Bugs are Friends

I went on a small rant in a meeting with my social media manager the other day about why bugs are friends, and how passionate I am about this particular fact, and she informed it that my rant should be a Wolfenoot post, so here I am, making it so.

I work with small children, and one of the things I have noticed is that children take their cues from the adults around them. So when the adult response to a small crawly critter is to shriek in disgust, kids learn that bugs are bad. But when you respond with “Oh cool! Look at that worm. Do you know that worms help turn the soil which makes it better for plants to grow in?” and encourage them to be curious and careful, most children are extremely interested.

Which is to say the shriek in disgust reaction is a learned reaction.

Look, I know all those legs and eyes on stalks can be a bit off putting. But most bugs actually serve really important ecological purposes, and if they happen to wander into your home, they’re probably just lost. Just take them gently outside. If the idea of touching them bothers you, use a glass and a piece of paper - put the glass over the critter, slide the paper under, and you make a safe little transport device. Honestly, unless you’re really dexy, this is probably a good idea anyway, so that you don’t hurt the poor wee thing.

Obviously I am not talking about, like, an invasion of ants or termites or something, which is an actual health and safety problem, and should be addressed as such. But if you just find a small crawly thing in your house, the poor wee bugger has as much right to live on this earth as you. Just take them outside!

I do realise that people have actual genuine phobias, and I’m not saying you have to be excited and curious by every creature you see. There are creatures that give even me the heebiejeebies. And I am the person in our house called in to deal with spiders and suchlike, because I am not freaked out by them. You don’t have to LOVE them. But you can let them live. You can release them in the outside instead of poisoning the hell out of them and your home with bug spray.

They do, in fact, serve important roles in the universe. Let them go and do that.

I think that practicing compassion for small things you could just squash is excellent practice for life, because it makes you see everything and everyone as having value. I think if you have small humans in your life it is even more important, because then they learn from you that these tiny beings deserve their lives as much as anyone. We are all part of a big ecological web, and if there is no actual reason to squish part of it, maybe consider just… not.

When I see wee buggy beasties in my home, instead of squealing in rage and disgust, I say, “Oh buddy! This is not a good place for you. Here let me help you.” And I take it outside. And my children see me do this. I hope it teaches them to have, as a first response, a desire for a peaceful resolution; a compassionate approach. I think we can all agree that the more people in the world whose first response is compassion, the better it will be.

Go make friends with a bug! They’re actually pretty cool.