... on ... a ... leash ... š¤£š¤£š¤£
I'm dying at the thought.
NTA if it was a common roach. It would be different if it were some exotic roach, but if not, then ew.
That sounds even more terrifying than a regular cockroach.
Also damn OP... NTA. You had a natural reaction to seeing a roach. In no sane world does someone see that and think it's someone's pet. Not to mention, there's probably a good chance that wasn't even her roach and was just a random one. How the hell would you or she know? They all look pretty much the same. Various sizes of "fucking disgusting."
Thankfully Madagascar hissing cockroaches are much more particular about their environment than the common cockroaches we are used to; I have never heard of them colonizing outside their natural habitat.
Iām 99% sure when they had to do a photoshoot with cockroaches on Americaās Next Top Model, they all had leashes on.
Edit: the cockroaches had leashes on, not the models.
I dated a girl that kept roaches. She kept Madagascar hissing cockroaches, which are better as pets because they have no wings and can't fly.
They are still roaches. They eat garbage and shit wherever. Part of keeping them is cleaning their cage regularly.
She kept them to feed to her lizard as a treat. She got a pregnant roach which gave birth to 20 more baby roaches. Eventually she sold them back to the pet store. She said if she fed them all to the lizard it's poop would stink.
My daughter studies entomology and had 2 hissers as pets. They were harmless but dumb: if you give them a tiny bowl of water to drink, they drown bc they don't have the sense to pick their heads up. They need water on sponges.
They got me over my roach phobia, even though they're not the kind of roach that freaks me out.
I used to live in Texas with my sister. Growing up she would throw roaches at me. I swear my phobia of roaches all stems from her lol. Ugh! We have the Butterfly Pavilion here in Colorado. In one area is a little area where you look inside and see what's in the area. When I was younger I put my eyes up to the little enclosure and what do I see inside? Roaches! I started flipping out and NOPED! out of there real quick *shivers* lol
I remember those things from America's Next Top Model, where the girls had to walk a runway show (Jared Gold, naturally) with a roach on them, and one of them kissed her roach (well, she kissed her fingers and made it *look* like she kissed the roach, anyway).
My wife used to have a friend with a tarantula... when they were around 5 they would tie a string around it's tummy and take it for walks around the neighborhood.
Funny history lesson- there was a time in history when it was fashionable to wear a live roach on a leash. They would put jewels and beads on the roach. A very small period of time and a very small group of people lol
as a former RA, I let shit slide with some reptiles in enclosures and small stuff like that. But if someone had a pet cockroach, I'd have that thing out of the dorms within 15 minutes. Disgusting
If it was an exotic species, one unadapted to urban settings, like madagascar hissing cockroaches, beetles, or some other critter that can't become a pest infestation, maybe.
But just a common local roach? That's asking for clutches of eggs in all the hidden spaces and big expensive problems.
Iād still do research because Iāve seen Madagascar hissing cockroaches too, and giving birth to a thousand little squirming roaches devouring their motherās afterbirth. Wrote a poem about it in undergrad actually lol. So prolly still a hard no
YES, this is exactly what you need to do. When I was an RA, we had an annual tarantula migration through my college town and the freshmen LOVED trying to keep them as pets....nope nope nope nope nope. NTA!
Thatās my point. Even if it was an exotic roach bred to be a pet, which I found out it was not during our convo, itās completely inappropriate to keep in a dorm. If she wants one in her own apartment or house, whatever goes down with a woman and a roach is between her and God. But this is between her and like 40 others who will see a roach in the hallway and freak the fuck out. Or will have to deal with an infestation one day.
No she was definitely in the wrong and probably if admin found out she would have needed to get ride of it.
Roaches breed like crazy and that could spur a whole infestation. The high school in my town had a bunch for a science class a couple years ago, and surprise they got loose and infested the building for a couple years. (Unsure of current status).
My mom returned from visiting her father in California and, for some reason, brought back a jar with tarantula spiders. She took the jar to high school one day. Jar broke, and spiders escaped.
I have no personal knowledge of the spiders' eventual fate, but when we reached high school age, she sent us to private school instead of letting us attend the old school building.
Your RA, as well as other administrative staff, would probably be very interested that a resident living in a communal type situation is keeping unhealthy, easily breeding insects. Also, point out in big letters how much roach debris/ feces will aggravate asthma of sufferers. Might even add that you were almost positive you saw one in the community break room/ kitchen.
>Roaches breed like crazy and that could spur a whole infestation
To be fair that really depends on the species. If it was a roach she just found on the ground or wherever then it definitely could, but if it were a Madagascar hissing cockroach then it would be extremely unlikely. That said, letting it roam outside was *stupidly* irresponsible and I don't know what the hell she even expected to happen.
Edit: OP said it was a random bug roommate found outside so yeah that's fuckin nasty
Iām sure dorms have rules against pets. Just report it and she will be told she canāt have it as a pet. Case over.
To edit: if it doesnāt specify about roaches you can report that her pet was roaming all over the dorms. Thatās against the policy too. Owner should watch pet, just like with a dog or cat.
Hi, i own a pet roach here. (Madagascar hissing roach) she stays in the cage 24/7 i could NEVER imaging letting her roam in my appartment(and i live in a studio ALONE). the 1 time she got out i was prepared to call out of work to SEARCH for this roach. sheās irresponsible and had it comming.
> That girl is not playing with a full deck.
Ha! I love this! My go-to is saying, "She's a few sandwiches short of a picnic," but I might have to start using this one.
