Killing Bugs (Blog)

[Laura Bruno]

OK, so Erin's been encouraging me to join these forums forever, and this post finally convinced me.

@Steve, I'm happy you're posting about bugs. As an animal communicator, I can say they really do respond and have so much more consciousness than most people want to recognize, and they're really pretty awesome! In fact, I just posted an article on compassionate ways of getting rid of ants about a week ago because a lot of clients started complaining about having an ant invasion: Ant Control: Compassionate Ways of Dealing with Ants « Laura Bruno’s Blog Soon to come: posts on bees and moths. Incredible creatures!

@Erin: Turtles are WAY cool pets! Quite interesting and VERY Atlantean.

[Laura Bruno]

BTW, this sounds weird, but I've tested it again and again and it really works. I used to be everyone else's mosquito repellant, i.e. they would suck so much of my blood they didn't need anyone else's. When we lived at Lake Tahoe, they had a bad mosquito problem but I didn't want to wear the recommended DEET. I had been doing a lot of chanting and just decided to use this aura strengthening mantra:

Om Namo Bhagavate Vaasu DeeVaaya

Now, granted, it's not for bugs, but it actually makes your aura bigger, and in my experience, the bugs bug off. It's like having a shield around your body. They buzz in then "hit" it and bounce off -- works for biting flies, too. I once used it in Reno as sunscreen when I was out all day and forgot to wear sunblock -- no burn at all. Like I said, sounds goofy, but it really works for bugs! Now squirrels ... that's another story. If you're kind of humming this sort of mantra to yourself and sitting at a picnic table, the other animals might come up closer than usual, but they don't bite. They just kind of hang out and enjoy the vibe.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Laura Bruno

OK, so Erin's been encouraging me to join these forums forever, and this post finally convinced me.

@Steve, I'm happy you're posting about bugs. As an animal communicator, I can say they really do respond and have so much more consciousness than most people want to recognize, and they're really pretty awesome! In fact, I just posted an article on compassionate ways of getting rid of ants about a week ago because a lot of clients started complaining about having an ant invasion: Ant Control: Compassionate Ways of Dealing with Ants « Laura Bruno’s Blog Soon to come: posts on bees and moths. Incredible creatures!

@Erin: Turtles are WAY cool pets! Quite interesting and VERY Atlantean.

Awesome to see you finally joining the party, Laura.

By the way, a fun phrase I keep using on Erin from your book: "Don't worry. You'll be raw soon."

[Laura Bruno]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Awesome to see you finally joining the party, Laura.

Thanks, Steve! Who would have thought the BUGS would finally make me do it?

By the way, a fun phrase I keep using on Erin from your book: "Don't worry. You'll be raw soon."

Ah, bless her heart! As I recall that fun phrase begins with "One of the most irritating things you can say to a non-raw spouse is:" Seriously, though, I'm so glad you're having fun on raw and had such a good time at RSF. Did you get to check out Tania's booth? Artist & Reiki Master Teacher, Reno Tahoe, Nevada, Distant & Local Classes, Treatments, Oil Paintings, Egypt Tours, Raw Spirit Festival, The Lazy Raw Foodist's Guide Coincidentally, she has a very cool turtle named Gaia.

[RobinBEING]

Just wait until you start feeling for those carrots you rip from the earth and eat raw! Cruelty to vegetables, I tell you

[Rachelle]

any recommendations on dealing with fruit flies?

[supertom]

I only kill the spiders cause they're poisonous in australia, (the only thing i hate about aus)

[Aylana]

Thanks for the ant info! I don't have many problems with ants to be honest. They may have ignored me but I didn't just let them overrun my house!! Their refusal to leave just meant they met my 2 dogs and 2 cats. They soon went elsewhere. I would kill them if necessary as with the fleas, but I don't think they are daft enough to come back.

[Laura Bruno]

Originally Posted by Rachelle

any recommendations on dealing with fruit flies?

So ... fruit flies are a little different than ants. You can try the same tips from my article: Ant Control: Compassionate Ways of Dealing with Ants « Laura Bruno’s Blog, but in the case of fruit flies, you also have to encourage them not to "do the dance" and multiply exponentially. They're horny little guys, so you'll need to tell them to "get a room" and then imagine some place besides your house!

As annoying as they can be, they have a lot of fairy energy, so try to consider yourself mischievously blessed. Keep your awareness open for some extra sparkly touches in your life, thank them for opening you and send them on their merry, fruit-crazed way ... outside.

[theknightwhosaysni-NI]

Interesting article.
I've always felt that it's wrong to kill little insects in my house but actually it came from my reasonning left brain, and my emotional right brain would say : ok, kill it anyway, or at least, put it out through the window

I thought it was not logical to kill small insects when they enter our house, because the concept of property is coming from social conditioning.
From the perspective of a bug or a spider, the walls and roof and rooms that we call our houses are no different from the rest of the creation. To them, they are in their territory, and the human believing "I own this house, because I paid for it, and you little insects should not be in my place" is totally irrelevant for insects. They have the same right to be here, and for them it makes no sense that we believe we own this place called house.

