Mr. Spider and I– A lesson in Biological Control

"The spider that I didn't even know existed captured and ate the fly that had been bugging me for weeks. I have always had faith in Nature's way..."

I recently moved into my new home out in the country where the air is fresh, nature is reaching towards my window and, to my dismay, the bugs are getting in through the window. Now, I’m not a fan of having bugs in the house but I’m also not a fan of using insecticides to kill them. So I tried my best to pick up every bug I saw and safely transport back to its outdoor home. Most of the creepy crawlies learned their lesson and stayed out. The flies, however, did not.

Everywhere I looked there were flies flying around – on the window, near my ears, on my sandwich– and it was getting to be a problem. I thought about getting a fly swatter and decided that was too brutal for the flies. I thought about trying fly paper and thought that to be even more brutal than a fly swatter. Apparently, I am one of those rare folks that sincerely cannot hurt a fly.

The next day, as I was sitting in my living room, I saw a fly fly past me and towards the window, hoping to finally make that escape. Unfortunately, he did escape the house but he didn’t live to tell the tale. He flew right into a spider’s web on the window and the spider promptly wrapped him up and devoured him.

Now given my past proclivity towards not harming the fly, one would believe that I would be horrified by what I just saw. Surprisingly, I was pleased. It was the circle of life and it took place right before my eyes! The spider that I didn’t even know existed captured and ate the fly that had been bugging me for weeks. For him, it was just another day and another meal. For me, it was salvation.

You see, I have always had faith in nature’s way of controlling itself. A pest problem in my garden can be controlled by the pest’s predators. Sure, I may have some munched-on vegetables come harvest time, but overall the pest problem has not been a big deal for me and I have never used pesticides. Every species has a predator and every predator is controlled by nature.

Now let’s switch gears to our species. We are unfortunately overpopulated. We have no predators which would induce some to say that we are finally “masters of the earth.”  But, like all overpopulated species, we consume more than the earth provides, which is bad news for our species. Turns out we do have a predator and her name is Mother Nature. She’s not going to give us everything we could ever want if we’re just going to waste it or use it to hurt her. Hey, she’s a mother! This type of behavior is expected.

So we have two choices. Either keep doing what we are doing (deforestation, wasting of materials, overuse, poor ecological choices, poor political choices, poor outdoor education and keeping a standard of downright laziness) or we can embrace Mother Nature’s cracking whip of climate change and admit we were wrong. Sorry Mom. We don’t own you and we never did.

But let’s think of our ecological punishment as a good thing instead of a cause for panic. Yes, climate change is happening. Yes, this means we will need to adapt. Yes, there will be a struggle and the world will change. But let’s concentrate on a change for the better. We can either bow down to nature and accept what is happening, or we can be bull-headed and argue with nature and then kiss our way of life goodbye.

Of course, we already must wave goodbye to the way we have been living. But was it really that great anyway? We have piles of trash, our soil and food is filled with chemicals, our air is filled with pollutants and some of us are getting sick from it. We are raising our children on processed foods that have a foggy origin. Although, the mindful people may not be living their lives this way, the fact of the matter is that we are all in this together. When a farmer sprays his crops with pesticide, it seeps into the ground water and comes out of your faucet. When someone orders a hamburger a large fast-food restaurant, they are paying for whole forests to be torn down and used as cheap pasture land to raise cattle that will earn the ranchers one dollar a week.

This is not the way our species should live.

Let us embrace climate change as the sanction it is and learn from it. Otherwise, we are merely flies in the spider’s web and our time is finally up. Think collectively as you go through your day. Think how your decisions change things for those around you. But of course, your decisions are a long-term fix. We need a short-term fix. This means going to the big dogs in charge. Be an activist for your earth and attend city meetings. Bring up ideas to improve the town’s ecological standing. Send letters to your congressman, your senator, your president.

But don’t stop there. Be an evangelist as well as an activist. Spread the word about how to live according to nature instead of over nature. Host workshops on eco-friendly ways of life, such as organic gardening and re-purposing old materials. Get involved in your town’s environmental clubs. Persuade your friends to visit national parks instead of amusement parks for their vacations. Never forget your deference to the world around you. We are never in control.

As for the fly, he had a choice. I would open the door as he flew near in hopes that he would finally exit. But, he instead continued to feast on my trash and any food left lying. He definitely had a good run before the end, ate some good grub, got big and fat. But that spider was waiting, ready to exercise nature’s command.

I have allowed Mr. Spider to live in the window, but not because I am afraid to remove him. He is a reminder of my own personal predator that waits outside the window.

– Lisa Kilian