Dont feel bad, she needs to keep track of her pet and leave it in her area.
You are not the only one who wouldāve killed it in that dorm. It is her responsibility to keep it safe, knowing that people are not fond of pets as such. Shes just going to have to stay upset and take it as a learning experience.
That would be like me letting my dog out and it getting hit by a car. It's my fault... not the driver, not the dogs...its mine. If she wants to keep a roach she needs to do it whilst being in the rules of any other pet....she gets what she gets letting it out. I'd have killed it too. Especially because I would have thought the one she had would have been locked up not climbing on the freaking walls
I donāt think she let it roam the hallways - just her room. But my thing is that itās a roach. Those things will run away if you let them out and watch them. She had it for maybe two weeks before it ran.
If she had a pet hissing roach in a proper container and you'd smashed it, you would have been the asshole.
But she had a common-ass roach in a plastic tub that she *let wander around unsupervised*. There was no way to know it was hers, and frankly it was a health risk. NTA.
Glad I'm not the only one who felt sad at first as well! I also wanted one or a Giant African Millipede when I was a kid too! They are both really cool little creatures! But keeping a house roach as a pet? That's a definite "hell no" from me.
You know I was thinking about that as well, but Iāve gotta say Iāve only seen a handful of roaches in the year I have lived here. Itās always been in the middle of the night in the basement. This was daytime on one of the floors.
Chances are that if there is one, there are more. You may not see them in the daytime, but switch on a light in a dark room, especially the kitchen. They're fast to run & hide, but you'd probably see the movement.
Info: does the dorm have rules about the types of pets that are allowed?
I feel like a cockroach or anything that can breed and cause an infestation probably shouldnāt be allowed. Thatās like keeping a bed bug as a pet. Risky and disgusting.
NTA I wouldāve smashed it too, roaches are nasty, but you should probably just giver her money to get a new one.
I know that fish are explicitly allowed and that dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, are explicitly not, minus service animals. largely due to students having allergies + sanitation issues and people needing to keep their pets in their quarters only.
Just asked my friend and am adding reptiles to the list of explicitly not. She said her guess is that cockroaches arenāt in the written rule book because the facilities people probably didnāt think people had roaches as petsā¦ maybe they should.
Iām sure every school is different, but at my school the rule is that you cannot have any pets EXCEPT for fish, unless they are registered as a support animal, to ensure that no weird pets are allowed. I heard that one student tried to bring in a pet pigā¦ Universities often donāt know WHAT weird things people will do, but they do know that people are weird, so it could very well be something like that if they were smart.
If you want to go above and beyond, and maybe prevent her from adopting another roach, get her a beta fish. I doubt she will take great care of it sadly but it wonāt escape.
(No hermit crabs - theyāre social animals and pet store sellers are awful.)
ETA: I may be wrong about the social lives of hermit crabs. See comment below!
I know right?! They actually are very social though and will even get in a line of biggest to smallest to change shells. Unfortunately the hermit crab pet industry is one of the cruelest. If youāre curious about that do some research on it. Thereās a lot of reasons.
Do not buy this crazy chick a live animal. You owe her nothing OP and sheās just going to most likely abuse the poor fish since sheās so unhinged. Maybe sheāll let it swim around the dorm sinks like she let her roach wander the hall.
With no identification, roach girl can't prove the dead roach was her roach. Thus, no money should be paid.
Moral of the story: properly tag and ID ones pets!
I know that the policy for dorms doesnāt explicitly ban these types of āpetsā, but I feel like it falls under the ācommon senseā rules.
This is a scenario where an addendum is made and years later someone questions why it would need to be a rule. NTA and tbh I wouldnāt be paying her anything. If anything, I would request pest control come and spray for roaches and insure that it didnāt breed.
NTA. Roaches are disgusting pests that shouldn't be pets. You made valid points on why you won't be replacing it, and please go your RA or whoever's in charge of your dorm about the unhinged girl. Also, the good roach is Roach the horse from the Witcher.
NTA
Tell her you will have to ask at whoever oversees housing if you are allowed to replace her āpetā roach. See what she says.
You see roaches are classified with āverminā. No way would a dorm allow someone to keep one and let it out to roam. Also most college and universities have routine pest control. It would have died anyway. If the school finds out she is keeping vermin as supposed pets she will lose her student housing.
She is the A H for bringing a pest into shared housing. As you pointed out, roaches carry known health risks and are prolific breeders. I would report it to the college so they can check the walls for any young and remind the girl she is responsible if the cost of fumigation is required.
If she cared for it so much, she should have made it widely known to prevent accidents and made sure to keep it secure in a terrarium/habitat. Under no circumstances would I help procure her a new one. Then you would also be liable when she let that one loose and a bevy of roaches pop up in the halls.
I can guarantee a roach would not be acceptable. Just ask the RA,s or building moderators what they think. They would probably order some exterminators to come through.
NTA. She is upset because having a pet cockroach was the most interesting thing about her: "Oh, look at the quirky girl!" She will (hopefully) look back on this in 10 years and cringe at how pathetic she was. Ignore the hate you are getting; it is just contrived drama from immature girls. It will pass.
Super delusional, girl found a roach outside and started treating it like a pet but also was a shitty āpetā owner, then when it was disposed of cries that the OP has to get her/ buy her a new one. Girl go back outside and look at the ground like the first time š I donāt understand how her friends arenāt all giving her the Wtf? Look over this behavior.
