# Vermin > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Vermin > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Vermin.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermin > Source revision: 1349763464 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) For other uses, see [Vermin (disambiguation)](/source/Vermin_(disambiguation)). "Varmint" redirects here. For the episode of *Adventure Time*, see [Adventure Time (season 7)](/source/Adventure_Time_(season_7)). For the album by *Anna Meredith*, see [Varmints (album)](/source/Varmints_(album)). **Vermin** ([colloquially](/source/Colloquialism) **varmint(s)**[1] or **varmit(s)**) are [pests](/source/Pest_(organism)) or [nuisance animals](/source/Nuisance_animal) that [spread diseases](/source/Zo%C3%B6nosis) and destroy [crops](/source/Crops), [livestock](/source/Livestock), and [property](/source/Property). Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by region and enterprise. The term derives from the [Latin](/source/Latin) *vermis* ([worm](/source/Worm)), and was originally used for the worm-like [larvae](/source/Larvae) of certain [insects](/source/Insects), many of which infest foodstuffs.[2] The term *varmint* (and *vermint*) has been found in sources from c. 1530–1540s.[1][3] ## Definition The term "vermin" is used to refer to a wide scope of organisms, including [rodents](/source/Rodents) (such as [rats](/source/Rats) and [mice](/source/Mouse)), [cockroaches](/source/Cockroaches), [termites](/source/Termites), [bed bugs](/source/Cimex),[4] [stoats](/source/Stoats), [sables](/source/Sable), [crows](/source/Crow), and [pigeons](/source/Columbidae). Historically, in the 16th and 17th century, the expression also became used as a [derogatory term](/source/Derogatory_term) associated with groups of persons typically plagued by vermin, namely [beggars](/source/Beggars) and [vagabonds](/source/Vagrancy_(people)), and more generally [the poor](/source/Poverty).[5] Disease-carrying [rodents](/source/Rodents) and [insects](/source/Insects) are the usual case, but the term is also applied to larger animals—especially small [predators](/source/Predators)—typically because they consume [resources](/source/Natural_resource) which humans consider theirs, such as [livestock](/source/Livestock) and crops. Birds which eat cereal crops and fruit are an example. The [American crow](/source/American_crow) (*Corvus brachyrhynchos*), is widely hated by farmers because of crop depredation. [Pigeons](/source/Rock_dove), which have been widely introduced in urban environments, are also sometimes considered vermin. Some varieties of [snakes](/source/Snakes) and [arachnids](/source/Arachnids) may also be referred to as vermin. "Vermin" is also used by some people as a term of abuse, either individually or collectively.[1] ### *Varmint* *Varmint* or *varmit* is an [American-English](/source/American-English) [colloquialism](/source/Colloquialism), a corruption of "vermin" particularly common to the [American East and South-east](/source/Eastern_United_States) within the nearby bordering states of the vast [Appalachia](/source/Appalachia) region. The term describes species which raid farms from without, as opposed to vermin (such as rats) that infest from within, thus referring mainly to predators such as [feral dogs](/source/Feral_dogs), [foxes](/source/Foxes), [weasels](/source/Weasels), and [coyotes](/source/Coyotes), sometimes even [wolves](/source/Wolves) or rarely [bears](/source/Bears), but also, to a lesser degree, herbivores and burrowing animals such as rabbits that directly damage crops and land. Although "varmint/varmit" is not the prevalent usage in [Standard Written English](/source/Standard_Written_English), it is a common descriptor for certain kinds of weapons and [pest control](/source/Pest_control) situations in the Appalachian and nearby states and the American West and South-west which have adopted terms such as *[varmint rifle](/source/Varmint_rifle)* and *[varmint hunting](/source/Varmint_hunting)*. ## Deterioration of balance Any species can develop into vermin if introduced into a region where there are favorable living conditions and few natural predators. In such cases, they are seen as an invasive species and humans often choose to fill the role of the [predator](/source/Predator) to limit the danger to the environment. Examples of vermin include [goats](/source/Goats) on the [Galápagos Islands](/source/Gal%C3%A1pagos_Islands), [rabbits in Australia](/source/Rabbits_in_Australia) or [cats](/source/Cats) on [Prince Edward Islands](/source/Prince_Edward_Islands). [Rats](/source/Rats), [mice](/source/Mice), and [cockroaches](/source/Cockroaches) are common urban and suburban vermin. The introduction of [hippopotamuses into Colombia](/source/Hippopotamuses_in_Colombia) by Pablo Escobar led to the hippos becoming an invasive species. The transplanted hippos thrived and flourished in Colombia due to the favorable living conditions and few predators leading to an invasively rapid increase of the hippo population. ## United Kingdom Under Tudor "vermin laws", many creatures were seen as competitors for the produce of the countryside and bounties were paid by the parish for their carcasses. The declaration of the [red kite](/source/Red_kite) as vermin led to its decline to the point of extirpation in the UK by the 20th century. However, the red kite has since been reintroduced to much of Scotland and the majority of England and Wales by the trans-location of breeding pairs from other parts of Europe.[6] ## See also - [Parasite](/source/Parasite) - [Pest](/source/Pest_(organism)) - [Weed](/source/Weed) ## References 1. ["Varmint definition"](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Varmint?qsrc=2888). Dictionary.com. Retrieved 5 January 2012. Origin: 1530–40; var. of vermin 1. ["Vermin"](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vermin). *Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary*. Britannica Publishing. Retrieved 13 December 2006. 1. "Vermint" cited in England in 1539, *Oxford English Dictionary*, 2nd ed 1. Phillipa Bellemore (November 2006). [*Tenants' Rights Manual: A Practical Guide to Renting in NSW*](https://books.google.com/books?id=KbTaHlWD-VoC&pg=PA66). Federation Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-86287-557-9. 1. Karen Raber (24 September 2013). [*Animal Bodies, Renaissance Culture*](https://books.google.com/books?id=QdwAAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA26). University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-0-8122-0859-7. 1. McCarthy, Michael (23 March 2007). ["Book Review: Silent Field, By Roger Lovegrove: songbirds versus shotguns"](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/silent-fields-by-roger-lovegrove-441401.html). *The Independent*. [Archived](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220811/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/silent-fields-by-roger-lovegrove-441401.html) 11 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 July 2009. ## External links - [The New Brunswick Ministry of Natural Resources](http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/services/services_renderer.4215.Varmint_Licence_%28groundhog,_coyote,_crow_and_cormorant_%29.html) - Smith, Robert (Rat-catcher) (1786) *[The universal directory for taking alive and destroying rats](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/74196): and all other kinds of four-footed and winged vermin, in a method hitherto unattempted: calculated for the use of the gentleman, the farmer, and the warrener*. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Vermin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.