So that was my reasoning, nevertheless, I often end up killing a spider if I see one, though I know it's wrong. Guess I need more compassion.

[danijelg]

Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina

I woke up after my first night there to find a cockroach defiantly standing on my alarm clock! Then I found one in my shoe. That was it for me.

Oh I can totally relate to this experience. My girlfriend and I have rented our first apartment last spring. It looked really nice and clean by day, but the first night we've spent there I woke up around 4am and went to the bathroom only to find, to my horror, that there were big black roaches having a party! Of course I freaked out and squashed them all. We've managed to get rid of them by calling the exterminators, but the memory of that night is quite bitter

[Jake Birkett]

I used to collect slugs and snails from my garden in a bucket at night and then carry them pretty far away - they can crawl a long way back to their homes apparently. I say "used-to" because this year I found myself killing them instead because the collection method is so long-winded. I guess that's a common thing though - treating bugs humanely takes longer so people opt for the quick option.

[dendennz]

Well: I read your blog entry and my first comment was: "That was really beautiful". It was and still is. It's about connecting - not just about bugs.

In terms of connecting, I'm not a raw eater: I'm a carnivore. There are things I can't eat meat-wise as the thought of it makes me feel awful e.g. kangaroo meat (I live in NZ and while kangaroo isn't common here, I've been to Aus many times and it's more commonplace there) or rabbit meat. I can relate to the animal and some reason refuse to eat it. I adore sheep, cows with their big brown eyes. Don't like chickens much - one attacked me many years ago and I find them unfathomable. But my parents raised chooks in their early married life and they really enjoyed them.

So: why can't I do that with the cow, the lamb, the chicken? I adore chicken. I'd happily forego the red meat. Fish: I could live without that. Chicken is hard to give up: it's the texture, the flavour. Maybe I could find something vegetarian that gives me the same taste, bite.

As for insects, my Mum and I have always been against killing spiders. I was stunned a couple of years ago when a GINORMOUS spider (probably non-venemous - Australia gets all the "fun bugs") showed up in the garage and my husband and our friend, in their late 30's at the time, delighted in killing it. It wasn't a pleasant killing. I had (stupidly now in hindsight) pointed it out to them and they 'dealt' to it. I was really upset: while I found it scary to look at, I had no desire to kill it. I found the fear of the creature crawling stopped me from capturing it and releasing it myself.

Yes, I have a Robocan in my house that automatically sets of fly spray every 7 minutes (probably dreadfully bad for us) because flies can be a problem and it's near the cat litter tray (which well, putting it plainly gets "whiffy" and attracts things I'd rather not have in the house) but even that bothers me. It's a chemical, and well flies don't enjoy a peaceful passing.

I agree with Steve tho': get over the fact it's scary looking. You are scary looking to other species! Ever thought about that? You invade THEIR space from time to time. So: don't kill the creatures. Carefully put them into a jar or gently capture them and release them outside. They might remember you the day they create a massive plague of <name the insect that scares you the most> and bypass your house...

Good blog entry, Steve. Lots of stuff to think about there.

Cheers,

Jenny.

[Pequod]

There is definately something to communicating with insects. The last few years I don't kill them anymore, it feels like they are part of me.

Sometimes animals seem to know me too. Often when I walk in my neighborhood the ducks say Hi to me, or a few days ago, I felt down and some cat walked with me. It's like they know what I'm going through.

Also I've noticed an easy way to get rid of flies and mosquito's: I open the window and in my mind I ask them to leave (and usually wave them in the right direction). Works about half of the times.

Mosquito's hardly ever suck my blood. I eat mostly vegetarian, but when I have the occasional piece of meat, invariably I get bitten that night! Very odd...

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Laura Bruno

Ah, bless her heart! As I recall that fun phrase begins with "One of the most irritating things you can say to a non-raw spouse is:" Seriously, though, I'm so glad you're having fun on raw and had such a good time at RSF. Did you get to check out Tania's booth? Artist & Reiki Master Teacher, Reno Tahoe, Nevada, Distant & Local Classes, Treatments, Oil Paintings, Egypt Tours, Raw Spirit Festival, The Lazy Raw Foodist's Guide Coincidentally, she has a very cool turtle named Gaia.

I don't recall seeing her booth. I'm sure I walked past it at some point, but there were so many things going on concurrently that I missed a lot of things I'd have liked to see.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by RobinBEING

Just wait until you start feeling for those carrots you rip from the earth and eat raw! Cruelty to vegetables, I tell you

So then we have Solar Gazing as another step.

