Killing Cockroaches and Other Creepy Crawlies

[Monica]

Awhile back, on the famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) meat thread, I was asked if I kill bugs. I stated that I always take bees, wasps and spiders outside and set them free, rather than killing them, but I confessed that I did kill cockroaches! I just wasn't "there" yet in my consciousness to be able to set a cockroach free.

I had reasons, of course. Cockroaches are nasty. They're an infestation. I even wondered if higher STS entities might use 'little nasties' like roaches, viruses and bacteria to do their bidding. And, most of all, they're almost impossible to catch!

Much to my amazement, Diana said she sets cockroaches free! I was impressed and said "I want to be like Diana when I grow up!"

We hadn't had much of a roach problem in recent years, but we did find them occasionally. A few weeks ago, we moved some stuff inside that had been in the garage, and after that starting seeing more roaches. They quickly became ex-roaches!

I felt uneasy about it though, and kept thinking about how I wanted to be like Diana when I grew up.

A few days ago, I found a roach who had gotten trapped in a bowl. Roaches can climb up walls - they are superman roaches! - but for some reason this little (well actually, this big nasty ugly) fella couldn't seem to figure it out. What's the old saying? Bird's nest on the ground! except this isn't a bird's nest (which I would lovingly rescue and put back in the tree) but an creepy crawly cockroach!

I could not of course kill it when it was at such an unfair disadvantage. And it was clearly a sign of some sort, to re-evaluate my nasty habit of killing nasty critters.

So I put a cover on the bowl and took it outside, while the critter ran round and round inside the bowl trying to escape. This required great stamina and courage on my part, since my normal reaction to roaches crossing my path is to dance wildly and scream like those women in the old movies!

Woman screams in terror!

Had that roach escaped, I would have been screaming and blathering just like her!

But, miraculously, I made it outside. I told the roach collective that I was letting this one go, and I had a request in exchange: That they stay out of my house! I was using the strategy Captain Picard used with the Borg who had become conscious:

I Hugh

I let the critter scurry away (well actually I kinda threw the whole thing, to make sure it didn't crawl towards me!) and forgot about it. I didn't mention it to anyone.

A few days later, I heard my son's girlfriend shriek in the kitchen. My son and I both ran in there to see what was going on. A big, ugly roach was on the counter, hiding beneath the rim of a plate. I assumed they would promptly kill it. (Incidentally, both of them are lifelong vegetarians, and as a child I marveled at how my son never squashed bugs like other kids did. He didn't learn that from me because at the time I did squash them if they were i my house! But he learned to kill roaches at some point.)

Now here's where it gets interesting. Keep in mind that I hadn't told them about my little rescue operation a few days prior. But out of the blue, my son's girlfriend said "We should catch it and set it free. I'm just so tired of all the killing in the world and I don't want to add to it."

I was impressed! But a little skeptical, because roaches are notoriously difficult to catch! The only reason I let the other one go was because he was conveniently trapped so it was easy for me. (well, relatively speaking...) Catching a roach would surely entail lots of dancing around and lots of screaming as it dashed in between our legs or worse - horrors! - actually started flying! (Yes roaches fly in Texas! It's the most horrible, terrifying thing, to have this nasty thing flying at one's face! But even more horrifying was when a large roach got into my - gasp - mouth! But that's another story!)

What could I say? I said "Wow, that's a great idea! Go for it! I hope you don't mind if I watch from a safe distance in the living room."

Incredibly, the roach didn't seem to fight capture very much. They were able to catch it in a plastic container without too much trouble. I was thinking, "Wow, that roach isn't even trying to escape...surely he could if he really wanted to."

She caught him (with a bit of screaming and dancing) and my son and I escorted her to the empty lot across the street, where she set him free. We all 3 felt really exhilarated afterwards, like we'd done a good deed. (Well actually, they did the good deed...I'm honestly not sure what I would have done, had I found the roach! So I don't get any credit for this. It's all hers.)

What really blew my mind is that she came up with the idea on her own, just a few days after I set the other one free. She has lived with us for almost 3 years and has encountered a few roaches here and there. (We don't exterminate our house so they get in occasionally.) Why now all of a sudden?

And of course I won't be able to ever kill roaches anymore. Can't be outdone by a 20-year-old can I?

I highly recommend watching the entire Star Trek episode. It's quite profound. (You can find it on hulu.)

And thank you, Diana, for being my role model. It took me awhile to get it. I'm not sure if I'm quite 'there' yet but this is encouraging.