i decided a long time ago not to swat mosquitos. don't get me wrong, i detest them just as much as anyone else, and i quite like the idea of bats consuming them by the thousands, i just came to the conclusion one day that it's not my place to kill them. some people may view swatting mosquitos as self defense, or even disease control(west nile, malaria, etc). i see that side of it, and i definitely don't lose sleep over the loss of mosquito life, i just feel that it's not my place to do that.
i was all fine and dandy with my decision, and in the habit of shooing away mosquitos rather than killing them, and hadn't really given much thought to the issue again until this summer... which brings me to part two...
my sister and her boyfriend, who live in vietnam, were visiting. jim(my sister's boyfriend) was telling me about getting hospitalized for a while due to denghue fever he got from a mosquito bite. they sleep with mosquito netting over their bed, and they say it works pretty well, but apparently, the mosquitos that carry denghue fever bite during the day. they were looking for a non-chemical way to control mosquitos when they heard about this: place a few glasses or bowls of water around the outside of your house/apartment, leave them there for a few days, then dump out the water, rinse them, and repeat.
the reason it works is that mosquitos lay their eggs in water, so when you dump out the water, you're destroying the eggs or the larva. i suppose that would make it a sort of like an abortion...
they are pests, and they are annoying, but they are still animals. rats and mice are pests too, and the disease that was spread by rats killed more people than people than mosquitos... but i'm willing to bet most people on this site wouldn't use a traditional mouse or rat trap(one that harms the animal)...
so... in short, do you kill mosquitos when they bite you? and how do you feel about killing baby mosquitos?
is it ok, or not ok? why or why not?
please discuss.
Posted Answers
A:I usually try to rescue insects when I can. But mosquitoes get the SWAT! They're annoying and their numbers are way too high. I tend to take garlic pills or vitamin B6 if I know I'll be out, the scent will deter them. But if they get too close......splat.
Answer by freddyferret
Tue, 05/04/2010 - 4:15pm — freddyferret
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A:Swat. It's called self defense! haha they carry disease and bite! I"m severely allergic to them, i have a weird 'bump' on my leg that will never go away because of their poison. those bastards.
Answer by Cyanide
Sat, 05/01/2010 - 2:45am — Cyanide
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A:Swat. It's called self defense! haha they carry disease and bite! I"m severely allergic to them, i have a weird 'bump' on my leg that will never go away because of their poison. those bastards.
Answer by Cyanide
Sat, 05/01/2010 - 2:45am — Cyanide
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A:Speaking of mosquito birth control, I hear Phact0rri recently started a nation wide mosquito spay and neuter clinic to cut back on the population so we don't have to kill these poor blood thirsty creatures.
Answer by ThisMeansWar
Fri, 08/28/2009 - 4:01pm — ThisMeansWar
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A:They flock toward me I SWATS THEM IN THEIR TRACKS!!
Answer by BlairyFairy
Thu, 08/27/2009 - 10:47pm — BlairyFairy
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A:Oh and as far as the whole mosquito abortion thing goes....They used to lay eggs in my swimming pool as a kid and we would dump it out. I dont believe it's the same thing as abortion. I see it more as birth control.
Answer by Lupustheurge
Thu, 08/27/2009 - 11:31am — Lupustheurge
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A:I also dont feel badly about smooshing mosquitos. partly because thier parasitic, partly because theres been a real population problem here this year and partly because i get practically eaten alive everywhere I go! I'm another person they love to bite while others arond me have only a couple bites, they concentrate on me
Answer by Lupustheurge
Thu, 08/27/2009 - 11:21am — Lupustheurge
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A:oh cokaru, they bite you in your cube? It must suck to have an itchy cube!
I think this is the point where we must draw a line and say it isn't a vegan issue to kill or harm something that is attacking you. If you had a gastric parasite that was making you ill would you just do nothing? If you have head/body/pubic lice will you let them live long and prosper despite your discomfort?
Unlikely...
