GETTING UPSET OVER A WASP???

[Flavourofthemonth123]

So I was over at a friend's house today with our two LO's this afternoon for a lil New Year's celebration (mostly for them, I find new years a bit naff). We were sitting there and all of a sudden a wasp flew at her child (I was mostly shocked to see one in December!) I swatted it down on the floor and stepped on the bastard (it was on the kitchen tiles, so no squishy bug remains mushed into the carpet.) She was a little bit upset that I squashed the wasp in front of her child, saying she doesn't condone killing bugs. I said that a wasp is different from a spider or a snail because they can sting the LO's (I also squash other bugs lol but that's not the point!)

It wasn't a huge deal but I was just surprised at her reaction! Am I alone in thinking that getting upset over a dead wasp is a bit unreasonable? If there was one hoovering around your little one would you hesitate to smoosh him??

Such a lot of melodramatic over-reactions on this thread.

My first recourse is to try and get the wasp out of the window. As a last resort I will kill a wasp because DH is very allergic to wasp stings, and I would rather a dead wasp than a dead husband.

Is that OK with the "never hurt a fly brigade"?

Just realised that my post is melodramatic

Oh well. Happt New Year

@planespotting I can’t wait for the cold !!!!

I'm genuinely curious how far down the evolutionary scale this goes. If you had rats or mice in the house do you just leave them to it, in spite of the hygiene hazards? If you get a cat for rodent control, how is that OK? Malaria is spread by mosquitoes. OK to kill them and the many other insects that spread disease? Killing tapeworms? Bedbugs, head and body lice? Cockroaches, ants, termites? Bacteria and viruses? As for wasps, I live in inner London and there's not much agriculture here, so the species we have are not pollinating crops.

I don’t have a problem with killing insects/animals that can actually do harm and which are about to do harm.

I'm genuinely curious how far down the evolutionary scale this goes.

That excellent question - and your equally good further observations - will never be answered on here.

It’s all about the mystical glow of saying that no creature shall be harmed.

I’d be annoyed with you. Fine swat it away, but kill it? No. YABU.

So, those saying people are being unreasonable to kill a wasp. What do you do if you can't swat it away?

I’m on your side OP. Wasps, mosquitoes and big black flies are fair game IMO.

@LoniceraJaponica exactly, they're persistent little bastards. It kept coming at her child's face and it probably would've stung her if I hadn't squashed him

Wasps and other insects are pests,
No they are not.

Yes @Dongdingdong I kill all of them too, but if they get upset about a wasp smooshed flies are definitely a bridge too far!

@planespotting that's where we disagree, if you're in my home you're a pest

fromnigeria

Well that s not very friendly...poor plane

@Rufusthebewilderedreindeer lol don't worry @plane is more than welcome in my home, we won't squash her! If she brings a pet wasp though he may not be so lucky

I think thats very fair fromnigeria

If there was one hoovering around your little one would you hesitate to smoosh him? The mental image I have of a wasp with a tiny vacuum cleaner has made me laugh!

@Greenbedsocks we have one of those too. Wouldn't be without it!

I can't believe people are getting so worked up about killing a wasp. It's not a crime. It will have no effect on anything. It literally does not matter a bit.

The issue is that the OP made the decision as to how to deal with the situation. It wasn’t her house, it wasn’t her child, it wasn’t her decision. Swat it away in the first instance then let the mother deal with it. If she chooses to squash it, fine.

I'm phobic about wasps: to the point that it affects my life in late summer/autumn and actually restricts where I go and what I do. In a woman my age who is fazed by very little this is pretty humiliating, and it's severe enough that I'm having treatment to deal with it. I don't like killing bees and I won't ever kill a spider (they kill and eat nasty, stingy insects; spiders are my friends). But wasps are aggressive little suckers, can deliver a nasty sting, and will frequently attack with no apparent provocation whatsoever. Would I kill one that got into my house? Yes, without hesitation.

Non issue. She just made a comment, not a scene.

I got stung unprovoked by a wasp in my house just before Christmas. I swatted the fecker, and I have zero regrets. I'm normally of the catch & release persuasion, but that sting bloody hurt.

We have had mice in our house a couple of times. Never killed any. We used humane traps and then took them and released them in the woods. One managed to avoid the traps for quite a while (we had 4 cats at the time) and used to run along the mantlepiece every evening. Did us no harm so why would we have killed it?

Also had ants in the house and, no, never killed any of them either.

Never had rats in the house so not had to deal with that. No children so no head lice thank god. Also no bed bugs.

I would no way kill a rat or mouse in my house. I have had mice - humane traps and out they went. Rats are in my garden - my fault for composting food waste. They do me no harm if I wear gloves while gardening. Why would I kill them?

I would kill things that could kill me and that appear to be about to do so.

Mosquitoes I swat yes. I'm not aware of any benefit they bring to the world.

It’s when posters start saying that they wouldn’t harm a mouse or a rat that you start hoping they’re not your neighbour.