In Raleigh, North Carolina, The Pest Informer announced a bold offer: a $2,000 reward for anyone who agrees to host 100 cockroaches inside a home. The purpose stated is to evaluate a new pesticide in a real-world setting, a move that has sparked conversations about safety, ethics, and the way pest-control research is conducted. The program is presented as a practical test, aiming to determine how the product performs under typical household conditions and over a fixed period of time.
To participate, applicants must be over 21 years old and own the residence where the study will take place. If the homeowner rents, written permission from the landlord is required. The recruitment notes that only seven households will be selected for the trial, making the study highly selective and tightly controlled.
Participants who accept the terms will use the experimental product for a single month. If the product does not provide the expected results within that window, conventional, proven pest-control methods will be employed at the company’s expense to ensure the home is restored to its prior condition. This staged approach is described as a safeguard to protect participants while allowing researchers to observe the product’s performance in a real home environment.
A historical note mentions that a doctor previously advised on handling situations where cockroaches intrude into the ear, underscoring the long-standing concern with household pests and the importance of safe, effective responses.