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Killing animals

edited October 2010 in Buddhism Basics
I know that killing of any living thing is not good, but i'm sorry I have to kill these wolf spiders. They're like 3 inches across in every direction, and if they were to bite hurt very badly. I have, however, been trying to stop killing flys and mosquitos.

Comments

  • edited October 2010
    Why do you have to kill spiders? I am not judging you as my hands have blood on them as well, but I never kill spiders as I don't see the need.

    Part of it is where I live. There are none around me that have potent toxins nor are any aggressive. Not sure what you are referring to as a wolf spider. The spiders I call wolf spiders are generally fairly shy and reclusive. I would have to work very hard to get bit by one.
  • ZaylZayl Veteran
    edited October 2010
    I try not to kill anything as well, but it is difficult in the case of spiders. For the most part no spiders in Michigan are aggressive or poisonous, but when I see a Brown Recluse (aggressive, potentially deadly) I will do my best to try and remove it without harming it, but if it even looks like it might try to bite me... well :(
  • edited October 2010
    I just don't feel comfortable having those huge spiders in my house, especially since they hurt very badly if they bite. I wish there was a way I could just get it outside, but there isn't really since if I grabbed it it would just bite me.
  • ZaylZayl Veteran
    edited October 2010
    TheJourney wrote: »
    I just don't feel comfortable having those huge spiders in my house, especially since they hurt very badly if they bite. I wish there was a way I could just get it outside, but there isn't really since if I grabbed it it would just bite me.
    get a glass and a stiff piece of cardboard. put the glass over the spider then slip the cardboard under the glass slowly, you can then carry it outside and release it (carefully!) outside. Make sure to release it a distance away from your home or any outbuildings too.
  • edited October 2010
    its mara biting you , ha ha ha ha
  • Invincible_summerInvincible_summer Heavy Metal Dhamma We(s)t coast, Canada Veteran
    edited October 2010
    I am the same way. I have been a vegetarian for ~ 3 years and abstain from killing as much as I can... but spiders.... I'm pretty sure I have mild arachnophobia. I feel the strong need to destroy them before they crawl all over me.

    Zayl wrote: »
    get a glass and a stiff piece of cardboard. put the glass over the spider then slip the cardboard under the glass slowly, you can then carry it outside and release it (carefully!) outside. Make sure to release it a distance away from your home or any outbuildings too.

    I usually do this for spiders that seem like they won't kill me, and usually for "daddy longlegs" types. But anything remotely close to a wolf spider... I would really like to see someone with the guts to do that.
  • edited October 2010
    so then do it. I very well might do the same thing. I have a few spiders in my bathroom that have been living for a quite a bit, but I figure they've got to be eating bugs, so I figure we have a mutually beneficial relationship (they're also pretty small).
  • GuyCGuyC Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Have some faith in the power of Metta...Metta to all beings, even spiders.
    "Monks, for one whose awareness-release through good will is cultivated, developed, pursued, handed the reins and taken as a basis, given a grounding, steadied, consolidated, and well-undertaken, eleven benefits can be expected. Which eleven?

    "One sleeps easily, wakes easily, dreams no evil dreams. One is dear to human beings, dear to non-human beings. The devas protect one. Neither fire, poison, nor weapons can touch one. One's mind gains concentration quickly. One's complexion is bright. One dies unconfused and — if penetrating no higher — is headed for the Brahma worlds.

    "Metta (Mettanisamsa) Sutta: Good Will" (AN 11.16), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight, July 4, 2010, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an11/an11.016.than.html
  • Mr_SerenityMr_Serenity Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Wolf%20Spider.jpg


    It will watch you while you sleep.
  • edited October 2010
    I think some folks need to get into some arachnophobia counseling ;)

    Using a glass to pick up a daddy long legs type spider? They don't even have mouth parts capable of penetrating the skin!

    I strongly recommend taking pictures of the spiders you commonly find in your home and going to the various bug freak websites to get an ID of it and then research the spider to find out if it is even capable of biting. For those that are not capable of biting through skin force yourself to handle them. Facing the fear helps to weaken it. Many not killed spiders will thank you for it ;)

    Oh, and fear of pain from spider bites? that's like a little kid's fear of getting a flu shot. They scream and wail as the needle approaches and then after the poke they realize it wasn't that big of a deal. It's the panic that makes the pain seem so bad. For spiders that are able to bite, but are known to not have venom toxic to humans, play with them. See what it takes to actually get one to bite you. Observe how in most cases the spider is more afraid than you are and just wants to run away. Don't let it. Terrorize it until it bites. It's not as bad as you think it is.

    Face the fear or remain it's prisoner.
  • Invincible_summerInvincible_summer Heavy Metal Dhamma We(s)t coast, Canada Veteran
    edited October 2010
    username_5 wrote: »
    I think some folks need to get into some arachnophobia counseling ;)

    Using a glass to pick up a daddy long legs type spider? They don't even have mouth parts capable of penetrating the skin!

