https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/jainism/

Jainism, which has nothing to do with the mud planet folk hero, is so strict about nonviolence that Jains will not eat root vegetables because harvesting it would kill the plant.

We’re currently in the sixth mass extinction event in the history of the Earth, with insects being hit quite badly in particular.

Obviously, this is largely due to climate change and agriculture. You’re not likely going to save the world by sparing individual mosquitos.

But to me, that’s still kind of why I never really felt this question was terribly relevant. Even a morally bankrupt egomaniac has an interest in keeping insects around, because they are an essential part of the network that supports our lives. And so, if there’s no reason to kill a given insect, then you should want that insect to live an excellent life, whether you’re vegan/pacifist or not.

If there is a reasonable chance that they carry a disease or similar, then yeah, that is a different, more nuanced discussion.

I try to avoid it going as far as moving any bugs out of my house to the grass if they are big enough to see. It’s an intention to cause less harm. I don’t claim to be vegan or anything.

I catch and release flies outside and avoid it if it can be helped. I usually relocate worms or other bugs if they’re going to get smashed.

I wonder why the flies are on strike. Also our view of animals and how we think of their worth might depend on how we define intelligence. If we think that a cow is an intelligent being then we might think that it’s wrong to kill it and eat it. If we think that a cockroach has no intelligence then there’s no reason not to kill it. If we believe that all life on the planet has intelligence or what you might consider a soul or a spark of life whatever you want to call it then you might be a verse to killing anything. I’m not sure where you draw the line.