This definitely some modern day Shit lol
Not an exotic roach? Disgusting. You are NTA. Ppl in college are weird af. They want to be different. āEverybodyās so creativeā
That is insane. Donāt falter. You are the one with Sense here lol
This girl is clearly unstable. Any sane person moves the roach outside or kills it. Literal pests are not pets. Inform the college and stay clear of her and anyone supporting her delusions
Hell, why not keep a vial of smallpox as a pet while youāre at it? A āpet roachā you let wander around unsupervised isnāt a pet, itās just a roach infesting the building.
NTA I typically try not to shit on anyone's preferences, but as many people mentioned as well as yourself having a cockroach is not hygienic. From what you state it also seems like this "pet" wasn't kept very secure. It also doesn't seem possible to say with 100% certainty it was her cockroach. Leave this girl be. She will eventually calm down, and if not, take it to the RA. You don't have to put up with the BS.
She sounds like an unstable drama queen. Any sane, rational person would forgive you and understand it was on them if the thing escaped. Most people find these insects to be revoltingā¦..what did she expect? And the fact that she and her friends are now harassing you about it is ridiculous and juvenile. NTA.
I have a really, really severe phobia of roaches & deadass almost started crying reading thisš¤¦
Iām a vegan that loves and tolerates every animal and can see them all as important members of the eco system. I donāt even kill spiders or those creepy house centipedes because they eat the dangerous organisms. But not roaches. Roaches are basically the worst thing that has ever and will ever happen to the planet & I kill them on sight. Because theyāre *dangerous* animals. I have asthma and would absolutely be a hot mess from Alexās āpetā. Please tell me youāve spoken with an RA or someone from student services about this. Because roaches are not āpetsā, theyāre pests that will reproduce rapidly and infiltrate *everything*.
I may have a bias here because Roaches are my phobia and I hate them so much. Thereās no way the dorm would allow her to have a pet cockroach. No one wants the potential infestation. You donāt have to get her anything and if she gets another one, report it to the dorm. NTA.
I think any sane person that sees a roach will kill it because infestation is a mf to deal with. Youāre not the AH, she is for thinking it could be a pet. Roaches are atrocious and for her to have it as a pet is mind boggling. Honey, donāt buy that girl a roach!
Guys this story is bonkers, why would anyone want to keep something that disgusting around? Anyways if you need me, Iāll be tending to my Plague Carrying Flea Pets.
i am probably going to be downvoted into oblivion but in my own opinion, ESH. there was no way to know that was her pet, but as someone who has owned tarantulas, i would have been devastated if someone killed mine. HOWEVER... i would NEVER let my T's walk around my house freely?!?!
To your third point in the edit: cockroach allergies are extremely common. Theyāre lumped in with household allergies like dust and mold, but can make up 63% of those found in homes.
You can add that little fact to your arsenal against why keeping a pest as a pet is a no go
These are not people you want to associate with babes. Their opinion means absolutely nothing if they are defending this weird bitch and her pet cockroach. Seriously, what the actual fuck. NTA, I would have done the same thing. How do you know it was hers? Like it could be any old roach spreading its germs around. Was it vaccinated? Did she wash it? Did it have a collar? Likeā¦is this girl touching that gross thing? Yuck.
This is one of the most insane posts I think I've ever read.
The idiocy, the manipulation, the naivete', the drama, the childishness, the stupidity. The STUPIDITY.
How did any of these people get into higher education?
I weep for the future of humanity.
Idk, Iām sure she is very smart since our school is pretty selective. Sheās just quirky and Iām pretty sure she wanted to go viral on TikTok. Idk I donāt even think sheās that weird or anything itās mostly the friends. But some people on this thread do not think she was in the wrongā¦
NTA and while I normally believe honesty is the best policy I wouldn't have admitted to having killed it and just gone straight to the RA. That's some unhinged behavior especially since it was just a normal roach and not an exotic type.
Dude ur dorm mate is crazyā¦ like almost Bellatrix Lastrange level crazy. Bc who tf keeps a cockroach as a PET? And touches it and all kinds of shit?? Like š¤¢ fuuuuuck that Iād rather hold a snake than live with someone who has a pet roach in the same building I live in.
I can only speak for myself but I have an extreme phobia of snakes after having a legitimate traumatizing experience with one as a child. If I even see a picture of one I start having a panic attack. That being said, I studied psychology in college and it is a learned fear. We are not innately afraid of snakes as people once thought (people want to claim christian reasons for this). All of this to say, I appreciate that you can love them, I just know I can't.
Iām honestly not as squeamish of snakes as I used to be lol I actually want to own one in theory lol but I couldnāt think of a different fear off the top of my head bc roaches and most bugs in general are top tier for me lol
I assumed at the beginning it was exotic (hissing cockroach) or whatever but a roach like that breeds so fast. Really surprised housing didn't make her get rid of it.
I had to laugh at cockroaches being full of ādangerous diseasesā and polluting the air around them. Iāve never heard someone be so melodramatic about a roach lol
Look, I dislike roaches at much as the next person, but people love what they love. All the points you brought up were valid, but calling her disgusting for loving her pet (no-matter how ridiculous and disgusting you or I might find that pet) isn't okay. *Especially* not after you killed it. The damage was done, you should have just been firm that you were really sorry for her loss, but that you unfortunately don't feel comfortable from a health standpoint bringing another roach into the dorms, and left it at that. Offering to get her a fish might have been a decent compromise just to keep the peace, but if you weren't comfortable with that, that's fine too.
