Does dealing with animal pests "humanely" mean you won't swat a fly?

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

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Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
I just happened to run into a site for dealing "humanely" with animal pests. OK, so you don't want to kill that cute little squirrel, who's raiding your bird feeder. But are you going to "humanely" take care of flying insects?

Does dealing with animal pests "humanely" mean you won't swat a fly?​


How to humanely deal with pests without using cruel traps or harmful chemicals
 

Depends on the pest. Flies I'll smash but others I don't bother if they don't bother me. A huge black wasp flys in the window often and it's fine with me. Spiders I will just put outside like the other insects.
 

I have several bug catching things plugged in around the house, as well as a zapper I just put near the open window leading to the catio. I'm afraid I let machines kill bugs regardless of what they are. I do have to kill ants when they decide to converge on a crumb or the catfood....

If they stay outside, they are free to live their lives as they wish ---- come inside and their chances are significantly reduced.

That being said, I continue to get bitten by mosquitos!!!
 
I'll swat flies, but when I find spiders I'll escort them outside. I know this will sound weird, but there are some large roaches that get in the house. They are Turkestan roaches, they are not the nasty kind that get in kitchens and food storage. They sometimes get in the house overnight, and they will be laying on their backs on the floor in the morning. I just sweep them into a dustpan and let them out.

I will trap and kill ground squirrels when there's too many of them getting destructive. I wish there was a local predator that would eat squirrels, they would sure thrive.
 
I had trouble with roaches now and then in the bathroom some years ago, and would just grab a can of "Raid", but then the day came when ants built a huge nest on the underside of the bathtub in the main bathroom, and I had to pay a prrofessional to remove 170 pounds of "dirt" and fumigate the whole area, including a back bedroom which also had signs of them. After that, a trap door was installed so I could check the tub area to make sure it didn't happen again, and apply sprays.

I have no problem killing ants, roaches, or bugs of any kind - known or unknown- that appear in my house. But that has not been an issue anymore since I now spray every six weeks in bathrooms, kitchen, and any areas where they might invade with a product containing Beta-cyfluthrin and zeta-Cypermethrin.
 
debodun said:
The only thing I deliberately kill are mosquitoes. If I see other bugs inside, I try to catch them in a plastic container I have dedicated for this. Then I take them outside and release them so they can go about their buggy business.
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Awesome (y)

Unfortunately I occasionally have to kill harvester ants outside when they encroach too close to where people or pets are.

Damn those things hurt, like a bee sting.
 
Almost all bugs seen in Dave's house are immediately executed. I don't have any guilt ending such lifeform existences, and expect neither did our ancient human ancestors. Few enter my abode as I occasionally only see silverfish, houseflies, and spiders. Occasionally a moth may enter, I'll catch and remove those.

That noted, as someone that often hikes in outdoor natural areas, if looking down on trails I avoid stepping on ants and other bugs. Otherwise, just walking through landscapes, if not looking down, as an earth ape creature, I undoubtedly crush many and have no guilt doing so. Last week while backpacking, I squashed plenty of mosquitoes and also some aggressive houseflies that annoyed us any time we were eating.

Likewise, when I brush my teeth, it doesn't bother me that billions of bacteria are destroyed. The first day of six, fishing, I caught, dispatched, cleaned, pan fried, and ate 5 eastern brook trout. I dislike killing fish, but as long as I occasionally consume fish, poultry, and other advanced animal flesh bought at supermarkets, it gives me more respect for doing so by occasionally having to do so myself.

Most Western modern era humans eat far more animals than I do, and without any thoughts of remorse as it is all out of sight, out of mind. I would bet if they had to kill even a few of those animals, that there would be many more vegetarians.
 
David777 said:
Almost all bugs seen in Dave's house are immediately executed. I don't have any guilt ending such lifeform existences, and expect neither did our ancient human ancestors. Few enter my abode as I occasionally only see silverfish, houseflies, and spiders. Occasionally a moth may enter, I'll catch and remove those.

That noted, as someone that often hikes in outdoor natural areas, if looking down on trails I avoid stepping on ants and other bugs. Otherwise, just walking through landscapes, if not looking down, as an earth ape creature, I undoubtedly crush many and have no guilt doing so. Last week while backpacking, I squashed plenty of mosquitoes and also some aggressive houseflies that annoyed us any time we were eating.

Likewise, when I brush my teeth, it doesn't bother me that billions of bacteria are destroyed. The first day of six, fishing, I caught, dispatched, cleaned, pan fried, and ate 5 eastern brook trout. I dislike killing fish, but as long as I occasionally consume fish, poultry, and other advanced animal flesh bought at supermarkets, it gives me more respect for doing so by occasionally having to do so myself.

Most Western modern era humans eat far more animals than I do, and without any thoughts of remorse as it is all out of sight, out of mind. I would bet if they had to kill even a few of those animals, that there would be many more vegetarians.
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I avoid stepping on ants / bugs when I'm outdoors as well, but inside my house is a whole different story!
 
