Dr Michelle Dickinson: Would you let a company pay you to release 100 cockroaches into your home?

Would you let a company pay you $2k to release 100 cockroaches into your home to live with you for 30 days all in the name of science? Last week a company in North Carolina called the Pest Informer put out that exact request with the advert: https://www.thepestinformer.com/get-paid-to-live-with-cockroaches/ Participants must grant the company permission to release roughly 100 American cockroaches which are the largest of the house-infesting roaches into their homes and film over 30 days as they test out different cockroach-killing treatments. The goal of the study is to compare and contrast 10 different cockroach-killing techniques ranging from vinegar mixtures and bleach to boric acid and flour. Cockroaches are actually really hard to kill with many of them becoming resistant to poisons and also unaffected by roach sprays. While researchers have carried out tests in the lab, this study will look at real-world environments to see which of them works the best in the home, and whether or not cockroaches can become resistant to current commercial poisons and sprays. While the study hopes to eradicate all of the cockroaches within 30 days, the study will continue for 6 months to see if any of the cockroaches return, so anyone signing up has to be OK knowing that their house might be infested with cockroaches for many months. So, the question is – would you sign up?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.