# Is flypaper cruel and/or am I a sadistic monster? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 25, 2013, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101 "2013-08-25T01:46:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![spazurek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@spazurek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spazurek)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/41 "2013-08-27T14:30:19Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Yeah, the degree being whether or not we have a nervous system developed enough to feel suffering :rolleyes: The entire “brain” (cerebral ganglia) of an insect isn’t much more sophisticated than a single bundle of nerves in our spine. Professional neuroscientists have no scientific position as to whether flies “suffer” in the same way we do. I’m inclined to go with them. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/42 "2013-08-27T15:21:07Z")
Update: My cousin in Illinois has a huge fly problem - they live out in the country and he works in his garage and it drives him nuts. He heard about a simple folk remedy - take a small, zip-lock plastic bag, put some water in it and then add a few (4 or 5) pennies, and then hang that from some place towards the entrance. This supposedly keeps the flies away. He has tried it and says it works. I even Googled this and found a more exact description - and a bit of the theory of why this would/could work. [Cite](http://www.ehow.com/how_4465087_repel-bugs-pennies-water-plastic.html). Although it sounds bogus to me - he swears it works and, well, what the hell - give it a shot - if nothing else, you later have a few clean pennies. ---
**Author:** ![Pancake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecd19e/32.png) [@Pancake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pancake)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/43 "2013-08-28T02:43:14Z")
Plant basil. Flies do not like basil. In your yard, in a pot near the entrance to your house. Just plant basil and be done with flies and this post. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/44 "2013-08-28T03:07:48Z")
I thought fly strips had sugar on them. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@Mister\_Owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Owl)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/45 "2013-08-28T03:44:06Z")
If you want to have some fun killing flies get yourself one of these [http://www.bugzapfun.com/](http://www.bugzapfun.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/46 "2013-08-28T04:39:49Z")
> [@sahirrnee](#): > > A client of mine killed a mouse and then they found the nest of babies. > > He wanted to put them outside to freeze to death. > She went to the pet store, bought some kitten formula and teeny tiny bottles and a teeny tiny eyedropper and feeding the baby mice and wiping their little bums became part of my pet sitting duties. > Little baby blind mice run really really fast and are very hard to catch. > Even the teeniest tiniest nipples are too big for baby mice, as are teeny tiny eyedroppers. I’m surprised I didn’t drown them while I was feeding them because I’m pretty sure more formula went up their little noses than into their little mouths. > > They lived for almost two weeks but one by one they all died. It is perverse that you bought them kitten formula. I would have gotten them an actual kitten. Think of the fun they could have all had together. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/47 "2013-08-28T04:50:14Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > I thought fly strips had sugar on them. Not anymore, at least at the cheap end. And why pay more? As my wife said, “They should pay us for ending their miserable lives.” I, OTOH, still have a soft spot in my skull for No-Pest Strips with nerve gas, but she, like everybody except Bashar al-Assad, feels that’s not appropriate around people or pets. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/48 "2013-08-28T05:31:13Z")
I find the OP best read with a slightly drunk, slightly sane, Vincent Price voice as he distractedly attends to a bit of masonry between sips of Amontillado. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/49 "2013-08-28T06:55:38Z")
The OP was pretty fantastic, but everyone else have really helped seal this as one of the more memorable threads I can recall. Thanks for all the laughs! 😃 Also, flies are terrible and you shouldn’t feel bad about killing them. I for one am pretty good at catching them out of the air with my hand and then holding them and rolling them around between my fingers as they buzz around and wonder what the heck is going on, and then I throw them outside or feed 'em to a spider. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/50 "2013-08-28T23:22:02Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > The OP was pretty fantastic, but everyone else have really helped seal this as one of the more memorable threads I can recall. Thanks for all the laughs! 😃 “You are too kind,” he says, in a poorly-disguised attempt to bump the thread. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/51 "2013-08-28T23:55:18Z")
Have you considered boiling the oil before pouring it on the mouse? In the name of Science, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/52 "2013-08-29T06:01:13Z")
Bravo. _clap_ ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/53 "2013-08-29T06:41:55Z")