Anyway the thing with the water won't do much good. Mozzies don't usually lay eggs in clean water as there is nothing for the larvae to feed on. There has to be detritus and researchers have found that in some species the types of bacteria in water are also important. So they'll fly right past those tubs of water on your sister's floor and lay eggs in the puddle outside her window.
Answer by adam_antichrist
Wed, 08/26/2009 - 3:51pm — adam_antichrist
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A:think its been a while since I actually have seen one. I do rescue insects before people can kills them though.
Answer by phact0rri
Tue, 08/25/2009 - 11:00am — phact0rri
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A:years ago i worked at a rehab center for people who had acquired brain and spinal cord injuries. one of our "participants" was a guy in his mid-twenties who had straight A's all through high school, who had been top of his class in the naval academy, and who had a fairly high-ranking position for his age... when he got bitten by a mosquito while on vacation in Florida and ended up contracting something that completely obliterated his ability to think and reason and even to speak with normal words and complete sentences most of the time. despite this, he KNEW and remembered the person he used to be and was so understandably frustrated with what had happened to him and "who" he had become.
i generally swat mosquitoes away if i feel them, but remembering all of this... i feel no regret if i accidentally kill them. granted only a small portion of mosquitoes may be infected with anything capable of harming us, but i know *i* don't wanna be the one who becomes a shell of my former self.
the only reason mosquitoes suck our blood is to provide food for their eggs. so by letting them live, you're mainly just facilitating and speeding along their reproduction. if you personally don't feel right with killing them when they're buzzing around you and trying to stick their proboscis into your flesh (or even when they ARE sucking your blood), then i wouldn't imagine you would be the kind of person to feel comfortable with killing their eggs. regardless, it's never a wise idea (in my opinion) to willfully provide a breeding ground for unwanted visitors.
Answer by cerealkiller
Mon, 08/24/2009 - 10:38pm — cerealkiller
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A:I too am the kind of person that gets eaten alive by mosquitos whenever I'm in an area that has them but luckily that's a problem I don't have to deal with too often now that I live in Phoenix.
I think it's obvious that mosquitos were put on earth for absolutely no good reason, I'd go as far as to say they are the product of pure evil.
I don't swat them though, I prefer a more medieval method. Ya see when I was 7, I made a little tiny electric chair out of a small piece of my grandparents old bug zapper and my obsession for paying mosquito's back for all the harm that they do has been growing ever since. I now have a lead sprinkler,a miniature judas chair,and my personal favorite... THE MOSQUILLOTINE!
Answer by ThisMeansWar
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 2:44pm — ThisMeansWar
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A:I don't have too much trouble with mosquitos and didn't get bitten all year until two days ago when I got 3 bites on the same leg :-/
I rescue spiders from my house, trap and release flies, and so on. But, I actually do swat mosquitos sometimes.
It's because I have a dog who was heartworm+ and if he gets it again, they said he would likely die from it. So, I swat the ectoparasites to protect him (and my other dog as well as my indoor cat who is not on hw prevention). I don't like it, but i have to protect my fam. :-/
Answer by animalia_libero
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 1:40pm — animalia_libero
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A:I'm with Cokaru on this one. Mosquitos love me and I can be outside for just a few minutes and end up covered in huge welts.
Answer by VeganVagabond
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 1:10pm — VeganVagabond
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A:I'm one of those people that mosquitoes for some reason just love to chew on. I work in an office, and they come in the building and end up biting me in my cube. A couple of days ago I found one in my car. I can't take my dog for a walk with out using some kind of bug repellent, and I have one of those sound repellents (not sure if they actually work, but hey, worth a shot?). Even though I don't spend a ton of time outside, my legs and feet are covered in bites. So yes. If I find one in my space, I kill it and I don't feel guilty about it. They spread disease to humans and animals, their bites can get infected if you scratch them, and they're so abundant that it's insane. I appreciate that you care, but I guess my personal compassion has some limits. If I had a child with lice, for example, I wouldn't feel one bit bad about using the recommended treatments to rid the child of them.
Answer by ...JoeBobHenryBob...
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 12:08pm — ...JoeBobHenryBob...
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Thu, 08/20/2009 - 11:46pm — pinchevegan
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