Is it wrong to step on on an ant?

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Pag_Hingowa said:
Thanks in advance!
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I probably should have been Hindu (or maybe I was in a previous life!) since I believe it is morally wrong to kill any living creature except in self-defense, and that would include ants. They also happen to be among the more intelligent insects, but that is beside the point.
 
I will kill nothing that does not deserve to die. Jihadist are deserving.
 
Ants that invade my house are welcomed with a delicious sweet treat from Terro that the ants are welcome to drink from long and deep and then return to their homes and share that drink if they so desire.

Ants that choose to create 1 foot wide ant hills on my lawn and kill my grass are disbursed with a rain of diazonon. Any large carpenter ant I see walking on my driveway is dispatched (I see about 2-3 every summer). One year, a whole flock of winged ants chose my house to assemble on, blocking my picture window. They were showered with the ant blocking stuff I spray around my foundation. Any others are welcome to live outside. Just don’t assemble into large mobs in my presence!
 
It IS wrong to step on an ant … because you are expending too much of your own energy.

I second the motion to use Terro. It comes in a variety of dispensers from little tiny things with little ramps to let the ants get inside to large refillable dispensers. Works great and takes less energy than stepping on them.
 
Calvin_Hobbs said:
I will kill nothing that does not deserve to die. Jihadist are deserving.
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I don’t see how you can justify that? ants are insects/animals and thus beneath humans. That is the natural order God created by putting us at top. Jihadists are humans. They are your brothers and sisters whether you want to acknowledge them or not (granted they probably won’t acknowledge you either). You should be praying for the jidhadists as well as the american/european soldiers who kill innocent people overseas. There is no right or wrong in the business of killing. Only devastation and sadness. No human being is “deserving” of death. Not even the most extreme case given, Adolf Hitler. The man was a sinner, no rational person can argue that. His sins were some of the worst humanity has seen. Did he deserve to die? Absolutely not. Did his countless victims? Absolutely not. Just because he killed others that means we are to put him to death? That’s not what Christ taught. We should pray for the souls of all those who perished at the hands of Hitler (all pow camps, american/japanese/etc were guilty of horrid treatment and war crimes) Granted most european/american camps were better in terms of generalizing but the americans weren’t the “angels” that they claimed to be to come swooping in and save the day. They did some pretty horrible biological tests on prisoners of their own. And that’s my point, war is gruesome. People are gruesome. The only way to respond to such evil is through prayer, not through condemnation. Trust that God will mette out justice as befits His will. He knows more than you or I or anyone on here ever will. Pure and simple. Just remember what your faith teaches you friend. If you denounce jihadists, Christ will denounce you. Condemn others and expect to be condemned yourself. They are your brothers in DESPERATE need of Christ. Pray for them. Pray for their salvation, not their destruction. God Bless!
 
All creation is good and ordered to God. All creation, even the itty-bitty ant, reveals God to man. Man has been given dominion to tame the earth, to have it serve our needs, but we have to be good stewards. But animals do not have eternal souls (at least so far as has been revealed).

Because of this, it is permissible to kill animals for many reasons - for food, for clothing, for research, to prevent ecosystem imbalances, to protect crops, to clear land, and debatably for sport (I take no sides). To kill an ant that has invaded your home is probably permissible as a conduit towards cleanliness. I might laud the person who has and takes the time and energy to remove the ant without harming it outdoors, but this is very likely not required.

However, to kill animals in their natural habitat for none of the above purposes and out of a lust to kill seems very inappropriate and likely sinful. Creation is innocent; we are not. Developing lust will likely lead to even greater harm. We may be the master, but we are not the owner. It is God’s creation that he gave us, and we need to use his resources well. Therefore, if the idea is to go outside in the field to kill an ant for fun and nothing else, I would think this is sinful, yes. Since it is possible that animals have souls (however far-fetched and remote) but that this has not been revealed to us to date, you would need a balancing test. It would seem that most purposeful, useful killing (however minor the use) would be fine, but any completely useless killing would be a sin against prudence.

As we were not given the full facts, I think the correct answer to the original post is ‘maybe’.
 
bbentrup said:
All creation is good and ordered to God. All creation, even the itty-bitty ant, reveals God to man. Man has been given dominion to tame the earth, to have it serve our needs, but we have to be good stewards. But animals do not have eternal souls (at least so far as has been revealed).

Because of this, it is permissible to kill animals for many reasons - for food, for clothing, for research, to prevent ecosystem imbalances, to protect crops, to clear land, and debatably for sport (I take no sides). ** To kill an ant that has invaded your home is probably permissible as a conduit towards cleanliness. I might laud the person who has and takes the time and energy to remove the ant without harming it outdoors, but this is likely not required.**

However, to kill animals in their natural habitat for none of the above purposes and out of a lust to kill seems very inappropriate and likely sinful. Creation is innocent; we are not. Developing lust will likely lead to even greater harm. We may be the master, but we are not the owner. It is God’s creation that he gave us, and we need to use his resources well. Therefore, if the idea is to go outside in the field to kill an ant for fun, I would think this is sinful, yes.

As we were not given the full facts, I think the correct answer to the original post is ‘maybe’.
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I would have gotten nothing done had I been removing ants one at a time and setting their little bodies outside! When they are streaming into your house in a line searching for their next meal(s), drastic actions must be taken! So Terro was introduced to their diets!😉

Have you ever seen what 1000s of winged ants sitting on your siding and picture window can do? Talk about waste residue :eek: Bye-bye. I was just cleaning my house - literally, cleaning it off. Then introducing the Ortho Bug B Gone was like putting out the unwelcome mat!!

Who kills ants for fun? I kill ants to maintain my house and property! Fun and lust have nothing to do with the extermination of ants!
 
Monte_RCMS said:
It IS wrong to step on an ant … because you are expending too much of your own energy.

I second the motion to use Terro. It comes in a variety of dispensers from little tiny things with little ramps to let the ants get inside to large refillable dispensers. Works great and takes less energy than stepping on them.
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:thumbsup:I second this. The liquid is also great. I put a little drop out, and they swarm around it like crazy, drinking it up. Several hours later, no more ants! 👍

Between the ants and the mice, it has been a crazy year! Luckily, I no longer have evidence of either inside my home! The bait stations seem to be working!👍
 
Guys, calm down, great 🙂 I can laud those others who do so out of respect for God’s ultimate dominion over all, but I am not chiding you in the least! “Death to wee invaders!” is fine by me.

P.S. On the other hand, I remember the laudable story of St. Francis (perhaps true, perhaps not) who was walking down a path one day and took the trouble to pick up some worms and place them on the side of the path since they had been flooded out of their homes on account of a rainstorm and were otherwise likely to be smushed by other passersby. A tender story of caring for God’s creation where possible!
 
Catholic90 said:
:thumbsup:I second this. The liquid is also great. I put a little drop out, and they swarm around it like crazy, drinking it up. Several hours later, no more ants! 👍

Between the ants and the mice, it has been a crazy year! Luckily, I no longer have evidence of either inside my home! The bait stations seem to be working!👍
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I was watching one of those television shows about people who keep exotic animal pets … pythons … and such … [how do they afford to feed those things???] … and got to thinking about calling a dealer to see if I could buy an aardvaark.
 
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