Thank you for writing this thought provoking post. I relate with a lot of your thoughts. I faced a similar situation with cockroaches and ants that had infested my home, it was quite easy to just kill them. But pondering upon it I realised it would be very bad for them, I also considered the fact that maybe it’s net positive to kill them now, because most future insects that’ll be born would have a negative life. I tried vinegar, bay leaves, traps, they didn’t work. Finally I bought a low power vaccum cleaner, sucked them out and relocated them to a park far away from my home. Most of them were unaffected by the suction however few did die. It was quite stressful decision. Maybe their life would be worse in the park than at my home, but I guessed it to be a better option than killing them myself. Fortunately, now I’ve found herbal non toxic vegan repellants to keep away cockroaches, ants and other insects which is working quite well.
Just because the status quo of our society does not impose duties towards insects, does not mean that we shouldn’t do our best to try reduce the harm as much as feasible. But I agree that we should accept responsibility for the consequences of our actions irrespective of the size of the sentient being.
Thank you for writing this thought provoking post. I relate with a lot of your thoughts. I faced a similar situation with cockroaches and ants that had infested my home, it was quite easy to just kill them. But pondering upon it I realised it would be very bad for them, I also considered the fact that maybe it’s net positive to kill them now, because most future insects that’ll be born would have a negative life. I tried vinegar, bay leaves, traps, they didn’t work. Finally I bought a low power vaccum cleaner, sucked them out and relocated them to a park far away from my home. Most of them were unaffected by the suction however few did die. It was quite stressful decision. Maybe their life would be worse in the park than at my home, but I guessed it to be a better option than killing them myself. Fortunately, now I’ve found herbal non toxic vegan repellants to keep away cockroaches, ants and other insects which is working quite well. Just because the status quo of our society does not impose duties towards insects, does not mean that we shouldn’t do our best to try reduce the harm as much as feasible. But I agree that we should accept responsibility for the consequences of our actions irrespective of the size of the sentient being.