Critters 4, Humans 0: A 17-year-old boy in Reno, Nev., accidentally set his family’s house on fire trying to kill spiders (August).
A woman in Santa Fe, N.M., accidentally caused severe fire damage to her home while trying to torch a rattlesnake (July).
A 26-year-old man in Mobile, Ala., accidentally caused $80,000 damage to his home and a shed trying to kill a swarm of bees (June).
A Buddhist monk accidentally burned down his temple in Ojiya City, Japan, trying to destroy a hornets’ nest (September).
This article appears in Oct 8-14, 2008.