So my friend just killed some woodlice. Do you keep your own morals to yourself when in other people's homes?

[lynnepot]

Just had a coffee at a friends house. We went into her conservatory and we noted there were three or four woodlice crawling around on the floor. She casually swept them up put them in an old ice cream tub outside, then went to the kitchen got some bleach and squirted the bleach over them. She did it so casually whilst telling me about how she dropped off her dd to the coach station last night for a school trip and without any hesitation of doing so in my presence. She didn't even talk about what she was doing. She just carried on chatting. I thought it was quite a mean thing to do really but it was her home and I didn't feel it was my place to comment on it. I walked home just now questioning myself whether we just have to accept other people have different moral thresholds and that we should just respect its her home and some people do things differently.

Maybe she knows from experience that if she puts them outside alive they just come back in. I don't see killing a woodlice as 'psychotic' frankly, and I think you'd have to be vegan/never swat a fly/etc before you have any 'moral' high ground here.

Are you sure she didn't tip them out and then bleached the tub because it HAD insects in it?

If not, massively cruel

I think I would have said something like "that's a bit overkill don't you think?" And made it clear that I was not impressed. At the very least, hopefully they won't do it in your presence again

This. I wouldn't go on somebig rant about it, but I would make an off-the-cuff comment, for sure.

I definitely would've said something and tried to pull it off as a bit jokey, like 'oh my gosh that's so cruel!' but in a non-confrontational way. I couldn't watch that!

It's unneseccarily cruel, there is no need to take them outside and then go back in to the house to get bleach. Either squish them or just tip them outside in the dirt.

Don't think I'd have said anything, suppose depends how close of a friend I suppose - my best friends I would probably say something, even in a jokey way (but I wouldn't mean it jokey iyswim)

what's wrong with killing vermine now? It sounds like a waste of bleach, but she might not even think it's cruel, just feels the need to get rid of what she thinks is germs.

I would get rid of any wasps, spiders, mosquitos, cockroaches, rats coming in my house, I can't see anything wrong with that. Of course, you try to kill them as quickly and painlessly as possible, but I can't see anything morally wrong in it.

Ow, that's a horrible thing to do to woodlice. I do squish them when I find them in the house, but bleach when they're already outdoors is just cruel.

Now I am starting to doubt whether pouring bleach on live woodlice would actually kill them? They spring back if you don't jump on them hard enough. They rarely survive falling down the back of the hottest radiator in the hall ... and now I fear I am starting to sound psychotic.

Re drowning squirrels I am not sure the "pest control" method would be less cruel? The local fox keeps our population in check thankfully.

I got the feeling it was sort of routine for her. Not the first time she done it probably. Not sure if all creepy crawlies get the same treatment or if its just a woodlice thing. She had a drain outside. Not sure why she didn't just pour them down the drain if she wanted rid. Then again would that have been any less cruel than bleach, or boiling water for that matter? She put the bugs in the tub outside and then went into the kitchen and returned with the bleach so I sort of knew what was coming but no I didn't say anything to stop it as it was her home.

I'd raise an eyebrow and say something like "Um, that's a lot of effort for a couple of woodlice, isn't it? Why not just chuck them in the garden?"

Not psychotic, but definitely not something I'm comfortable watching.

I would have said something. She sounds awful. What a messed up thing to do.

If I was friends with someone who had such a blatant and cruel disregard for anything's life then I'd have nothing more to do with them.
Put them outside yes but to cover them in bleach is the act of a cunt.

Woodlice are great outdoors as they consume dead wood and other organic material. I'd definitely have pulled her up on that. She just needs to sweep them into grass/flower/veg bed.

I would have said something. Wouldn't have really cared whose house I was in.

Not normal behaviour.

howabout I agree, we have quite a few massive spiders in our house that we're happily co-habiting with. I haven't put them outside because of the cold. I've even named the one that lives in the beam on the stairwell

Its a discussion on how best to kill insects and bleach is not one of them. Death by squish or drowning in the toilet. Put a spider behind a sofa where the food is limited rather than outside where there is a large source of food.

If I was an insect I would hate to be in any of your houses as I know I would not last the night.

Pouring bleach on them is fucking sick though. It's akin to pouring salt on slugs, which is a horrific death.

Omg that's horrible!

I absolutely would have said something and have done to people who squeal about little spiders (say at someone else's house) I just offer to relocate them outside. God that is just horrible.

ZacPosenatemyhamster good point what would she do with the final stuff

I have blanked friendships over such things.

Her Ds is probably learning from her so either he will grow up and do the same or worse or will go the other way and not kill anything.

I have blanked someone who I saw squish a bee when it buzzed into her window and landed on a windowsill.

I thought she had grabbed a tissue to waft it out the window but she just grabbed it with the tissue and threw it in the bin.

Whilst I have never had rats, mice or cockroaches I never kill even a fly.

I think the only thing I have killed is headlice

Seems unnecessary alright. Putting them outside would have done the trick. Killing them will make absolutely no difference to the amount that come in. Woodlice don't have the capacity to learn that they're near a nice house and would far prefer to be outside in the damp anyway. They dry out in houses.

Slugs carry disease because of the things that they eat.

I'm not sure I'd have said anything unless I knew her very well but I'd certainly think less of her from now on.

I'd find the bleach odd. I can't talk as I'm very arachnophobic and have to kill them, I couldn't do the glass thing.

There was a particular low point at work where a spider ran out and I gave an almighty scream and stamped on it. A colleague started to have a go at may saying I should have come to her to get her to remove it and heart still pounding replied "I'm arachnophobic and really don't care about your sensibilities right now"

Flies land on dog shit and then try to land on your food after. I hit flies for fun they will not make me ill.