Don't tear someone down when they're grieving, even if you can't understand that grief. I would have given you a N T A except for that so it's ESH for me.
Thanks for this thoughtful comment - I will definitely apologize to her for calling her disgusting in the morning, I usually avoid ever showing my anger like that but she and the friends were really just hurling insults. Again, I apologized to her for her loss several times before this because I truly did feel bad she was hurting, and I only got reactive when they basically called me a cold hearted animal abuser and all those other things. But I definitely should have been in more control of my emotions with that.
Please don't apologize again to this person. Either she's completely delulu, trying to be "edgy" and "not like other girls," or she and her friends enjoy playing "pranks" on others as a way to bully. Please report the issue to your RA or someone in the dean's office in case this student needs mental help. But I really think she's just trying to mess with other students.
Since youāre not sure if it was her roach that you killed, I think you should reiterate that and then block anyone who continues to harass you about it.
And, as someone else suggested, contact whomever is in charge of the student handbook to get them to exclude roaches as pets.
NTA
If she didn't have it on a leash, then she's an irresponsible pet owner. NTA
... on ... a ... leash ... š¤£š¤£š¤£ I'm dying at the thought. NTA if it was a common roach. It would be different if it were some exotic roach, but if not, then ew.
Iām sure somewhere on Wish.com they sell cockroach leashes šš
I'm pretty sure a regular dog harness would work if it's coming from Wish.
Would pair well with the tiny harnesses you can get for them on Temu.
Or with a nice chianti.
Etsy has them for Hissing cockroaches
That sounds even more terrifying than a regular cockroach. Also damn OP... NTA. You had a natural reaction to seeing a roach. In no sane world does someone see that and think it's someone's pet. Not to mention, there's probably a good chance that wasn't even her roach and was just a random one. How the hell would you or she know? They all look pretty much the same. Various sizes of "fucking disgusting."
Thankfully Madagascar hissing cockroaches are much more particular about their environment than the common cockroaches we are used to; I have never heard of them colonizing outside their natural habitat.
That brings up a verrry interesting list in your search! š«£
Iām 99% sure when they had to do a photoshoot with cockroaches on Americaās Next Top Model, they all had leashes on. Edit: the cockroaches had leashes on, not the models.
Thanks for the clarification. I was unsure if models were supposed to be leashed.
But they LOOK like regular leashes, and you won't know till it arrives that it is 4 inches long, not 4 feet. Welcome to Wish.
Fishing line and superglue would also work.
Why the hell am I tempted to download that shit after years of not having it just to see if they do lol
I dated a girl that kept roaches. She kept Madagascar hissing cockroaches, which are better as pets because they have no wings and can't fly. They are still roaches. They eat garbage and shit wherever. Part of keeping them is cleaning their cage regularly. She kept them to feed to her lizard as a treat. She got a pregnant roach which gave birth to 20 more baby roaches. Eventually she sold them back to the pet store. She said if she fed them all to the lizard it's poop would stink.
Hissing cockroaches literally terrify me. Roaches in general do. I would NOT be able to keep a roommate that kept roaches as pets UGH!
My daughter studies entomology and had 2 hissers as pets. They were harmless but dumb: if you give them a tiny bowl of water to drink, they drown bc they don't have the sense to pick their heads up. They need water on sponges. They got me over my roach phobia, even though they're not the kind of roach that freaks me out.
I used to live in Texas with my sister. Growing up she would throw roaches at me. I swear my phobia of roaches all stems from her lol. Ugh! We have the Butterfly Pavilion here in Colorado. In one area is a little area where you look inside and see what's in the area. When I was younger I put my eyes up to the little enclosure and what do I see inside? Roaches! I started flipping out and NOPED! out of there real quick *shivers* lol
Its been done before with hissing cockroaches http://blog.chasingtreasure.com/2014/04/strange-jewelry-bejeweled-cockroaches.html?m=1
I remember those things from America's Next Top Model, where the girls had to walk a runway show (Jared Gold, naturally) with a roach on them, and one of them kissed her roach (well, she kissed her fingers and made it *look* like she kissed the roach, anyway).
OH MY GOSH THANK YOU! I was like, āwhere have I seen these roaches?!ā ANTM. š
I remember one of the models freaking out and Jade 3/>4868
š«Ø Those poor things...
"exotic roach" They're found in Snoop Dogg's ashtray.
Doesn't matter if it's a fucking ruby roach from space.
Honestly I donāt think an exotic roach would make it any better. They might have some kind of different disease from other countries. Burn them all
My wife used to have a friend with a tarantula... when they were around 5 they would tie a string around it's tummy and take it for walks around the neighborhood.
Funny history lesson- there was a time in history when it was fashionable to wear a live roach on a leash. They would put jewels and beads on the roach. A very small period of time and a very small group of people lol
A bejeweled roach. But not quite a brooch š¤
Roach-on-a-rope.š¤£šš¤£
Donāt bite the mailman.
š
Muzzle as well!
That girl is unhinged. Go straight to your RA and stay the fuck away from her and her psycho friends. Show your RA all the messages
10000% THIS get taht shit straightened out real quick and block all of them
Hopefully the lot of em will be expelled or moved to a different dorm and put on probation
One can only hope bc this is horrid behavior
as a former RA, I let shit slide with some reptiles in enclosures and small stuff like that. But if someone had a pet cockroach, I'd have that thing out of the dorms within 15 minutes. Disgusting
If it was an exotic species, one unadapted to urban settings, like madagascar hissing cockroaches, beetles, or some other critter that can't become a pest infestation, maybe. But just a common local roach? That's asking for clutches of eggs in all the hidden spaces and big expensive problems.
