Talk:Vermin

Varmint - Is this really American colloquial?

The word Varmint or Warmint is used in Dicken's novel Great Expectations. Although the term may be American and back-propagated to Great Britain, this may also be a clue that the term may not have been a specifically American colloquialism.

Greg 02:19, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

I haven't done the research myself, but I think that the colloquial "varmint" should be referenced in so as its particular region of use. In the Southeastern U.S., for instance, the pronunciation "varmit" plays to that.

It's more than a colloquial pronunciation, and needs its own page, to my mind. The word "varmint" refers almost exclusively to larger undesirable mammals, such as gophers, coyotes, prarie dogs and the like, and is used in state-level hunting legislation in most states (not just the southeast) for this purpose. Typically, a hunter would obtain a "predator/varmint hunting license" and thus be allowed to shoot most anything small and fuzzy once varmint season opens.

Unfortunately, this is the full extent of my knowledge--any NRA members want to step up to the plate? --Darksasami 06:16, 1 May 2005 (UTC)

Kinda/sorta. The word "varmint" certainly came from Redneck American English (not a technial term :p), but it's become sufficiently ingrained that for this usage, it's pretty much standard. Many companies specifically prefix "varmint" to the names of their product lines (guns and ammunition alike), in favor of vermin. As for merging this topic with "vermin", I dunno; I set up a redirect for "Vermin Guns" to here, because it seemed more appropriate. I guess the distinction between vermin (rats and such) and varmint (coyotes, etc.) makes sense, but seems like an unnecessary level of precision for this article's purposes. Stiletto Null

I think the varmint page should remain separate from vermin; not all vermin are varmints, nor are all varmints vermin, and there is a definate distinction in the hunting and shooting community. Varmint shooting, especially smaller varmints like prarie dogs, is a very challenging task, requiring specialized equipment (small caliber, high velocity, very accurate rifles, and high power telescopic sights) and can pay well too, as farmers and ranchers will offer bounties for varmints. scot 02:36, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

I think a lot of unsourced assumptions went into this section. Just because the term only has use (or need) in rural areas doesn't mean it originates from uneducated hicks who can't say "vermin". A quick google search finds sources claiming the word is older than the US. And by the way, the point of the varmint category is there's typically no hunting season or license protection because we want people to kill as many as possible. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.163.4.225 (talk) 11:49, 13 May 2007 (UTC).

Cultural References

It seems pretty ridiculous to include a section on references to vermin. It's just a word and has been used in countless works. Unless you plan on listing each one (and what educational purpose would that serve) It seems reasonable to eliminate the entire section.

I agree 100%

vermin is an insult

why did no-one mention that vermin was an insult?

It's not 119.160.119.85 (talk) 11:04, 9 July 2021 (UTC)

Cats

The badly worded and un-supported cat section needs pruning. I completely agree that cats deserve a mention in the "out of balance" section - but should not be the only example. Can anyone add some references to Australian cat research? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bassclef (talk • contribs) 13:22, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

More to the point, the statement about cats doesn't meet the article's description of "vermin" as being defined in relation to human activities. It also seems to imply the author's desire that cats be considered as vermin more than providing any evidence that they are actually perceived as vermin, anywhere (which the "regarded as pests or nuisances" defintion would seem to require). Should this statement be removed from the Vermin article due to irrelevence, and perhaps find a place in the main Cats article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.115.126.15 (talk) 01:49, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

Mouse

I just want to say how hilarious it is that the picture of a mouse on the Vermin page is cuter than the one on the page "Mouse". (Don't argue, it's a scientific fact. :D) Wpell (talk) 13:12, 25 March 2009 (UTC)

No Insects?

Dictionary definitions for vermin include insects, but they don't appear to be mentioned on this page. At the very least, a mention of insects should be put in the first paragraph. —Preceding unsigned comment added by DMGualtieri (talk • contribs) 19:11, 14 June 2010 (UTC)

Merge?

Should this page be merged into pest (organism)? Seems they are virtually synonyms, and we would benefit from having all the information on one page -- Anxietycello (talk) 14:20, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

Agree, the article is really talking about pests instead of vermin, and the word vermin is derogatory in itself and should be avoided. The etymology of the word best belong to wikitionary. Smk65536 (talk) 12:48, 19 July 2015 (UTC)

"Deterioration of balance".

Obviously, there are far far too many examples that can go into this catogory, but I do believe that the Starling in the USA is worthy of this. An estimated population of nearly half a billion, covering more than half of the area of the contiguous 48, the direct cause of extinction of a vast number of native america birds, and one of the greatest pests in the nation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 101.174.137.237 (talk) 01:12, 15 June 2017 (UTC)