Many long-term raw foodists seem to gradually decrease the amount of food they eat over the years.

Of course, if you care about plants, it makes sense to eat them directly instead of indirectly eating many times the volume via animal foods. That way your footprint is smaller. Also, when you eat fruit, you don't have the plant.

You can also harvest pieces of veggie plants without killing the plant. I grow green onions in my garden and haven't had to uproot any of the plants. I just harvest a few pieces before I'm going to eat it, and the plant lives on.

[Laura Bruno]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

So then we have Solar Gazing as another step.

Many long-term raw foodists seem to gradually decrease the amount of food they eat over the years.

...

You can also harvest pieces of veggie plants without killing the plant. I grow green onions in my garden and haven't had to uproot any of the plants. I just harvest a few pieces before I'm going to eat it, and the plant lives on.

Yes, if you look how animals eat in the wild, they take greens from a whole lot of different plants so that they always leave enough for photosynthesis. Harvesting greens is a great way to get tons of nutrition w/o killing the plant. Plus, the greens are exponentially healthier than the roots. Victoria Boutenko's book Green for Life gets into the science of it, but for here, let's just say carrot tops and parsley are WAY healthier than carrots and parsnips.

[fellowtraveler]

Interesting coincidence. Ten days ago I described in this post how I have become more compassionate simply by studying and absorbing what I have come to believe is the truth.

I don't believe it's necessary to become a vegetarian or vegan (I'm not) for this to happen, but I can see how it could work one way for Steve and the other for me. I still will extinguish insects if there's no other way, but now I acknowledge what I am doing and apologise to life for it. Meat is becoming less appealing, and it appears I'll never hunt again. I do think that animals are here to serve us in a sense, just as some people are Servers and some are Warriors, etc.

My wife, OTOH, who has been this way all her life and is the most gentle soul possible, always catches bugs and takes them outside without exception. This has annoyed me in the past, but now I see why she's the way she is, and I love her all the more for it.

[MissK]

LOL I love bugs. I do my best not to harm them to the point of wildly yelling at strangers ive passed on the sidewalk to not step on a slug that came out when it was raining. Interesting experience....

My downfall though is mosquitoes and.. house centipedes. I have tried to thank the universe for centipedes. They are the most useful house pest along with spiders in taking care of other insects naturally. But they are so scary looking because they move so fast!!!! I am grateful for them, i have even moved to a place where i appreciate their unique beauty and design of their bodies, learned more about them (every cycle that they molt they grow a new pair of legs btw), but my gut reaction when i see one out of the blue is always to run away and let bubba take care of it..... I'm trying though!!!! I'm sending good love vibes to all the centipedes in my house right now!!

O and interesting thing. I'm in NYC and last night i rode the subway home. Of course rats abound! Anyhow so one made its way to the platform and with steves article in mind i began sending love its way, asking it what it had been up to, etc. I told it i wasnt scared and wanted to get to know it and it should come my way. And it headed straight in my direction!!! They usually run the other way! But apparently i was lying because as it got closer i freaked out and moved away. Poor baby having to deal with my mixed signal sending self!
The concept of oneness is an amazing thing!

[richardxthripp]

Most people who will let one ant or spider go will not feel such affinity with 300,000 ants. Then, it's kill kill kill.

Many of us think the same way, subconsciously, about people. It's wrong to kill or hurt others, but it isn't so bad to bomb them en masse.

Of course, this is wrong; 300,000 people are just as valuable as one person. And if bugs are sacred like people, it's as wrong to euthanize a million of them as it is to torture one with a magnifying glass.

What bothers me, is that many of us don't even show the same love for people as you're showing for bugs (with things such as perpetual war and abortion). But it may actually be that by respecting bugs we'll come to respect each other.

Some people will justify killing bugs and animals by saying they kill each other. But that doesn't matter because we aspire to be better than animals; we want to show compassion where they do not. But if we put animals at human level, then they are us and we're back to square one. It's the chicken and the egg problem.

[fiar]

Just what is Steve going to do when he realizes that plants are people too?! I'm sure the people dying of malaria would totally agree with Steve that every little insect is sacred. I'm pretty shocked by how many people agree with him. Steve wonders what the spider is thinking.

Nothing. It's stupid and lacks the capacity to think. I really don't know what to think, but I'm concerned that Steve has lost his grip with reality. I'll check back from time to time, but I can't take the nuttiness lately. I'm out.

[fellowtraveler]

Originally Posted by fiar

Just what is Steve going to do when he realizes that plants are people too?! I'm sure the people dying of malaria would totally agree with Steve that every little insect is sacred. I'm pretty shocked by how many people agree with him. Steve wonders what the spider is thinking.

Nothing. It's stupid and lacks the capacity to think. I really don't know what to think, but I'm concerned that Steve has lost his grip with reality. I'll check back from time to time, but I can't take the nuttiness lately. I'm out.

