Life Changes When You Stop Killing Ants

Aunts have always been safe in my yard, but for the past few years, ants are also treated with the respect their little exoskeleton bodies deserve.

Regina Spektor

It all started with “All The Row Boats” by Regina Spektor. Stay with me, it’s part of the story. Neurotypicals and normies probably aren’t going to be able to make this mental leap with me and that’s ok. You can back away slowly if you have to.

This part of the song tore my stomach open and froze my body mid-breath:

First there's lights out
Then there's lock up
Masterpieces serving maximum sentences
It's their own fault
For being timeless
There's a price to pay
And a consequence
All the galleries
The museums
"Here's your ticket
Welcome to the tombs"
They're just public mausoleums
The living dead fill every room

It brought up a feeling I hadn’t been able to put into words on my own. That beauty is often imprisoned and punished while it’s being celebrated. We do this to everything in life - art, music, people … our own children.

While we slowly kill beauty, we quickly kill what we think is ugly, even thought it also deserves life, too. And not only does it deserve life, its survival creates beauty in our own lives by default. Like bugs.

Lightening Bugs, Spiders, Ants

My journey to “just let the bugs be” started with lightening bugs. I wouldn’t let my kids put them jars and once cried when I saw other adults showing their kids how to smoosh lightening bug bodies on clothing to make a streak of glowing light.

To witness a life so easily disposed of cut deep.

This rule of not killing lightening bugs started a movement in our house. My son no longer allowed me to kill spiders. Instead, he was the official spider relocator and he’d move them to the backyard.

Outside bugs were soon rolled into the protective services we offered at our home. I mean … we’re not brining ant hills inside to live with us, but we are letting them do their own thing outside. Even the annoying ones (ok, they’re all annoying).

I came to enjoy seeing them bustling along the ground, working hard as a team.

Fostering Interconnectedness

For me and my family, a transformative shift occurred when we started viewing these creatures as valuable beings and embraced empathy towards their gross, wiggly, crawly little lives.

Think about all the things these bugs do for us. Bees and other pollinators are crucial for plant reproduction. Decomposers, like beetles and ants, put nutrients back into the ground. By refraining from killing bugs, we allow nature to do its thing. To flourish and create a healthier environment for all.

You’ll still hear me screaming in the backyard when I’m confronted with the small creatures who like to hide under my flowerpots. And you’ll hear me yelling “get it off, get it off, get it off” if something lands on me. And I will literally strip my top off in front of strangers if I think I have a tick on me. I’m not in love with bugs. But I am trying to honor their existence.

Embracing empathy and compassion towards all creatures, including bugs, gives us a deeper connection to the natural world. I want to witness the diversity of life and bask in the sense of wonder that comes with seeing just how many different critters there are out there.

So, yes, at the end of the day I know it’s “just a lightening bug” or “just a spider” but I also know that I’d hate to be killed just for trying to get from point A to point B. I’d hate to never make it home to supper just because someone thought I was ugly. Or because I happened to like the food they left out.

I might not be celebrating these gross little things, but I definitely appreciate them and I will do my best to let them live. By recognizing the value of even the tiniest of creatures, we embrace a more compassionate and interconnected way of living. And I’m all for that!