How do Buddhists get rid of ants and other pests and insects?

[asker]

May I ask a serious question about the precept against taking life?

How do Buddhists get rid of ants and other pests and insects in their home?

[SteRo]

It is obvious isn't it?
If you don't want to kill ants and other pests invading your house you have to take measures to avoid that they can invade your house. And if it is already to late because they have already invaded your house then you have to take measures to avoid that more of them can invade your house and catch those that have already invaded your house and carry them outdoors.

[Sam Vara]

In a temperate climate like mine, invasive insects are not too much of a problem and can be dealt with by using a paper cup and a sheet of paper to transport them outside. I have heard a monk talk about problems in tropical countries, especially invasive ants which can cover washbasins the monks need to use. It's just not possible, he said, to deal with them all.

In a UK monastery there were problems with bed-bugs and the lay workers there killed them off. Similarly, when my children picked up head lice at school there was no apparent "Buddhist" (i.e. non-lethal) solution to the problem.

[sentinel]

May I ask a serious question about the precept against taking life?

How do Buddhists get rid of ants and other pests and insects in their home?

This is just my experience , if it is ants , you can try place some sugars outside your home a bit further under some trees or plants , then you bring out some ants from your home to the sugars . You can chants namo tassa & three refuge towards the sugars and ants . Other insects probably you can try with other foods suitable .

[dharmacorps]

I got rid of some drain flies recently by using a ultrasonic plug in repeller and some drain covers. Took about 3 weeks but they haven't come back.

[justindesilva]

May I ask a serious question about the precept against taking life?

How do Buddhists get rid of ants and other pests and insects in their home?

As is always I have found that rats and other insects invade due to our own fault which we have to investigate and find out.
We can then take necessary precautions.

[Ceisiwr]

Generally I either move them outside or leave them be, however we did have a wasps nest in our roof one year. Sadly there was no other option but to remove it.

[salayatananirodha]

if you care about keeping the first precept enough, if you understand the renewed kamma of killing is worse than anything a bug could do to you, you'll figure it out or just endure it
develop mettā and karuṇā and upekkhā for them

[Ceisiwr]

if you care about keeping the first precept enough, if you understand the renewed kamma of killing is worse than anything a bug could do to you, you'll figure it out or just endure it
develop mettā and karuṇā and upekkhā for them

It’s impossible not to kill something at some point when living as a householder. Fleas on children being a perfect example.

[Aloka]

How do Buddhists get rid of ants and other pests and insects in their home?

Find out where they're getting in and then block up or use filler in the hole or crack.

Ants and other crawling insects don't like the following and will avoid them : cinnamon, chili powder, cayenne pepper. cloves, garlic, vinegar, peppermint oil, citrus oil, and coffee grounds. Wasps dislike the smell of peppermint oil and also tea tree oil.

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[Zom]

As is always I have found that rats and other insects invade due to our own fault which we have to investigate and find out.

Not always. We've got ants in our apartments as a sabotage act by insect exterminators themselves, yes, that is how they do their business here. So for more than a year we tried to remove them gently, in ahimsa way, but in the end nothing worked and my wife just bought some chemicals and... that's how it ended. Sometimes they still appear, but very rarely. Either they migrated somewhere or hide so well that we don't even see them.

[Sam Vara]

How do Buddhists get rid of ants and other pests and insects in their home?

Find out where they're getting in and then block up or use filler in the hole or crack.

Ants and other crawling insects don't like the following and will avoid them : cinnamon, chili powder, cayenne pepper. cloves, garlic, vinegar, peppermint oil, citrus oil, and coffee grounds. Wasps dislike the smell of peppermint oil and also tea tree oil.

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Apparently spiders don't like horse chestnut either. You can buy the oil in spray form. Trouble is, house spiders like the inside of houses and are often hatched there. Where do you spray so you don't just trap them in the house?

[NuanceOfSuchness]

May I ask a serious question about the precept against taking life?

How do Buddhists get rid of ants and other pests and insects in their home?

In nature the natural course of things is this: a host can eject a foreign body from either itself or its environment if it deems that foreign body to be a threat to itself or its environment. I'm using eject also as a synonym for kill.

This is a good working frame from which to guide you.

[Aloka]

Where do you spray so you don't just trap them in the house?

My most frequent solution to getting rid of spiders is to put an empty glass coffee jar over them, gently slide a piece of thin card underneath, gently flip it the other way and pop them outside somewhere.


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[Sam Vara]

Where do you spray so you don't just trap them in the house?

My most frequent solution to getting rid of spiders is to put an empty glass coffee jar over them, gently slide a piece of thin card underneath, gently flip it the other way and pop them outside somewhere.


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Yes, same here. And many of the monks at Chithurst carry paper cups and a piece of card for that purpose. When I lived in Dorset I was confronted with a monster so large it wouldn't go into my largest mug!