Urban pest management affects enormous numbers of insects. As evidence for insect sentience grows, examining the welfare dimensions of common pest control practices becomes increasingly important.
Insect welfare in pest management occupies the same uncertain territory as insect welfare generally - the evidence for insect sentience is meaningful but not conclusive, while the scale of urban pest management affects trillions of individuals. The precautionary welfare approach suggests preferring methods that reduce potential suffering when alternatives are available: exclusion over killing where practical, rapid-action insecticides over those causing prolonged paralysis, physical traps that kill quickly over prolonged-confinement glue traps. These preferences have modest practical impact for any individual decision but aggregate to meaningful welfare difference at the scale of urban pest management globally.