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Buddhist approach to removing pests from the home
karmatib
Explorer
I was wondering if there is a non-killing way to remove pests such as ants from the home. Our current solution is the ant bait which is supposed to kill the colony. However I am becoming uncomfortable with that method as I am trying to not kill as much as possible. My house is clean by most standards but it is in the woods so I have a slew of creatures coming in and out of my house.
Any Ideas? My mother in law swears they go away if you just ask them to. But i am a skeptic to say the least.
Any Ideas? My mother in law swears they go away if you just ask them to. But i am a skeptic to say the least.
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Had to zap them in the end.
I don't think there is a non killing way, maybe it depends on the type of pest?
But yes, to find a non killing way would be great.
A year ago, we had a pair of Racoons getting all jiggy in our attic. We contracted with a pest control company that would not kill what they caught. They got the 'Coons and were good to their word, relocating the vermin to another locale.
BTW, a pair of racoons having vigorous sex in your attic is not the same as watching porn on TV.
I don't know what alternatives we have to deal with it. Is sad.
Or you could of course ask your mother in law to ask them to leave. Have you tried it? I am curious. No really I am!
/Victor
EDIT: Oh I misread you. You mean your house is in the woods? How long have you lived there? But in that case I think that your mother in law is right. The ants will move out on their own once they realise the house is occupied! I have seen it happen.
It can take a couple of years though.
For those that are already inside the house, I use a used toothbrush to sweep them into a long/tall plastic cup. The reason for the long/tall cup is when the ants are already inside cup, it takes some time for them crawl up, so I will time to sweep others and shake them down again. I use the same technique to catch spiders too. For spiders, do not catch two spiders into one cup. One time I did that, one spider kill other spider instantly when the two met.
I also chant the "Great Compassion Mantra" and ask these Ant Bodhisattva to go back to where they were from. There is a story about it, I do not remember the detail, something like there is a monk in Australia that chants the "Great Compassion Mantra" to ask these Ant Bodhisattva to leave the temple, to go back to where they were from.
I also chant "Om Mani Padme Hum". Got the idea way back when stumble on this where a group walks the perimeter of the building site chanting Om Mani Padme Hum. (picture #10 from the link below).
http://www.sravastiabbey.org/gallery/2012/aug12chenrezig.html
Compassion to all beings when possible
Our best solution to all bug-related problems has been
#1 prevention, preferably not harmful to the environment. We have a ton of birds and squirrels and other things, and too often animal rehab sees animal poisoned and very ill and suffering due to pesticides and other poisons. We actually have pretty good luck with citrus stuff, but I've never tried it for ants. Ants we mostly seem to prevent by being really careful with food garbage. Rinsing recyling out thorougly before putting it in the bin, fully closing garbage bags and putting them in a can with a tightly closed lid, keeping floors swept and washed, and blocking any entrances we find.
#2 removal. Get a Bug Vacuum. It's actually marketed as a kids toy. But they work remarkably well, and are far easier than a cup and sheet of paper. We use them for moths, flies, mosquitoes, whatever we can. it's reducing our killing of bugs by probably 75%. The only thing we haven't found a solution for is hornets that build nests in the ground near our firepit. We spend too much time out their with the kids to just leave them be, and they are aggressive, will attack and bite even if you don't disturb them. So, so far we have only been able to bomb them and attempt every year to make the area inhospitable for them, but so far every year they continue to show up.
#3 realized that we need to do the best we can. Often, we found we could do better so we made improvement. But sometimes, we can't, like with the hornets or when big horse flies bite and take a chunk out of my ankle, most of the time my reaction is to swat before I even thin otherwise. Working on that one, lol. But sometimes we need to maintain balance and reason as well, it doesn't make any sense to expose the house and family to illness in order to avoid killing bugs, if no other method works.
