In a word, yes, I am a very good at killing things. I am eerily good at swatting, smacking, squishing and generally flattening all kinds of bugs. I have excellent peripheral vision, and I can be entirely absorbed in something – making dinner, reading, brushing my hair – and before I’ve had a conscious thought about the movement in the corner of my eye, I’ve reached out and killed something. While perhaps squeamish to look at an insect across the room, I flatten them with my bare hands without hesitation.
Don’t get me wrong, my home is not infested with bugs. But every older home has a few insects trying to make a living, and while the odd spider or fly isn’t going to interfere with my health, I figure that when bugs cross my threshold, they’ve crossed the line. My partner is much nicer to insects – when he discovers an errant moth or spider, he traps it and puts it outside where it belongs. Perhaps I should learn from him.
Being an environmentalist and all, should I feel guilty about my killer instinct? Should I accept that the biosphere doesn’t end at my bricks and mortar? Maybe, but so far I can’t just live and let live, smile as a mosquito circles my bedroom, humming its high-pitch warning. Besides, the kinds of insects I’m likely to find at home aren’t exactly threatened species, although my Dad, a biologist, assures me that every insect has an important role in the food chain, so each one is important. Yes, even mosquitoes.
In my defense, there are a few types of insects that we should not welcome into our homes, because they carry disease or cause damage to our stuff or our home’s structure.
- Carpenter ants burrow and nest in household wood; their expanding colony could take out important support structures. Sealing up cracks and gaps in your home’s exterior from the outside and replacing any rotting wood can help keep carpenter ants out, and some bait products can help you eliminate the ants.
- Mice can do a lot of damage to insulation, can compromise wiring and can threaten human health if they carry hantavirus, a type of lung disease. Again, seal up your home’s exterior and bait and trap the mice. Remove any possible food source.
- Cockroaches are difficult to eradicate, but they’re disease carriers so it’s important to take action. Call in the pros for this problem!
- Bedbugs are a growing threat in Canada. They don’t seem to carry diseases, but victims say they make you crazy! Again, aside from washing bedding in hot water, vacuuming your mattress and eliminating clutter, the best you can do is call in the pros as soon as you notice a problem.
Have you been affected by any invaders? What do you think, is my eco conscience clear if I kill the odd household spider?