Thinking isn't that important (and watch the wisecracks, bub). Living is.

If the Pavlinas' version of nuttiness will make me the money and satisfaction and contentment theirs has...call me nutty!

Buh-bye!

[Marth]

A few months ago, I was at a computer & a small bug was on the desk. The bug would constantly follow my hand no matter where I placed it on the desk, even though it had no eyes, only feelers, which I thought was odd. The bug followed my hand for well over 10 minutes, then I finally let him on. He went straight for my head lol, no matter how much I moved my jacket he still went for it. Anyway, I think the bug was maybe showing me the value of persistence. Kind of different getting a lesson from a bug, but I'm sure that's what the bug was there to do.

[LeahWhitehorse]

I loved this post Steve.
When you first started posting about raw food I was curious but generally felt 'there's no way I could do that'! Now for some reason I'm finding myself more and more curious! I may begin experimenting.

On bugs - I can't kill anything except for wasps and that's because I'm absolutely petrified of them. My grandmother nearly died after being stung by one and for some reason I have always felt I would have the same reaction - however unsubstantiated I can't shake the feeling so wasps look out!

That said, even though I cringe when a wolf spider comes in the house I would never hurt them. My grandmother said they are good luck. They are allowed to live on my balcony or in the kitchen but not in the bedroom or bathroom. Found in the latter I catch them and put them outside. I won't destroy a web until I know it's been vacated. This afternoon I let a moth out of the hallway and last week released another huge moth that was 'terrrorising' people at work - haha. Flies can certainly be irritating but have you ever just looked at one of those huge blue bottles and see the beautiful blue/green irridescent shine on their backs or intricate wings, the complex eyes? Amazing creatures!

So wasps aside (sorry!) I'm bug friendly :-)

[carenkh]

Behaving as if the God in All Life Mattered was one of the first books I read when I began my path of awakening... 20 years ago! I didn't really "get" most of it at the time, it was SUCH a different way of looking at the world, but I loved the book. The author speaks to the "devas" or spirit guides of the animals and insects, and communicates her needs to them - i.e, this corner of the garden is for you, but don't mess with the rest of it!

Steve, I have felt for a while that deeply connecting with the Earth on a real, practical level would be very beneficial for you, very healing. Not just thinking, or in the choices you make, but digging in the dirt, living with the rhythm of the earth, not a clock. Is that possible for you?

Findhorn Garden was founded with the principles found in Machelle's book, and they've had great success.

[Chris01]

I think it's a matter of perspective.
The guy actually seems more credible to me as time goes on

[Technicolor Tim]

The other day a big spider (two inches plus in diameter) was hanging out in the corner above my bed. I was lying in bed reading a book, and let it sit there for a while, happy that it didn't bother me like spiders always used to. After some time, however, I decided that I didn't want to risk the somewhat nasty surprise of suddenly having it crawl all over me, so I grabbed an empty jam jar to catch it with (I'm not big on touching stuff like that with my hands...), and trapped it in the jar against the wall. My intention was to carry it outside and let it loose in my garden. However, as I was approaching it, it tried to run away and I accidentally caught its head between the edge of the jar and the wall, and it died instantly. And guess what: It left me with a sad, heavy feeling inside that lasted for the rest of the day and is even somewhat coming back to me as we speak. I took it outside and dumped it in the a flower bed.

Call me a wuss or whatever you want, but that spiders life was not something with no value. Sure, I value the life of a human higher than that of a spider, but it's still a life, and hence it should be respected and even loved.

Years ago, I would have thought nothing of killing a spider - I did so on a regular basis, in fact. Not for fun, but because I don't really like spiders all that much. Now, however, I feel sad at having killed one, even if it was by accident. For me personally, I consider that a step in the right direction, and it's brought about by two things: the spiritual work I do on a daily basis, and - yes - going raw. So, Steve, what you're saying about raw food sounds right to me. It does affect your level of consciousness, to a potentially very high degree. I've been mostly raw for about a year now, and won't ever look back. It truly is the best way to eat.

[Bliss Sage]

Maybe this is where we begin to separate the wheat from the chaff.

[Wilfred]

What people are now laughing about (Steve's stance towards living creatures) may very well be the standard in another 100 years. The liberation of suppressed groups has so far been a constant throughout (Western) history and the value of life has increased. People are no longer burned at the stake. Slavery has been abandoned. Women have got the same rights as men.

Animals may be next.

And perhaps by 2108, squashing a bug will put somebody in the same situation as Steve was in 18 years ago.

[Steve Pavlina]

It's funny when people send me feedback saying that I've gone off the deep end after posting an article like this... as if their observation is something new I'm just hearing for the first time.

If unnecessary violence is considered normal, I'll settle for abnormal.

Reminds me a little of this article:
Rules Are No Obstacles for Committed People