I don’t like the idea of needlessly killing other living creatures. I’ll say right off that I’m not a vegetarian, so my definition of “need” obviously has some wiggle room, but that’s a discussion for another day. Hunters rightly point out some level hypocrisy in those who oppose hunting but happily eat meat. But however much you talk about respecting your prey and preserving the balance of nature and being more in touch with your food source, the fact remains that you are taking pleasure in killing another creature, and I don’t have that much wiggle room.

This sensibility for the most part extends to the smaller creatures that share my living space. When I find spiders in my house I leave them alone, or relocate them to someplace with a better food supply. When insects turn up, I usually try to escort them gently outside. I’ll admit that my ethics get a little flexible here depending on how I feel about the species in question. Beetles, bees, wasps, moths, and butterflies get shown the door. Mosquitoes and roaches get smashed. Houseflies and crickets usually get left alone to fend for themselves (i.e., die slowly, probably), just because they’re too hard to catch. Earwigs and other insects that gross me out take their chances, depending on how I’m feeling that day.

Once a year or so I’m faced with a moral dilemma when ants turn up inside the house. I like ants a lot. I like their industriousness,^* their diversity, their success, their complex societies, their communication, their usefulness. I like to watch them. I like to read about them (if you want to buy me a nice gift, consider this). I had an big ant farm once (the kind with separate modules all connected together by tubes), until I discovered how much they smell. I even like watching them explore my kitchen, within reason, but there’s only so much of that I’m willing to put up with. So when the first scouts appear I have to decide: show them out, leave them alone, or kill them.

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