Geico commercials.

[theoddz]

I have the job of "bug disposal specialist" in our home.

I'm not afraid of bugs. I used to play with them when I was a kid. Pop was (retired now) a Research Entomologist for the USDA for nearly 25 years and he studied insects that get into stored food products and how to biologically control them. He always encouraged my sister and I to be curious about all kinds of insects, as they all have some value to the Earth's ecosystem. I remember catching strange bugs, putting them in jars and carrying them to Pop to ask what they were. He always knew....still does!!! So, I guess you could say that my "interest" in bugs goes waaaaay back!! One of the times I was closest to my Pop was when I joined 4-H and, for my county fair project, collected and made a display case of various insects, spiders and beetles of many varieties. I won a blue ribbon for it, and probably wouldn't have, had Pop not helped me (quite a bit) with his contributions of such oddities as a Horned Beetle, showing me how to spread wings, stick display pins and even donating some other colorful insects from far off tropic zones. I think Mother still has that display somewhere. We were all immensely proud of that for many years.

Now, Tabs and I both were both born and raised in the South. Everyone knows that good ol' Dixie is the "land of snakes and spiders".....and roaches. Heh. Down South, there is a roach that goes by the names of "water bug" and "palmetto bug". It's huge....and can fly. Needless to say, that when one of those are found, I am sent to kill it. Tabs takes one look, screams and ----->> .

She swears that those palmetto/water bugs/roaches bite.......I say they do not. Fly?? Yes. Bite?? No.

~Theo~

[weatherboi]

for all those into catch and release

[Queerasfck]

Originally Posted by theoddz

I have the job of "bug disposal specialist" in our home.

Now, Tabs and I both were both born and raised in the South. Everyone knows that good ol' Dixie is the "land of snakes and spiders".....and roaches. Heh. Down South, there is a roach that goes by the names of "water bug" and "palmetto bug". It's huge....and can fly. Needless to say, that when one of those are found, I am sent to kill it. Tabs takes one look, screams and ----->> .

She swears that those palmetto/water bugs/roaches bite.......I say they do not. Fly?? Yes. Bite?? No.

~Theo~

YESSS!!! I've seen these. I lived in Fort Lauderdale for five plus years. The palmetto bugs are as big as VW's. Crazy big.

[rockybcn]

Originally Posted by theoddz

I have the job of "bug disposal specialist" in our home.

I'm not afraid of bugs. I used to play with them when I was a kid. Pop was (retired now) a Research Entomologist for the USDA for nearly 25 years and he studied insects that get into stored food products and how to biologically control them. He always encouraged my sister and I to be curious about all kinds of insects, as they all have some value to the Earth's ecosystem. I remember catching strange bugs, putting them in jars and carrying them to Pop to ask what they were. He always knew....still does!!! So, I guess you could say that my "interest" in bugs goes waaaaay back!! One of the times I was closest to my Pop was when I joined 4-H and, for my county fair project, collected and made a display case of various insects, spiders and beetles of many varieties. I won a blue ribbon for it, and probably wouldn't have, had Pop not helped me (quite a bit) with his contributions of such oddities as a Horned Beetle, showing me how to spread wings, stick display pins and even donating some other colorful insects from far off tropic zones. I think Mother still has that display somewhere. We were all immensely proud of that for many years.

Now, Tabs and I both were both born and raised in the South. Everyone knows that good ol' Dixie is the "land of snakes and spiders".....and roaches. Heh. Down South, there is a roach that goes by the names of "water bug" and "palmetto bug". It's huge....and can fly. Needless to say, that when one of those are found, I am sent to kill it. Tabs takes one look, screams and ----->> .

She swears that those palmetto/water bugs/roaches bite.......I say they do not. Fly?? Yes. Bite?? No.

~Theo~

This reminds me of when I lived in North Carolina. We had bugs that we called..."no seeums".....and for being virtually unseen....they were ferocious biters! LOL

[Ms. Tabitha]

Originally Posted by theoddz

I have the job of "bug disposal specialist" in our home.

