Would the routine killing of insects affect the ecosystem?

[vampares]

Maybe. Birds for instance typically avoid people but in some instances they can be fed by hand.

 

I find that insects and spiders will exit the natural habitat and enter into human domains when the ecosystem is out of kilter.

Insects are all part of the ecosystem - doubtless in ways that we don't understand or even have any knowledge of.

 

I understand someone once said: when man mess with nature, nature will get him in the end.

Most industrial technology is "tuned" to coexist with healthy ecosystems. ie acid rain that is not biologically neutralized will corrode most metals.

 

Similarly most other practices rely on natural forgiveness. Most of the losses mankind can expect will be in the health of children.

 

Carbon dioxide report can be very brash but when the reports tell us our children are retarded we do not want to listen or believe.

Edited October 1, 2013 by vampares

[Greg H.]

I'm a simple guy with simple rules. If a bug wanders into my home, I kill it by whatever means are handy. Outside, I generally leave them alone, but many a flying night critter has met their maker on my windshield.

[pears]

I hate killing anything. The only thing I'm fairly OK about killing is mosquitoes but even then I often feel the need to apologize to them. Other bugs get caught and released or wafted back outside.

[iRNAblogger]

So, in my opinion, bugs are awesome! I love to watch them, but I don't really enjoy touching most of them. I try not to kill bugs for the most part mostly because even though we don't immediately see the effect, our selection against certain types of bugs definitely introduces a selective factor into the ecosystem (even if it seems negligible!). Also, I strongly believe that bugs have the ability to feel: they respond to touch, ever tried to pick up a worm? If they can feel pressure, why wouldn't they be able to feel pain? They definitely have nervous systems.

 

Anyway, I try to leave them alone, so long as they aren't endangering anything.

[Thrylix]

They have nervous systems but I don't know that the pain they feel causes the suffering and grief a person feels when injured. Every so often I'll step on a spider and he'll get stuck to my shoe and squirm around. The spider may be in pain but it's not suffering.