A line of black warriors came from the house side, and red warriors about twice their size from the neighbor's side. The red ants were twice the size but the black ants seemed to have numerical advantage and three or four would gang up on one red. At nightfall I went out and the battlefield was abandoned except for the corpses from both sides. I never knew which colony won, except that I have only seen black ants after that around the driveway.
So nature has nothing against killing.
I guess the only thing I want to point out is, the traditional Buddhist prohibition against killing is fine, but it shouldn't be taken to extremes. Sure some monks live in carefully maintained temples where they can take vows not to kill even bugs. While it's commendable that as a lay Buddhist you want to do the same, how come this attempt to imitate the monks never extends to their vows of celibacy? Lay Buddhists who insist on eating only vegetarian and not killing a fly have no problem understanding that "no sex" is a monk thing and regular lay populations might be better off with a less severe lifestyle.
Just sayin'
Oh! see, its not an imitation of meaningless monastic customs, its about respecting and honoring life and living beings.
Yes animals kill each other, but using that fact as justification for killing is logically flawed. By that line of reasoning, it would also be okay for humans to kill other humans.
Your best bet is to argue that animals are not sentient/conscious enough to care whether they die, or feel pain.
But then you have to really honest about how sentient/conscious animals really are.. this is something most people try not to think about.
So then they just point out that killing is natural.
But, as I mentioned earlier, that really doesn't logically mean anything in and of itelf.
Often times when it comes to bugs or critters in the home, it can be a health concern. While I understand that there are people who are advanced enough on their path that they would give their life for a bug in the house, I am not there, and so I would choose my health (and my kids' health) over the bugs' and they would have to go.
When you think about it though, ants aren't really a health problem and if you just let them do what they are going to do, they will just take tiny bits of food away over time and be nothing more than a little line of workers. That is if they do not start to bbite you or whatever.
My philosophy is, do what you can. if you have to kill creatures, be mindful and respectful about it.
And yes unfortunately, evil often does not stop until it is stopped with force. Difficult decisions that good people are forced to make.
It's also complicated when animals must be put to sleep when they are suffering...and commonly, chronic overpopulation. I certainly would aid an animal to die to stop its suffering..it's humane and moral. You?
if you keep your house clean, they will move somewhere else.
the main problem is we see ants as pesky and disposable.
every life is precious, why kill unnecessarily.
ps. once, i followed the ants to find their nest ie the queen,
it was in an old pencil case. i carefully moved the box
to the garden shed, and the ants followed.
never tried this myself, but seems like a good start.
Sure, it's an ethical decision. I never said it was mindless, at least for many people. Sorry for giving that impression. I have great respect for people who deny themselves the experience of biting into a succulent hamburger because they don't want to contribute to the killing of bovines. But unfortunately people justify the practice by pointing to monks and how people live in temples.
I've actually heard people say, "I might like being a Buddhist but I don't want to become a vegetarian."
I've actually heard people say, "I might like being a Buddhist but I don't want to become a vegetarian."
Well that Is a good point..people tend to not know that a buddhist laypersons life need not have tons of strict behavior restrictions. If anything, Buddhism should be a support and enhancement for decent and open minded people. You're absolutely right, it's not 'monk or nothing'... and its too bad that people feel that way.
And yeah, to be honest, i have to admit, it probably is actually a mindless imitation for some.
but as far as giving up that succulent hamburger goes, believe it or not, some of us don't feel all that deprived not eating meat. I feel about eating cows and pigs the way you probably feel about eating dogs or cats..(and my (ex) girlfriends family overseas (Korean) certainly eats dogs occasionally; I'm not going to say 'how dare you!'...because I understand that it's a cultural norm there and a personal choice, not my place to judge. )
For me, sometimes baking chicken smells good in stores if I'm hungry.. but that's about the extent of it. Its really not that extreme. I'm only saying this because just like we agree there is the perception that Buddhism is exclusively a strict monastic practice, there is also the perception that vegetarianism/veganism is an extreme, crazy practice of deprivation with no purpose beyond ritual.
Now what's really tough is a low calorie diet (torture)!