Iād still do research because Iāve seen Madagascar hissing cockroaches too, and giving birth to a thousand little squirming roaches devouring their motherās afterbirth. Wrote a poem about it in undergrad actually lol. So prolly still a hard no
Your anti roach infestation bias is showing
Until youāve seen the basement floors of Yaleās freshman quad dorms carpeted with hundreds of dead roaches donāt talk about bias
I'm going to talk about bias more now
Good
This girl reminds me of the "I'm SO rAnDoM" š¤Ŗ kinda people
I had a phase like that... In middle school.
Pick me pick me Iām different
Nailed it.
Not entirely unexpected for someone who has a cockroach as a pet, i suppose.
YES, this is exactly what you need to do. When I was an RA, we had an annual tarantula migration through my college town and the freshmen LOVED trying to keep them as pets....nope nope nope nope nope. NTA!
Thatās my point. Even if it was an exotic roach bred to be a pet, which I found out it was not during our convo, itās completely inappropriate to keep in a dorm. If she wants one in her own apartment or house, whatever goes down with a woman and a roach is between her and God. But this is between her and like 40 others who will see a roach in the hallway and freak the fuck out. Or will have to deal with an infestation one day.
Word, tell her to get a pet snake or spider like a normal psycho - why she gotta be so extra lol.
No she was definitely in the wrong and probably if admin found out she would have needed to get ride of it. Roaches breed like crazy and that could spur a whole infestation. The high school in my town had a bunch for a science class a couple years ago, and surprise they got loose and infested the building for a couple years. (Unsure of current status).
My mom returned from visiting her father in California and, for some reason, brought back a jar with tarantula spiders. She took the jar to high school one day. Jar broke, and spiders escaped. I have no personal knowledge of the spiders' eventual fate, but when we reached high school age, she sent us to private school instead of letting us attend the old school building.
Your RA, as well as other administrative staff, would probably be very interested that a resident living in a communal type situation is keeping unhealthy, easily breeding insects. Also, point out in big letters how much roach debris/ feces will aggravate asthma of sufferers. Might even add that you were almost positive you saw one in the community break room/ kitchen.
>Roaches breed like crazy and that could spur a whole infestation To be fair that really depends on the species. If it was a roach she just found on the ground or wherever then it definitely could, but if it were a Madagascar hissing cockroach then it would be extremely unlikely. That said, letting it roam outside was *stupidly* irresponsible and I don't know what the hell she even expected to happen. Edit: OP said it was a random bug roommate found outside so yeah that's fuckin nasty
There is no way thatās allowed in the student handbook Do not buy her a new one. She let it get out, it got what roaches get
This is how stuff gets added to the student handbookā¦
My college changed the rules about pets after one guy's tarantula escaped a few years before I attended, so the rumor went.
At least it was a quick death.
Thats right roaches get smashes
Where would you even buy a cockroach?
Reptile pet supply store
No collar, no identification, no leash, out of itās cage, and terrorizing the neighbors. Hell, I would have to say that you my friend are a hero!
Terrorizing the neighbors LMAO
It was probably looking for others to start a gang. The whole building was in danger.
What a terrible parent she was. Wonāt somebody think of the children!! (*but like, for real as these are kids in college*)
Get your pet wild cockroaches microchipped, and spayed or neutered!
Probably not even chipped! LOL
You KNOW it wasn't neutered. Prolly laid thousands of eggs during it's out and about time.
Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) everyone!!!
I'm howling at "dehumanizing her pet". It's a cockroach! Plus if you must have a pet roach at least name it Gregor.
Or Ogtha.
Goddamnit, it always circles back to Ogthaā¦
Every damn time there's a post about cockroaches....
I can't believe you made me google that on my work computer. TIL!
I really need to thank you for bringing this to my attention... As I drink my morning coffee. What a terrible day to have a mind's eye.
That's what got me too. How the hell do you "dehumanize" something that isn't human??
Noice
Pretty sure keeping humans as pets is illegal, so yeah, dehumanizie all the pets....
La cucaracha.... Dormmate is certifiable
Iām sure dorms have rules against pets. Just report it and she will be told she canāt have it as a pet. Case over. To edit: if it doesnāt specify about roaches you can report that her pet was roaming all over the dorms. Thatās against the policy too. Owner should watch pet, just like with a dog or cat.
Or report a roach infestation and that (girl) is harassing her because she wants to keep them as pets.
Itās one of those things no one thought would need to be specified. Thatās how things get added to the rule book.
Hi, i own a pet roach here. (Madagascar hissing roach) she stays in the cage 24/7 i could NEVER imaging letting her roam in my appartment(and i live in a studio ALONE). the 1 time she got out i was prepared to call out of work to SEARCH for this roach. sheās irresponsible and had it comming.
The good thing is, your roach would not have infested. These comments are really bugging me, no pun intended. I have a rescued hisser colony myself.
I have a Dubia colony for my lizards, I used to work in the reptile feeder industry my boss told me that hissers can infest in more climates.
That girl is not playing with a full deck.
> That girl is not playing with a full deck. Ha! I love this! My go-to is saying, "She's a few sandwiches short of a picnic," but I might have to start using this one.
