I don’t know how exactly they do it, but somehow bugs find their way into our house. Maybe they come in when the door is open, or find another way in. I don’t know. But when I come across a bug, naturally I dispose of it. Hey, bugs are free to be happy and live their lives on the outside of my house. But once they find their way in, they’re in MY territory.
Anyways, the way I dispatch them is by scooping them up with a tissue, and flushing them down the toilet. I don’t “squish” them first. I’m just too squeamish to do that frankly. But I am an animal lover (like my mother and her sister–they taught me well:)). So I do kind of wonder, and yes worry, about what then happens to these poor creatures. They’re not dead. They are rolled in a tissue. And they have to make their way down the toilet, down the drain, to the city sewage department (we do not have a sump pump).
So what happens to them? And how to they ultimately die? I assume drowning may be the way. But if there isn’t enough liquid, I have this nightmarish scenario where they are eaten alive by sewer bacteria(!). Anyways, I honestly don’t know. So I need all of your help.
BTW, if any of you think I should just squish the hapless creatures, tell me so. I need the encouragement:). And I do submit this question to Cecil too. But I assume he won’t take it (he is such a busy man you know;)). So I will primarily look for my answer on these boards. And as always, thank you in advance to all who reply:)
There may be exceptions, but most (if not all) water insects need to come to the surface to breathe. Insects breathe through a series of tracheas (tubes) along their body. I would suspect a flushed insect would eventually exhaust whatever air was trapped in the tracheas when it was flushed and, unable to get new air, would drown. I don’t know if there’s any air in your typical modern sewer pipe but being wrapped in soaked toilet paper would seem to prohibit the insect from reaching the surface for air even if it was available.
Edit: Looking it up after the fact, I see that some larvae can absorb oxygen from water into their skin but those are specialized feats and won’t apply to your flushed earwigs and arachnids.
If it’s wrapped in tissue the wet tissue will drown it. If you 've gone to the effort of transporting it in tissue then you can release it outdoors. I let spiders go but will dispatch other bugs based on my desire not to have them live near my house.
Perhaps an entomologist will come along to tell you which bugs would survive.
In general, your sewer system has water running down pipes with fairly modest slopes (except for the first drop) so that it’s a contained internal river with a large section of air above the river of sewage. It’s not as if it’s a solid column of fluid and solids. Might have to make a run for it at the treatment plant end, but I can see bugs surviving on a floating turd no problem. There’s a reason roaches have been around even longer than lawyers and politicians.
depends on the bug. some are plant eaters and some are eaters of plant eaters. those are likely not to live long in the sewer.
depends on where you are philosophically. some people will use a clear plastic container and lid (deli food type) and capture and release bug. other squish maybe in tissue to avoid mess.
if you are where there is cold temperatures the bugs may seek a crevice in fall to over winter, though in a warm place like your house they may die because they don’t go dormant. others are seeking food and may have come in with food like meal moths, those you will have forever until you remove the foods they feed on.
If you flush bugs alive: Once in the house sewer pipe, they might have an interesting existence, because after the flush, the pipes are not filled with water. The pipe from house to street is 95% empty space and a trickle of water and sludge on the bottom… and the next flush will send them farther down towards the city sewer system with a surge of water and waste. The city sewer is similar, but on a grander scale.
By flushing, you are not submersing them in water. They are being sent to a sludge-laden pipe.
I think the fact that the questioner is concerned about the cruelty of such behavior gives the answer right there. In some sense cruelty is in the mind of the performer. Even if the insects themselves don’t feel pain as we do, what is the point of inflicting fatally crippling injuries to one and then to observe its thrashing, prolonged death?
Human surgery existed long before the advent of anesthesia, with standard procedures for doing things like tooth extraction, removing bullets from wounds, amputation of gangrenous limbs, Cesarean births, even certain kinds of eye surgery (the ancient Romans knew about removing cataracts!). There may have been, and in the course of history almost had to have been some surgeons who went into such practice who enjoyed the idea of inflicting such pain (even if only as necessary to save a patient’s life or health), yet who were still professional and competent to any observers. If you as the patient couldn’t tell, does that still matter?
I think any squeamishness I had about bugs went away when I kept a praying mantis as a pet for a while. We’d feed it flies. After capturing them, it would first bite off the wings and the legs. Then it would eat the fly from the back to the front; leaving only the head, which it didn’t eat. Thus, the fly was alive for most of the time it was being eaten. Needless to say, I didn’t keep it for very long. So… if that’s how they treat each other…
Anyway, I think squishing bugs is about as painless a death as could be imagined. Whether they experience pain or not, you can squish them in less time than it would take to receive a nerve signal telling them that they are in pain.
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So… if that’s how they treat each other.
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That’s how THEY treat each other. YOU are a being gifted with humanity. I think it is important to stay away from being cruel whether they do feel pain or not. For the sake of your humanity. Now if they did feel pain, that would double the mistake.
That’s how THEY treat each other. YOU are a being gifted with humanity. I think it is important to stay away from being cruel whether they do feel pain or not. For the sake of your humanity. Now if they did feel pain, that would double the mistake
That’s how THEY treat each other. YOU are a being gifted with humanity. I think it is important to stay away from being cruel whether they do feel pain or not. For the sake of your humanity. Now if they did feel pain, that would double the mistake
In general, insects can survive a good while in water. But the reduced surface tension from the surfactants (i.e., detergents) present in waste water facilitates the intrusion of water, thus drowning them.
To see this first hand, put out two bowls of water, one plain and one with some dish detergent mixed in. Drop in some bugs and watch.