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this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2026
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The only animal I think is truly worth eradicating is the bedbug.
Every other insect from the mosquito, to the tick is an incredibly important source of food (especially protein) for other animals, especially in places with very harsh conditions where other insects struggle to survive. I used to hate and fear insects but now I know they all have their place.
All, except the bedbug. These things are specifically designed to hunt us and pretty much only us. They have precious few predators, much less predators that rely on their existence. They deserve obliteration.
True, but from what I've read, virtually all mosquitoes don't bite people. You can wipe out the 1% or less of the ones that do without significant environmental impact since the things that eat mosquitoes aren't choosy about which ones so you really are just reducing their available food by like 1%, and even some of that will probably be backfilled by other species of mosquitoes since the ones that bite people don't only bite people.
I partly covered this in my response below. If we're talking about eradicating disease-carrying mosquitoes from populated areas (and or invasive), then sure that makes sense. But studies that say eradication (even of the harmful ones) would have no negative consequence are very much debated by researchers. It's reddit, but here's a well cited comment from a researcher who works with mosquitoes that does a better job of explaining why it's not that simple: https://www.reddit.com/r/Entomology/comments/1icgbrg/comment/m9qxizu/
The Tick is not a source of food, he is a source of JUSTICE
I like your answer as its way more thought through than what most people tend to answer when questions like this is asked, like I wish seagulls would just die out as the niche they have is doing what other species are doing in an obnoxious way. I do recognise that this would likely have ramifications that I don't know about though, so I wouldn't want resources used to actively eradicate them.
Ticks, sure, plenty of things to eat them and they're only a problem a few times of year here. But I think the ecosystem will survive the removal of mosquitos, even if some animals might suffer for a while or perish as well. Flies come close to the amount of annoyance I receive from the mosquito, but not close enough. I hate them so much, my perception of what seasons I like and hate is entirely dependant on if mosquitos (and other bugs) are around more often.
In the same way you've learned to tolerate bugs, I used to be fearful of spiders, though I never hated them. Nowadays I love to see a spider making itself at home in my room, the kitchen, the porch, the basement, etc. A bug trap installing itself at no cost to me, what could be better?
I totally get the animosity towards mosquitoes. I spend a lot of time birding in swamps and often leave with no fewer than 20 giant bites (and another 10 from fucking horseflies). I used to be in the same camp as you, until someone explained to me that mosquitoes are one of the few species that can survive in places where conditions are harsh, and they're food not just for land dwelling or airborne animals, but also aquatic species. They're also important pollinators, especially males since they feed on nectar and not blood.
Eradicating them 20 or 30 years ago would have probably been fine, since other insects could benefit from less competition and likely take up those niches. Today however, insect populations are literally collapsing all around us, and it's only getting worse. There is less and less food available for those on the bottom of the food chain, and the effects are going to trickle up all the way to us. Mosquitoes may be one of the few species able to ride out the apocalypse we're currently wreaking on nature.
I think local eradication is still important around human populations, especially for disease-carrying varieties. But leave the rest of them alone. We've levelled enough destruction on ecosystems. Save that energy for the true villain - bedbugs.