Is it STS to kill an ant?

[Marc]

I have an ant problem right now in my house. I'm very conscientious and value all life, but I probably shouldn't be having ants infesting my apartment. Is it ok to kill that ant? I know it may seem to be a silly question, but every time I kill an ant, I feel hurt inside. I know I am killing an other/self. This question also applies to other types of killing as in: is it ok to kill a raccoon that kills your baby ducklings?

[Adonai One]

We may accept the disharmony that occurs among peoples and species. We may accept that balance must come from the partial destruction of one side of the duality. If you feel you can serve the creator better by killing ants, then you may find it of greater service to kill the ants.

As for Raccoons, they are the creator. It is accepted that they will destroy as destruction exists third-density. All things are "okay" in truth. As Ra said, "there are no mistakes." All things will return to love given enough time, as such they are love as they stand now. Negative polarity is what is not. Positive polarity is what is. All things will continue to be regardless.

Killing the ants does not have to be hateful or necessarily destruction unless you do it out of anger. Service-to-self is simply rejecting all that is around you. To not accept that death exists can be considered just as hateful.

In summary, killing the ants out of love for the nature of things is not STS.

[Aureus]

Humans(3rd density template) are not designed to feel much empathy for that which does not resemble it. You can be polarized positively and not think much about killing ants, straws of grass etc.. If you can keep your heart/throat activity stable after consciously killing an ant, there is no loss of polarity is it? Killing a human is another thing.. You need first to gather enough negative polarity to end another's life.Then return to positive polarity through ridding yourself of all your guilt etc. Only adepts will be able to perform this radical change in such a small time frame.

If you find yourself in a situation where forgiving/healing yourself post-action would be too tedious, it would probably be wise to refrain from acting in a negative manner.

[Unbound]

Many buddhist monks take a broom with them whenever they walk, so they can sweep small ones away from being crushed by their feet. To us these small ones are "ants", yet we are the "ants" to even greater beings than us. I am grateful in every moment for their choice not to crush me.

[Anchor]

It is your intent that matters here.

Were any of us in your situation, we would all bring a different perspective and way of assessing this; there are only two end results (in the context of the question - killing or not killing), but the number of paths we go through in reaching the results will be as many as there are who take the journey.

Everything has a reason and a purpose - even the catalyst served up to you (and vicariously us) by the ant in your house.

Whatever you do, it will be ok.

The degree to which it is STO or STS will depend on the intent. It may be that you need to work out the issues you will run into contemplating the dilemma you think you are faced with.

[BrownEye]

Ants and other types of insects are attracted to dark energies and negative fields. You could look at this as a sign or symptom alerting you to an issue you are not conscious of. In other words, killing the symptom instead of fixing the cause is very similar to allopathic treatments. Find the source of dark energy and clear it from your home. It can be from a wide range of sources.

[BrownEye]

Normally, killing ants is neither sts or sto. Polarizing actions are carried out with full knowledge and understanding of ramifications of the action. Sort of like an educated decision, from a higher perception.

[vervex]

How interesting, this question comes at a time after I've been through the same questioning. Last fall and until mid-winter we had ants inside our home. At the beginning I would kill them but the more I did it, the more I realized that even though they do not resemble me in any way, they too are part of the light and they deserve to live as well. I began seeing them as what they are; a lifeform worthy of living. When I came to this realization, I stopped killing ants.

I therefore switched my focus from seeing them as a pest as seeing them as inhabitants of this world who just got confused and ended up in my home. What is a home for an ant if not more flooring, after all? They obviously would not make a difference. Every day I wished for the universe to relocate them so that they would not become a problem so that I would have to end up using harmful measures. I also used preventive measures; I started sealing all the food present in my cabinets, cleaned some strategic areas with repellent and water. It was a long process and I had to repeat some steps several times before they got discouraged but over the span of 2 to 3 months they almost completely disappeared from our home. Now, I see a lonely ant on my desk every 2 days or so and when I do, I simply blow on it and it falls away, free to continue its exploration away from me. Ants will only come en masse in your home if you have a food and/or water source available to them. If you take precautions and seal off everything, they will get discouraged and start exploring new territory.

I believe killing other living beings we consider pest, be they ants, raccoons or mice, should always be the last resort, when attempts to relocate them or discourage them have been unsuccessful. The important point is always to act with your heart. If you truly know there is nothing you can do and it is an insurmountable issue, then do what must be done. But if you know you can help the animals relocate, then that's the compassionate thing to do, the willingness to give it a try.

Finally, in regards to ants, I found on this website 5 natural ant repellents which could be of help if you're willing to give it a try. There are also plenty of results on Google if you look for natural ant repellents.
Whatever you decide, good luck!

[Anchor]

Please disregard my vote, it was made in error. I would not presume to tell you what you should do.

[bosphorus]

always sts to harm without being harmed or kill without being attempted to kill.

[Monica]

Related thread:

Bring4th Forums One > Olio > Killing Cockroaches and Other Creepy Crawlies

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Very helpful post, vervex!

Ants will only come en masse in your home if you have a food and/or water source available to them.

But what if we have dogs and cats so we can't completely get rid of the food and water source? That is my problem. I have an elderly cat for whom I need to leave out food all the time, and it's a constant challenge to avoid ants getting in his food.

[kainous]

When you take antibiotics, do you feel pain for the bacteria that you kill? It's okay if you do, but it's also not an STS action to rid yourself of an infection. Fact is, it depends on your intent.