    I strongly recommend taking pictures of the spiders you commonly find in your home and going to the various bug freak websites to get an ID of it and then research the spider to find out if it is even capable of biting. For those that are not capable of biting through skin force yourself to handle them. Facing the fear helps to weaken it. Many not killed spiders will thank you for it ;)

    Oh, and fear of pain from spider bites? that's like a little kid's fear of getting a flu shot. They scream and wail as the needle approaches and then after the poke they realize it wasn't that big of a deal. It's the panic that makes the pain seem so bad. For spiders that are able to bite, but are known to not have venom toxic to humans, play with them. See what it takes to actually get one to bite you. Observe how in most cases the spider is more afraid than you are and just wants to run away. Don't let it. Terrorize it until it bites. It's not as bad as you think it is.

    Face the fear or remain it's prisoner.

    "I must not fear.
    ...Fear is the mind-killer.
    Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
    I will face my fear.
    I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
    And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
    Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
    Only I will remain"
  • ThaoThao Veteran
    edited October 2010
    I always remove things like tarantulas or wolf spiders out of the house. The only one I would kill is a brown recluse because they do find you at night and they cause your flesh to rot.
  • MountainsMountains Veteran
    edited October 2010
    To disspel a common myth: daddy long legs (actually Harvestmen) are *not* spiders. They *are* arachnids, but they belong to a different class than do true spiders (for example, scorpions are also arachnids).

    Second, a wolf spider is not aggressive, and would only bite you if you tried to pick it up (which I might do to you as well). And even if it did bite you (unlikely), in the case of the huge majority of wolf spider species, the bite is not medically significant. Their venom is not particularly toxic to humans.

    While I'm not a big fan of spiders, especially large ones, in my house, there is really no need to kill them. Just scoop them up in a cup and put them outside. Even a brown recluse or a black widow can't bite you through a glass or a piece of paper.

    If you're lucky enough to have an orb weaver build her web someplace where you can see it from the inside of your house (like in a window or a door frame), it's absolutely fascinating to watch her work and feed. One of nature's more amazing spectacles that's right under our noses.

    Mtns
  • GuyCGuyC Veteran
    edited October 2010
    username_5 wrote: »
    See what it takes to actually get one to bite you. Observe how in most cases the spider is more afraid than you are and just wants to run away. Don't let it. Terrorize it until it bites.

    Sounds like bad kamma to me.
  • edited October 2010
    TheJourney wrote: »
    ...... ....... I have, however, been trying to stop killing flys and mosquitos.

    If you stop killing house flies, then you must be prepared to tolerate them in your house and on your food. You chase them out, they are right back. You chase them away from your food, they are back on it, landing on their disease laden feet. House flies are capable of spreading diseases such as conjunctivitis, poliomyelitis, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, cholera, diarrhea and dysentery. They also spit saliva on your food, but it seems that this is not what spreads the diseases... it's their feet.

    I do try to chase them out through the doors and windows, but they keep coming back... but my wife just kills them, it's not a big deal for her. IF it's at night, I too will swat them because opening the doors or windows at night to chase them out is not an option. The light inside the house will just attract more insects - I live in a hot and humid region. Killing pests is not always easy to avoid.




  • edited October 2010
    TheJourney wrote: »
    I know that killing of any living thing is not good, but i'm sorry I have to kill these wolf spiders. They're like 3 inches across in every direction, and if they were to bite hurt very badly. I have, however, been trying to stop killing flys and mosquitos.
    Humans should start exploring, and massively inhabit other planets of Solar System. It would be simply impossible to have these worries on planets such as Mars or Venus. I'm not sure it would be easy to inhabit Venus, though... Guess, it would be a bit harder than having peace with ants, flies, mosquitoes and other bugs.
  • edited October 2010
    sukhita wrote: »
    If you stop killing house flies, then you must be prepared to tolerate them in your house and on your food.

    This summer a friend and I installed a couple ceiling fans in my garage. Made it very nice for sitting in the outdoors, in the shade and with a breeze. Flies liked it too. I would try to sit and read or just enjoy some peace and the flies would land on me. They wouldn't go away. Sometimes they even had the audacity to make whoopie right on me. So I would swat at them. Then I got some fly swatters. After awhile I realized I spent so much time being annoyed with them, the feel of them crawling on me and the inability to actually focus on anything being so busy swatting at them I realized that it would do me good to find a way to not be bothered by them.

    So I just sat there and let them crawl on me. I discovered that the feel of them scurrying about on my skin is actually quite pleasant. Reminds me of my little girl lightly walking her finger tips over my skin saying 'Daddy, you have a spider on you'. I then started talking to them calling them fly friends. This is something my daughter and I do with wild life we like. We call it whatever it's name is plus friend at the end.

    I do understand insects can become a real problem and a person has to do what they have to do, but this is one case where the solution to the problem was to no longer regard it as a problem.
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