{"id":2015,"date":"2016-05-25T11:08:41","date_gmt":"2016-05-25T15:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/?p=2015"},"modified":"2016-05-25T11:30:24","modified_gmt":"2016-05-25T15:30:24","slug":"to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/2016\/05\/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders\/","title":{"rendered":"To kill or not to kill spiders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>
A spider nest in the blackberry patch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Out in the yard this morning, I was watering plants and feeding the birds when I noticed a nest of spider eggs in my blackberry patch.<\/p>\n

My first thought was to get the diatomaceous earth so I could get rid of the nest. It\u2019s right by where I walk, right where the dogs cut through the bushes to come into the house. The likelihood was very high that someone, probably Bailey or Bandit, would brush up against the nest and dozens of spiders would get a free ride into the house on dog fur.<\/p>\n

Diatomaceous earth<\/a> \u2013 or D-earth, for short \u2013 is a naturally occurring material that consists of fossilized remains of diatoms. Essentially, silica from dead marine sediments. It kills insects by drying them up. It\u2019s safe, natural, and my go-to product to kill insects.<\/p>\n

But just as quickly as I\u2019d decided to get rid of the spider nest, the reality hit me that these were living creatures, and living in nature. The spider hadn\u2019t built the nest in my kitchen or in my car (which happened last summer).<\/p>\n

My general rule of thumb is that if bugs are inside the house (or my car), they should be prepared to meet their maker. But outside, I generally leave them alone. Who am I to kill the spiders in their own home, just because they give me the willies?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when I saw the nest was moving. The spiders were hatching, right in front of my eyes. Life coming forth into the world. Good grief, so many spiders! And crawling in every direction! And so fast! I could feel my skin start to crawl.<\/p>\n

Spiders with the right to live, but also the potential to make my life decidedly difficult. As in, webs all over the yard, dogs crawling with insects, spiders in my hair.<\/p>\n

So do I dust with the insecticide or not?<\/p>\n

It feels hypocritical. I swat flies and mosquitoes. I step on ants in the kitchen. I kill mites in the chicken coop. I kill fleas and ticks to keep my dogs healthy and comfortable. (I hate using chemicals on the dogs and cat. I\u2019ve tried dozens of natural remedies over the years to repel the insects, but after a major flea infestation that took months to clear up and left one dog and the cat with major skin sores due to flea allergies, I now treat with chemicals. The lesser of two evils and all that.)<\/p>\n

My point is that I kill stuff all the time and never feel bad about it. Why did I even hesitate this morning?<\/p>\n

I wonder if it\u2019s simply the fact that more and more I\u2019ve begun to feel like a part of a bigger picture, less \u201cman controls the world\u201d and more \u201cman is one particle of the intertwined universe\u201d. What if this nest was like Horton\u2019s dust ball<\/a>, filled with an entire world I can\u2019t see or hear?<\/p>\n

I stood there with the D-earth and pondered the spider nest, baby arachnids hatching and scurrying to the four corners of the blackberry patch. I\u2019ll leave my decision about what I actually did a mystery. But tell me: what would you have done?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I stood there and pondered the spider nest, baby arachnids hatching and scurrying in every direction. Is it morally right to kill them?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,704],"tags":[771,761,772,773],"class_list":["post-2015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animal-behavior","category-nature","tag-diatomaceous-earth","tag-dogs","tag-insects","tag-spiders"],"yoast_head":"\nTo kill or not to kill spiders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I stood there and pondered the spider nest, baby arachnids hatching and scurrying in every direction. Is it morally right to kill them?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/2016\/05\/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"To kill or not to kill spiders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I stood there and pondered the spider nest, baby arachnids hatching and scurrying in every direction. Is it morally right to kill them?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/2016\/05\/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Heavenly Creatures\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-05-25T15:08:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-05-25T15:30:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/files\/2016\/05\/216-2-300x286.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joanne Brokaw\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joanne Brokaw\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/2016\/05\/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/2016\/05\/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders\/\",\"name\":\"To kill or not to kill spiders\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-25T15:08:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-05-25T15:30:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/#\/schema\/person\/94bed5395fce7e743ffeee45a9d924e9\"},\"description\":\"I stood there and pondered the spider nest, baby arachnids hatching and scurrying in every direction. Is it morally right to kill them?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/2016\/05\/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/2016\/05\/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/2016\/05\/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"To kill or not to kill spiders\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/\",\"name\":\"Heavenly Creatures\",\"description\":\"Joanne Brokaw on Animals, God, Faith & Life\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/#\/schema\/person\/94bed5395fce7e743ffeee45a9d924e9\",\"name\":\"Joanne Brokaw\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d580addf2c7c4b8b71371832be8d3d0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d580addf2c7c4b8b71371832be8d3d0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Joanne Brokaw\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/author\/joannebrokaw\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"To kill or not to kill spiders","description":"I stood there and pondered the spider nest, baby arachnids hatching and scurrying in every direction. Is it morally right to kill them?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/2016\/05\/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"To kill or not to kill spiders","og_description":"I stood there and pondered the spider nest, baby arachnids hatching and scurrying in every direction. Is it morally right to kill them?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/2016\/05\/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders\/","og_site_name":"Heavenly Creatures","article_published_time":"2016-05-25T15:08:41+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-05-25T15:30:24+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/files\/2016\/05\/216-2-300x286.jpg"}],"author":"Joanne Brokaw","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joanne Brokaw","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/2016\/05\/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/2016\/05\/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders\/","name":"To kill or not to kill spiders","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-05-25T15:08:41+00:00","dateModified":"2016-05-25T15:30:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/#\/schema\/person\/94bed5395fce7e743ffeee45a9d924e9"},"description":"I stood there and pondered the spider nest, baby arachnids hatching and scurrying in every direction. Is it morally right to kill them?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/2016\/05\/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/2016\/05\/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/2016\/05\/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-spiders\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"To kill or not to kill spiders"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/","name":"Heavenly Creatures","description":"Joanne Brokaw on Animals, God, Faith & Life","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/#\/schema\/person\/94bed5395fce7e743ffeee45a9d924e9","name":"Joanne Brokaw","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d580addf2c7c4b8b71371832be8d3d0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d580addf2c7c4b8b71371832be8d3d0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Joanne Brokaw"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/author\/joannebrokaw\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2015\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/heavenlycreatures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}