Now, Tabs and I both were both born and raised in the South. Everyone knows that good ol' Dixie is the "land of snakes and spiders".....and roaches. Heh. Down South, there is a roach that goes by the names of "water bug" and "palmetto bug". It's huge....and can fly. Needless to say, that when one of those are found, I am sent to kill it. Tabs takes one look, screams and ----->> .

She swears that those palmetto/water bugs/roaches bite.......I say they do not. Fly?? Yes. Bite?? No.

~Theo~

They fly, I swear they have tail #'s and request permission to take off and land. They always seem to aim for YOU.

They are just down right NASTY!!

[NJFemmie]

[NJFemmie]

OMFG, I would die. Die, right there.

In fairness, I won't kill ladybugs. In fact, I have a couple of them residing in my kitchen.
Bees = allergic. Spiders = been bit too many times. Mosquitoes = nuff said

Somehow we have a grasshopper in our basement. I FREAK OUT when that thing comes jumping at me - and they always do. They can't just leave me alone, or hide when I go downstairs - noooo, they have to jump toward me. I scream like a girl and make Mare go downstairs to get it. I don't care if She lets it out or kills it - I don't want it lunging at me.

I've never handled bugs well as an adult, which is interesting - because I played with them as a kid. Something traumatic must have happened and I blocked it out. *sigh*

[always2late]

I don't mind spiders....because they kill other bugs. But that also depends on the size of the spider....the small ones who build their webs in the corners during the summer I don't mind, because they take care of any mosquitos or flies that happen to get in. The HUGE ones I've seen out in my front yard....no, don't like them so much, and wouldn't want one in the house.

I don't mind bees, or ladybugs, or praying mantis....any other bug gets the rolled up newspaper smack or the foot stomp

[BornBronson]

I much prefer to open a door/window and let them outside.Of course if they bite me,I kill'em.

[Andrew, Jr.]

I had a neighbor who had a huge lizard (5 feet long). This lizard was kept under hot lamps, and had horrible skin problems. Anyway, the guy would let his lizard out to walk, and get some sun. Well, one day, we all forgot about the lizard. It ended up on my front porch with his head purched up on my 2 windows just looking at my 3 cats. The 3 cats were in the window looking back at the lizard. Unbelieveable.

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by EzeeTiger

She forgot to mention lizards. There used to be an albino gecko lizard by our front door. She doesn't like lizards. She can't even watch the Geico commercials.

I love the lizzies...enough to get one permanently etched onto my skin. An ex said it creeped her out. We didn't last long.

[Random]

I'm for peaceful co existance...

Except the blood suckers, black widows, brown recluse, and copperheads/water mocks...

I love bee's, have handled wasps, yellow jackets... I'm not alergic and I think a lil pain on my part is worth helping them out of the house..

I will try to shoo any flying thing out of the house.. even flys...

Unless you annoy me... If you annoy me, startle me, then more than likely you are dead...

I like spiders in my house and will put up with lil bites and the webs.. Until my kid come up with bites on his leg... then it's time to clean out the cobwebs and vacuum up all the lil dark spots and high spots..

Cockroaches? Water Bugs? Death on the spot and I'm doing a full clean to find out why I have them.. I will use sweet traps for you to take back to your homes...

Ants.. same thing.. find out where they are coming in and stop them..

I really do prefer to live and let live..

[Toughy]

if you scare me..........you're dead.......squished between my thumb and forefinger or my boot heel or the newspaper or nuked or dead by whatever means are at hand.......

otherwise.........if you come in my house, I will warn you....twice....the third time you be dead whether by thumb and finger or the 'nuclear option'..........

I give them a chance to go away in peace....if they don't.........shrug......a warning was given twice....

bugs/spiders/crawly things do not attempt to live in or visit my house without peril