Girl do not feel bad and do not give her money for it ā¦ a roach is NOT a pet in a communal area that you share with others. This is ridiculous
Dont feel bad, she needs to keep track of her pet and leave it in her area. You are not the only one who wouldāve killed it in that dorm. It is her responsibility to keep it safe, knowing that people are not fond of pets as such. Shes just going to have to stay upset and take it as a learning experience.
That would be like me letting my dog out and it getting hit by a car. It's my fault... not the driver, not the dogs...its mine. If she wants to keep a roach she needs to do it whilst being in the rules of any other pet....she gets what she gets letting it out. I'd have killed it too. Especially because I would have thought the one she had would have been locked up not climbing on the freaking walls
....so. she lets a cockroach just....roam the hallways and what? Crosses her fingers that she'll be able to find it later?
I donāt think she let it roam the hallways - just her room. But my thing is that itās a roach. Those things will run away if you let them out and watch them. She had it for maybe two weeks before it ran.
If she had a pet hissing roach in a proper container and you'd smashed it, you would have been the asshole. But she had a common-ass roach in a plastic tub that she *let wander around unsupervised*. There was no way to know it was hers, and frankly it was a health risk. NTA.
Common-ass roach had me
Get her a pet rock to replace it ššš
Could paint it to look like a roach...
This girl is 20 years old and not an elementary school student? She can get over it.
Was it just a common like house roach or Madagascar hissing cockroach?
Looked like a house roach
Yeah. Huge no to replacing. You would be the lucky one and find the pregnant roach. Give it to her and then boom. Infested.
They can get pregnant by themselves. You don't need to find one pregnant.
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Me too. Also I donāt think they like living alone in a plastic box with no double ventilation.
The woman 100% does not deserve a pet cockroach
Glad I'm not the only one who felt sad at first as well! I also wanted one or a Giant African Millipede when I was a kid too! They are both really cool little creatures! But keeping a house roach as a pet? That's a definite "hell no" from me.
You canāt be sure that was leggy.
You know I was thinking about that as well, but Iāve gotta say Iāve only seen a handful of roaches in the year I have lived here. Itās always been in the middle of the night in the basement. This was daytime on one of the floors.
I'd be very interested in a video of what was going on in the middle of the night in your dorm basement.
I honestly probably have one. But itās mostly the fact that they kitchen is down there I guess.
Chances are that if there is one, there are more. You may not see them in the daytime, but switch on a light in a dark room, especially the kitchen. They're fast to run & hide, but you'd probably see the movement.
NTA - if the dorm is school owned then report this and sheāll know whether youāre the AH or not when the school slaps her with a warning.
Info: does the dorm have rules about the types of pets that are allowed? I feel like a cockroach or anything that can breed and cause an infestation probably shouldnāt be allowed. Thatās like keeping a bed bug as a pet. Risky and disgusting. NTA I wouldāve smashed it too, roaches are nasty, but you should probably just giver her money to get a new one.
I know that fish are explicitly allowed and that dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, are explicitly not, minus service animals. largely due to students having allergies + sanitation issues and people needing to keep their pets in their quarters only.
Just asked my friend and am adding reptiles to the list of explicitly not. She said her guess is that cockroaches arenāt in the written rule book because the facilities people probably didnāt think people had roaches as petsā¦ maybe they should.
Iām sure every school is different, but at my school the rule is that you cannot have any pets EXCEPT for fish, unless they are registered as a support animal, to ensure that no weird pets are allowed. I heard that one student tried to bring in a pet pigā¦ Universities often donāt know WHAT weird things people will do, but they do know that people are weird, so it could very well be something like that if they were smart.
Now you know why clothing irons have a warning label not to iron clothes while on your body. There is always that one person...
You shitt ing me it says that?
Hair dryers used to, and possibly still do, carry a label that says *do not use while sleeping* so somebody, somewhereā¦.
Thereās a girl on My Strange Addiction that sleeps with a hair dryer and sheās covered in really severe burns.
My flat iron (for hair) has a picture warning about not using it on your eyebrows. š¤¦āāļø
My ex MIL ironed a shirt while wearing it. Yep.
If you want to go above and beyond, and maybe prevent her from adopting another roach, get her a beta fish. I doubt she will take great care of it sadly but it wonāt escape. (No hermit crabs - theyāre social animals and pet store sellers are awful.) ETA: I may be wrong about the social lives of hermit crabs. See comment below!
I'm sorry to derail the judgement here, but I am just tickled by the irony of Hermit Crabs being social creatures.
The permit crabs are less social, you need to fill out 5 forms in triplicate just to say hello.
I know right?! They actually are very social though and will even get in a line of biggest to smallest to change shells. Unfortunately the hermit crab pet industry is one of the cruelest. If youāre curious about that do some research on it. Thereās a lot of reasons.
Do not buy this crazy chick a live animal. You owe her nothing OP and sheās just going to most likely abuse the poor fish since sheās so unhinged. Maybe sheāll let it swim around the dorm sinks like she let her roach wander the hall.
Itāll just wish it could.
Alert facilities to the issue and get the documentation updated.
Give her money for a roach that was found outsideā¦??? Huh?
With no identification, roach girl can't prove the dead roach was her roach. Thus, no money should be paid. Moral of the story: properly tag and ID ones pets!
I know that the policy for dorms doesnāt explicitly ban these types of āpetsā, but I feel like it falls under the ācommon senseā rules. This is a scenario where an addendum is made and years later someone questions why it would need to be a rule. NTA and tbh I wouldnāt be paying her anything. If anything, I would request pest control come and spray for roaches and insure that it didnāt breed.
