A pest company wants to free 100 cockroaches in your home for $2,000

Short on cash? Need to make a few quick bucks? A pest control company in North Carolina is offering to pay $2,000 for people to allow it to release cockroaches into their homes and film the process of getting rid of them, according to a posting on their website. The firm is called The Pest Informer, and they claim to be very passionate about pest control.

Obsessed with pest control

"Here at ThePestInformer.com, we are obsessed with pest control. We have over 20 years in the industry working as pest control technicians and owning our own pest control companies, so we know a thing or two about getting rid of pests," says their website.

The company goes on to say that it is trialing more advanced pest control techniques and needs a space to test them. "As technology advances, we’re always looking for the newest and greatest ways to get rid of pests (cockroaches specifically)," says the firm's website.

They are therefore seeking seven households willing to release around 100 cockroaches into their environment so they can test out their new technique. What they do not specify, however, is what will happen if their new technique fails to work.

Will the cockroaches stay forever? What devastation will they cause? They do note that: "At the end of the study, if the cockroach infestation hasn’t been eliminated, we will use traditional cockroach treatment options at no cost to you." 

However, there is no guarantee that these traditional cockroach treatments will be more effective than the new ones. 

They also don't mention whether the technique is toxic to people. Will residents have to evacuate when the house is being treated? If so, the expenses they incur while moving out may not be worth the money they make. 

Family and pet safe

They do mention that "all tested cockroach treatments will be family and pet safe." But will they be safe enough for the family to keep living in the house?

The duration of the study is said to last 30 days, and residents must not try any additional cockroach treatments during that time. 

Cockroaches are very common bugs with over 4,000 different types of species throughout the world. In the U.S., American cockroaches are among the most common and are notoriously difficult to get rid of.

They possess a hard almost-unbreakable shell and are very resilient. They also tend to reproduce at incredible speeds meaning once you have killed a few, there are plenty more on their way.

A single American cockroach can produce an average of two egg cases a week, with each case containing about 16 eggs. In addition to being quite filthy, cockroaches are scary to look at, making the company's offer a no-go for us.

But who knows, there may be some bug fans out there who wouldn't mind sharing their homes for 30 days with the dirty insects. After all, these cockroaches from Apollo 11 did make a killing on an auction, and scientists have been studying them to inspire robots.