A walnut tree in the backyard keeps flies away. Also, does no-one use fly curtains anymore? And finally, it helps against flies and mosquitos not to have the light on in your house when your windows are open. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/54 "2013-08-29T08:23:54Z")
This thread reminds me of a time when I went fishing with a friend of mine who had his five year old daughter in tow. (figuratively in tow - we towed the boat, not the daughter). He caught a trout, and she became slightly upset that the fish was going to die. He answered with what could be the wisest words ever uttered, “Life’s tough when you’re delicious” Now, I’m not saying that flies are as delicious as a rainbow trout, but they can be tasty if you cook 'em right (PM me if you want the recipe). What I am saying is that it’s a man eat fish world. As to flypaper itself, I never use it anymore. I used to, but one day I checked it and found that I had caught a Jeff Goldblum. That was a mess. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/55 "2013-08-29T09:23:30Z")
I don’t think any of these traps are really cruel. The creatures being trapped aren’t sentient beings so they can’t suffer by bitching and moaning about the unfairness of their situation like we humans. The fly or mouse or whatever isn’t jealous of the creature in the next cubicle who isn’t trapped. Or regretting not being able to go to the bar to watch the Yankees. He or she doesn’t feel that their career prospects are being hindered or that they won’t get to meet that fly of the opposite sex they so desperately need to find to shut their mother up. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/56 "2013-08-29T23:14:46Z")
So it’s okay to kill flies but not those people you are talking about? Where is the justice in this world? ---
**Author:** ![ruh-roh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ruh-roh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruh-roh)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2013, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/57 "2013-08-31T01:41:59Z")
In my high school science classrooms each seat had a “gas jet” for hooking up a Bunsen burner. Just a valve connected to a pointy connector you could slip a rubber tube over. We also didn’t have air-conditioning and so the windows were open most of the time. I became adept at grabbing a fly live off of the desk and would then insert them into the gas jet, next turning on the valve and letting just enough gas to pass to get the air out. (Too much and the teacher would smell the gas and you were in trouble.) What I discovered was that for every minute you left the fly in the gas, once you let it out, after the same number of minutes it would revive and fly away. Never had enough time to find out what the upper limit was. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/58 "2013-08-31T16:26:38Z")
Of course, the best thing to do with a fly was what a kid back in grade school did: catch one and surreptitiously tie around its little neck the end a strand of the long black silky hair of the girl in front of him. Fun for everyone. The only problem was lack of anonymity on the part of the prankster, so it wasn’t an oft-repeated treat. Seriously. It’s impossible to know what it’s like to be another being. It’s very difficult to study things like qualia and consciousness objectively, so we really can’t say what it feels like to be a fly trapped on flypaper. Now, my best guess is that insects are pretty low-level intelligences and I don’t credit them with much in the way of self-awareness. Regardless, I avoid intentionally causing unnecessary suffering. But I sure don’t go far out of my way to avoid it. So, I won’t pull the legs off of daddy longlegs for the fun of it, but I won’t risk a fall to avoid stepping on an ant. If I thought flypaper was effective, it wouldn’t bother me to use it. Regarding the person who put it outdoors, I think that was a waste of effort in any case. If flypaper makes sense at all, it only makes sense indoors, or in a screen room: someplace where the influx of flies is low. I always wondered about the bug zappers. It seems to me that the density curve would look a bit like a volcano surrounded by a valley. (Bad image but I hope you get the point.) Anyway, not very effective anywhere near the zapper, and you have to put up with the noise. I bet The Master has weighed in on this, maybe I’ll search. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/59 "2013-08-31T16:35:48Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > Regarding the person who put it outdoors, I think that was a waste of effort in any case. If flypaper makes sense at all, it only makes sense indoors, or in a screen room: someplace where the influx of flies is low. That person was me - and yes, a stupid idea in Vegas. However, in Illinois we would put out those strips around the house in the summer, and they were indeed very effective. Granted, in the grand scheme of things, a drop in the bucket compared to the number of flies still happily annoying everyone else, but those fly paper strips would be chock full of dead flies when tossed into the garbage. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101/60 "2013-08-31T16:42:32Z")
I’m just guessing, but I doubt there’s a good correlation between body count and fly density, outside. No doubt we should do some studies! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flypaper-cruel-and-or-am-i-a-sadistic-monster/667101.md?page=4)