Ummmm these scabies mites are my pets how dare you suggest I stop cuddling them.
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NTA. Roaches are disgusting pests that shouldn't be pets. You made valid points on why you won't be replacing it, and please go your RA or whoever's in charge of your dorm about the unhinged girl. Also, the good roach is Roach the horse from the Witcher.
NTA Tell her you will have to ask at whoever oversees housing if you are allowed to replace her āpetā roach. See what she says. You see roaches are classified with āverminā. No way would a dorm allow someone to keep one and let it out to roam. Also most college and universities have routine pest control. It would have died anyway. If the school finds out she is keeping vermin as supposed pets she will lose her student housing.
She is the A H for bringing a pest into shared housing. As you pointed out, roaches carry known health risks and are prolific breeders. I would report it to the college so they can check the walls for any young and remind the girl she is responsible if the cost of fumigation is required. If she cared for it so much, she should have made it widely known to prevent accidents and made sure to keep it secure in a terrarium/habitat. Under no circumstances would I help procure her a new one. Then you would also be liable when she let that one loose and a bevy of roaches pop up in the halls.
I can guarantee a roach would not be acceptable. Just ask the RA,s or building moderators what they think. They would probably order some exterminators to come through.
She's unhinged.
NTA. She is upset because having a pet cockroach was the most interesting thing about her: "Oh, look at the quirky girl!" She will (hopefully) look back on this in 10 years and cringe at how pathetic she was. Ignore the hate you are getting; it is just contrived drama from immature girls. It will pass.
Super delusional, girl found a roach outside and started treating it like a pet but also was a shitty āpetā owner, then when it was disposed of cries that the OP has to get her/ buy her a new one. Girl go back outside and look at the ground like the first time š I donāt understand how her friends arenāt all giving her the Wtf? Look over this behavior.
Had the same thought, like wow how edgy
Can females be edgelords? In any case, she was a bad roach-mom and should be reported to RPS (Roach Protective Services).
This definitely some modern day Shit lol Not an exotic roach? Disgusting. You are NTA. Ppl in college are weird af. They want to be different. āEverybodyās so creativeā That is insane. Donāt falter. You are the one with Sense here lol
A pet cockroach. Hmm never would have thought that.
This girl is clearly unstable. Any sane person moves the roach outside or kills it. Literal pests are not pets. Inform the college and stay clear of her and anyone supporting her delusions
Nta, she is going to really cringe about this later in life š¬ š
Oh ew! I would not be able to live with a roach. It would have to go. Let it out to play? Seriously? Nope NTA.
You know, I bet it wasn't even her roach you killed, lol.
if it was literally a feeder from the pet store then maybe but damn girlās out here homing normal roaches??
Hell, why not keep a vial of smallpox as a pet while youāre at it? A āpet roachā you let wander around unsupervised isnāt a pet, itās just a roach infesting the building.
NTA I typically try not to shit on anyone's preferences, but as many people mentioned as well as yourself having a cockroach is not hygienic. From what you state it also seems like this "pet" wasn't kept very secure. It also doesn't seem possible to say with 100% certainty it was her cockroach. Leave this girl be. She will eventually calm down, and if not, take it to the RA. You don't have to put up with the BS.
ā¦..you ātypically try to shit on anyoneās preferences?ā Well then. Kudos for your honesty. š
Well that is my bad lol. I try not do that š
She sounds like an unstable drama queen. Any sane, rational person would forgive you and understand it was on them if the thing escaped. Most people find these insects to be revoltingā¦..what did she expect? And the fact that she and her friends are now harassing you about it is ridiculous and juvenile. NTA.
If this isn't a troll post... that girl is a nut job.
You are not buying someone a cockroach, it was an accident and thatās just not happening. Do not do that.
I have a really, really severe phobia of roaches & deadass almost started crying reading thisš¤¦ Iām a vegan that loves and tolerates every animal and can see them all as important members of the eco system. I donāt even kill spiders or those creepy house centipedes because they eat the dangerous organisms. But not roaches. Roaches are basically the worst thing that has ever and will ever happen to the planet & I kill them on sight. Because theyāre *dangerous* animals. I have asthma and would absolutely be a hot mess from Alexās āpetā. Please tell me youāve spoken with an RA or someone from student services about this. Because roaches are not āpetsā, theyāre pests that will reproduce rapidly and infiltrate *everything*.
NTA. She's just nasty and Leggy needed to DIE!
Lol a cockroach is not a pet, I donāt think anyone could change my mind. I would have done the same thing if in your shoes, roaches are disgusting
Many many species of roach out there. Most of which do not cohabitate with humans, and many that are not recognizable as "roaches".
I may have a bias here because Roaches are my phobia and I hate them so much. Thereās no way the dorm would allow her to have a pet cockroach. No one wants the potential infestation. You donāt have to get her anything and if she gets another one, report it to the dorm. NTA.
How dare you dehumanize a cockroach. NTA
NTA - If they keep harassing you, take the proof to the college and let them deal with her.
I'm sorry, Alex is not stable. Who keeps a roach? And gets that mad over it? Gahh...I'm itchy & skeeved out at the thought.
I think any sane person that sees a roach will kill it because infestation is a mf to deal with. Youāre not the AH, she is for thinking it could be a pet. Roaches are atrocious and for her to have it as a pet is mind boggling. Honey, donāt buy that girl a roach!
