Ants can be a menace though, in all fairness. I'll leave them alone in the garden, but if they try to come in the house, or even build a nest too close, that's when things get medieval.

Here's the Dillon Empire instant death list: Wasps, mice, rats. I've had to deal with all three in the past year (I had a wasps nest in the garden last summer, mice in the garage last winter, and am currently dealing with a rat incursion in the garden this year). All have been (or will be) ruthlessly exterminated.

Bees one should never kill. Spiders are mostly an ally in the UK, except false widows, which do pose a mild threat to humans (the venom seldom kills, but it can be dangerous).

(Yes, I know this is all beside the point of your article.)