Cockroach infestations tend to cost homeowners money, but one North Carolina company is taking the opposite approach, offering to pay people thousands of dollars to release roaches into their homes — all in the name of science.

The Pest Informer, a media and pest control company based in Raleigh, N.C., released an advertisement on its website last week seeking volunteers for a 30-day study of the efficacy of various DIY cockroach treatments.


Participants must grant the company permission to release roughly 100 American cockroaches — the largest of the house-infesting roaches — into their homes, test out a cockroach treatment and film the process. In exchange, they'll get $2,000.

The Pest Informer was looking for five to seven households across the continental U.S. to participate in the study. They received more than 2,500 applicants in less than a week, owner David Floyd told NPR over email.

"We've all [been] extremely overwhelmed with this study," he said. "We expected to get a handful of responses, but just overnight it sort of blew up and we're struggling to keep up with the submissions."

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/15/1105189281/cockroach-study-volunteers-pest-informer