I'm terrified of crawling bugs of all kinds and flying ones too. If they step into my environment I'll kill them any way I have to mercilessly. Sorry but they frighten me into temporary insanity.
 
1. I have termite stations around the house. When they get checked, the outer perimeter gets sprayed for bugs and spiders - we have a lot of Brown Recluse and some Black Widows.

2. I am currently waiting for the pest exterminator appointment next week because, for the first time in my entire lifetime, I have an overburdening mouse population. They’re all going to die. It is going to be mouse genocide. I don’t care who likes that idea. Because the mouse bait that I put out seems to kill one, and for everyone I kill, two more appear.


3. I catch and relocate possum and raccoon if I find them hanging out in my barn. Their feces can make my horses sick enough to kill them with EPM. You can look up “EPM for horses“ because it’s about 20 syllables long.

Whenever those two creatures pee on a bale of hay and the horse eats it, if the raccoon or possum is carrying EPM, or worse yet rabies, the horse gets it.

That should answer the original question. I have my safety priorities and those “cute” little critters aren’t on the list..
 
A fly I'll swat, if I can catch it. I try to either let spiders find their way out or if they are tiny enough, even put them on a piece of cardboard or something and set them outside. It's never happened, but I'm pretty sure that if a lady bug or praying mantis got in here, I wouldn't kill them either. A bee got in our studio a couple of months ago...I do not know how. He started buzzing around me as I was doing something at my desk, then he "disappeared". My son is so good at swatting things, so he killed it when he came home from work.
 
Being in a rental you have to realize you have no idea how the people before you kept house. No matter how clean the landlord cleaned it up. No idea what's nesting behind those cabinets or under, in the walls, etc.
I personally don't want to open my sugar or flour and find critters in it. I put all my dry goods into zip lock bags, taking away the opportunity for bugs to feed and want to stay. If I see a bug (I do get mixed up fireflies explore my house at times) I take them outside alive if it is not an invasive type. If it is an invasive insect you better believe I will kill it so it can't go home and bring it's army with it.
I try not to use sprays and poison due to the dogs. I keep all my cup, glasses, bowls and pots upside down so if I get a mouse in here by chance we don't wind up eating feces or urine we are not aware of.
I guess I use Prevention Methods, more than other drastic measures, but I will kill something invasive. This seems to work for me, it's only those seeker insects I have had to swat now and then.
 
I use fruit fly traps in the house without remorse, also I pick Japanese beetles off of my linden trees also without remorse. I'll swat houseflies and mosquitoes without a second thought and pantry moths are another pest I'm actually glad to kill. However, when the outside temperature gets cold and mice come into my 120 year old house, I trap them WITH remorse. If I find a living mouse in a trap I actually apologize to it.......just before crushing its head quickly out on the driveway.
And BTW......the trick about spraying alcohol on insects in the house so as not to stain the wallpaper.....what a good idea! I've had to scrub off yucky spots where I've crushed (remorselessly) pantry moths. Oh yeah....I also catch the occasional wasp inside my house with a cup and piece of cardboard so as to release them outside. Just why exactly I value some creatures more than others, I'm not quite sure.
 
We usually have fruit flies in the kitchen and around the cat food bowls every summer, but not this year! And I'm not complaining. To control them I take a shot glass and pour almost half full of apple cider vinegar and stir in a drop or two of Dawn dish soap. Works well.

My real lesson happened in my shop a few years ago. During married life it was a collector of unused goods, vehicles, etc.
So after the divorce I brought my project car back with me, cleaned thoroughly and was amazed at how many spiders, bees, bugs and mice I had. I read online that Tea Tree Oil sprayed around the perimeter of your building will stop all of them. This is true! But what I also learned unfortunately is that while this stuff doesn't bother human, it can kill dogs and cats.

Just having the scent on my clothing when coming in the house, and removing clothing and putting in the washer was enough to affect my oldest cat (I didn't have Spooky yet), I looked online to find this out after the fact. So, don't use this method if you have pets- they love the smell, but it will try to kill them!
 
OneEyedDiva said:
A fly I'll swat, if I can catch it. I try to either let spiders find their way out or if they are tiny enough, even put them on a piece of cardboard or something and set them outside. It's never happened, but I'm pretty sure that if a lady bug or praying mantis got in here, I wouldn't kill them either. A bee got in our studio a couple of months ago...I do not know how. He started buzzing around me as I was doing something at my desk, then he "disappeared". My son is so good at swatting things, so he killed it when he came home from work.
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I would never kill a ladybug on purpose!! Did get a grasshopper in the house the other day ... Cat took care of that :ROFLMAO:
 
Part of it is to not invite them. Open compost buckets bring in the fruit flies. Some rotten wood on a leaky window sill can serve as a home for ants.
 

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