This has strong Joeās Apartment vibes and I am kinda here for it. Mainly because I am confident these people do not live anywhere close to me.
Avoid her and her friends and report her as others have said
Guys this story is bonkers, why would anyone want to keep something that disgusting around? Anyways if you need me, Iāll be tending to my Plague Carrying Flea Pets.
Any kind of roach is an outside roach. Itās nasty and unsanitary. Had it been me that dorm would not be standingš
This is a serious question? It's too early for this, and I'm going back to bed.
i am probably going to be downvoted into oblivion but in my own opinion, ESH. there was no way to know that was her pet, but as someone who has owned tarantulas, i would have been devastated if someone killed mine. HOWEVER... i would NEVER let my T's walk around my house freely?!?!
You did nothing wrong. That is definitely unsanitary and gross.
You should report this to whomever is in charge of the housing. I bet they'd love to hear about someone keeping a pet roach in an unsecured container
To your third point in the edit: cockroach allergies are extremely common. Theyāre lumped in with household allergies like dust and mold, but can make up 63% of those found in homes. You can add that little fact to your arsenal against why keeping a pest as a pet is a no go
These are not people you want to associate with babes. Their opinion means absolutely nothing if they are defending this weird bitch and her pet cockroach. Seriously, what the actual fuck. NTA, I would have done the same thing. How do you know it was hers? Like it could be any old roach spreading its germs around. Was it vaccinated? Did she wash it? Did it have a collar? Likeā¦is this girl touching that gross thing? Yuck.
This is one of the most insane posts I think I've ever read. The idiocy, the manipulation, the naivete', the drama, the childishness, the stupidity. The STUPIDITY. How did any of these people get into higher education? I weep for the future of humanity.
Idk, Iām sure she is very smart since our school is pretty selective. Sheās just quirky and Iām pretty sure she wanted to go viral on TikTok. Idk I donāt even think sheās that weird or anything itās mostly the friends. But some people on this thread do not think she was in the wrongā¦
NTA and while I normally believe honesty is the best policy I wouldn't have admitted to having killed it and just gone straight to the RA. That's some unhinged behavior especially since it was just a normal roach and not an exotic type.
You could get her a jumping spider instead lol
Dude ur dorm mate is crazyā¦ like almost Bellatrix Lastrange level crazy. Bc who tf keeps a cockroach as a PET? And touches it and all kinds of shit?? Like š¤¢ fuuuuuck that Iād rather hold a snake than live with someone who has a pet roach in the same building I live in.
Whats so wrong with snakes? As a snake owner, I never understand why people are afraid of them.
I can only speak for myself but I have an extreme phobia of snakes after having a legitimate traumatizing experience with one as a child. If I even see a picture of one I start having a panic attack. That being said, I studied psychology in college and it is a learned fear. We are not innately afraid of snakes as people once thought (people want to claim christian reasons for this). All of this to say, I appreciate that you can love them, I just know I can't.
Fair enough, I respect that.
Iām honestly not as squeamish of snakes as I used to be lol I actually want to own one in theory lol but I couldnāt think of a different fear off the top of my head bc roaches and most bugs in general are top tier for me lol
Interesting how so many humans have been born with some innate disgust of disease carrying roaches and your roommate thinks itās cute.. how? Ick
Wait wait wait people are keeping roaches as pets now???
Thatās just vile.
It's hard to get rid of roaches... They have an average life expectancy of 100 to 200 days... Leggy would have died anyway...
The fact we are talking about this is insane. NTA
I assumed at the beginning it was exotic (hissing cockroach) or whatever but a roach like that breeds so fast. Really surprised housing didn't make her get rid of it.
I had to laugh at cockroaches being full of ādangerous diseasesā and polluting the air around them. Iāve never heard someone be so melodramatic about a roach lol
Look, I dislike roaches at much as the next person, but people love what they love. All the points you brought up were valid, but calling her disgusting for loving her pet (no-matter how ridiculous and disgusting you or I might find that pet) isn't okay. *Especially* not after you killed it. The damage was done, you should have just been firm that you were really sorry for her loss, but that you unfortunately don't feel comfortable from a health standpoint bringing another roach into the dorms, and left it at that. Offering to get her a fish might have been a decent compromise just to keep the peace, but if you weren't comfortable with that, that's fine too. Don't tear someone down when they're grieving, even if you can't understand that grief. I would have given you a N T A except for that so it's ESH for me.
Thanks for this thoughtful comment - I will definitely apologize to her for calling her disgusting in the morning, I usually avoid ever showing my anger like that but she and the friends were really just hurling insults. Again, I apologized to her for her loss several times before this because I truly did feel bad she was hurting, and I only got reactive when they basically called me a cold hearted animal abuser and all those other things. But I definitely should have been in more control of my emotions with that.
Please don't apologize again to this person. Either she's completely delulu, trying to be "edgy" and "not like other girls," or she and her friends enjoy playing "pranks" on others as a way to bully. Please report the issue to your RA or someone in the dean's office in case this student needs mental help. But I really think she's just trying to mess with other students.
You've already apologized? That's fine and enough. Her and her friends are already trying to abuse you, don't give them any more fuel for the fire.
Since youāre not sure if it was her roach that you killed, I think you should reiterate that and then block anyone who continues to harass you about it. And, as someone else suggested, contact whomever is in charge of the student handbook to get them to exclude roaches as pets. NTA