The wisdom within you should be asking yourself a few questions: can I rid the ants without killing them? are they causing harm? If you can rid them without killing them, do so. If they are causing harm, remove them. Only if you've asked these two questions (and related questions) can you begin to determine if an action you are about to perform is STS.

The fact remains that ants are beneficial in some environments, and can be detrimental in others. Bacteria can be beneficial in some environments, and detrimental in others. If the situation is causing disharmony or lessening of health of an area, then the health should be improved.

Spiritually, ask yourself what you are to be learning from this? Is this a catalyst for my development? Can I apply what I learn from this experience into a measure of service?

[AnthroHeart]

Related thread:

Bring4th Forums One > Olio > Killing Cockroaches and Other Creepy Crawlies

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Very helpful post, vervex!

Ants will only come en masse in your home if you have a food and/or water source available to them.

But what if we have dogs and cats so we can't completely get rid of the food and water source? That is my problem. I have an elderly cat for whom I need to leave out food all the time, and it's a constant challenge to avoid ants getting in his food.

They make a pet food dish just for ants. It has a dip in the lip around its edge so you can put water in that dip. Ants can't cross the water to get to the food. They should have ant bowls at petsmart or on the web.

I searched "ant dog bowl" on Amazon and found quite a few of them.

[jacrob]

Ants and other types of insects are attracted to dark energies and negative fields. You could look at this as a sign or symptom alerting you to an issue you are not conscious of. In other words, killing the symptom instead of fixing the cause is very similar to allopathic treatments. Find the source of dark energy and clear it from your home. It can be from a wide range of sources.

At the height of my dark night I attracted dozens of huntsmen spiders into my place. I'm sorry but I killed them all. They are monstrous! They are soooo big and scary looking. Some were as big as my hand.

Since I've been on an emotional high there are no huntsmen around. Occassionally I'll see one outside my window as a reminder to correct my thoughts.

I think the creepy crawlies are there as a reminder to fix any thoughts 'bugging' you at that time.

[Monica]

They make a pet food dish just for ants. It has a dip in the lip around its edge so you can put water in that dip. Ants can't cross the water to get to the food. They should have ant bowls at petsmart or on the web.

I searched "ant dog bowl" on Amazon and found quite a few of them.

Oh gosh, thank you so much!!! I'll get on it right away!

[vervex]

Related thread:

Bring4th Forums One > Olio > Killing Cockroaches and Other Creepy Crawlies

---

Very helpful post, vervex!

Ants will only come en masse in your home if you have a food and/or water source available to them.

But what if we have dogs and cats so we can't completely get rid of the food and water source? That is my problem. I have an elderly cat for whom I need to leave out food all the time, and it's a constant challenge to avoid ants getting in his food.

Challenge accepted!

Gemini's answer is pretty good actually. I didn't know such bowls existed! However in a situation where you do not have such bowl available for X reason, there are a few ways to avoid ants going into your pet's food.

My situation: We have two (amazing) cats at home and the answers went not so much into their food, but into their water. Because we use metal plates with slippery borders however, the ants simply slid in the water and were left to die. Some would survive for a while by climbing over a temporary raft made out of the dead ants' bodies. Very grim indeed, for the drowning ants and for the cats who had to drink that, yuck!

So here's what I did: I moved the food and water to another place, and cleaned the previous spot with water and then with repellent. I waited 2 days for the repellent's smell to ware off a bit (cats have sensitive noses) and then put back the food in its original place. On average, at the beginning, it took 3-4 weeks before the ants rediscovered the spot again. When they did, I repeated the same operation. After a few months, they pretty much abandoned. Occasionally I'll see an ant or two, and if that's the case, I clean the area again. Last time I had to do it must have been a month ago, and before that... over 2 months for sure. I consider this a problem solved.


... Or you could just buy a bowl that will keep ants away and avoid the occasional cleaning

[Monica]

Challenge accepted!

Gemini's answer is pretty good actually. I didn't know such bowls existed! However in a situation where you do not have such bowl available for X reason, there are a few ways to avoid ants going into your pet's food.

Thanks for the tip! I didn't know that such bowls existed either, but now that I do, I will definitely buy some!

[Monica]

Update: I didn't even need to buy one. I just put the bowl of food in a saucer and put water in the saucer, like a moat. Works great!

[Parsons]

The answer to this question is quite arbitrary. In my personal case, I would say yes, it would be 'STS' if I noticed the little creature and I knowingly crushed it. This is because it would not be bothering me in any way shape or form and I would be exerting the ultimate control: ending it's life even though I know I am denying the One an experience of Itself.

However, if I had an ant colony invading my house, I would first remove whatever was attracting them, which would in effect end the lives of many ants who would then lack food. In this instance, I would not lose any sleep over the situation because it was an unknowing mistake in the first place.

To further make my case that this is arbitrary, if someone knowingly killed an ant that wasn't bothering them and they were NOT aware it was the Creator, it would not be a STS act.

[Hototo]

Many buddhist monks take a broom with them whenever they walk, so they can sweep small ones away from being crushed by their feet. To us these small ones are "ants", yet we are the "ants" to even greater beings than us. I am grateful in every moment for their choice not to crush me.

I was once shouted at when I Was in a buddhist monastery and we were out playing football on the grass. Once we were done and sitting around a mosquito sat on my hand and tried to bite me and I killed it. I was shouted at. I responded only with "we just killed quite a few ants." and the monks response was that he has blessed his shoes so the ants reincarnate to a better life. That is when I lost my belief in temples/people of the cloak.

[reeay]

So do the wonderful people who practice Jainism