Million
Dollar Roach Contest
If you find one
of the bar-coded cockroaches, contact Halt Pest Control
at 524-8548 by 5 pm June 30.
You can find
out more about the
contest at www.milliondollarroach.com.
A cockroach can
live about a week without its head before it dies of thirst.
Cockroaches are
repelled by catnip.
It has to be the most surreal publicity stunt we've seen
in a long time.
On Monday, May 1, while Portland police were busy rounding
up scurrying protesters, a Beaverton pest-control company
released an undisclosed number of live cockroaches from
secret locations around the Portland area, as part of a
contest taking place in 14 cities around the nation.
These are no ordinary Blattaria. For starters, they
have special barcodes affixed to their abdomens. More important,
one of the roaches--if found--will net its lucky finder
a million dollars.
In addition, one roach in each city will win its finder
a new VW bug. But wait, there's more. The contest's organizers
are also offering a prize of $1,000 for the biggest roach
turned in, with or without a
barcode. And finally, finders of the other bar-coded cockroaches
will receive $100 or a free year's worth of pest-control
services.
We contacted the contest's local sponsor, Robert McMaster
of Halt Pest Control in Beaverton, who filled us in on some
of the details and taught us some roach trivia:
Where should people look?
In general, look in places that have warmth, moisture and
harborage. So a lot of times, those dark basements in those
old buildings--especially downtown--will have roaches. But
there are roaches almost everywhere you look.
How many roaches did you release?
I really can't tell you, but it's between 25 and 50.
How do we know you really released
the roaches?
That's a good question. This is an official contest. This
is not some fly-by-night thing. We have to take polygraph
tests to verify we let the roaches go. I personally watched
them scamper away. And I've got a witness.
What's the largest roach you've ever seen?
Well, in our office we have a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
I found in the bottom of a building in downtown Portland.
It's 3 inches long. If you touch it, it hisses. We call
him Matty. He's been with us for two years now. The people
that found him tried to step on him and wounded him but
we've nursed him back to health. So he's very happy. In
fact, I think he's happy about this roach contest. Some
of his buddies are coming in. He loves it.
How did you put
the barcodes on the
cockroaches?
It's really hard to do. I never want to do that again!
You have to cool the roaches down to slow them down. And
then we have a special glue that won't kill them. These
were the most pampered roaches that ever lived. And then
we put the barcode on them, which was really hard. And then
we warmed them gradually, gave 'em a little moisture, and
made sure they were alive and kicking.
Should people kill the roach or keep it alive?
Either way. Bring 'em in dead or alive.
How many cockroaches are there
in the Portland area?
That's what everyone keeps asking me. There are thousands.
Millions. They're everywhere.
Isn't it pretty unlikely that I would find 25 to 50
roaches out of millions in the Portland area?
Ahh, but roaches are only in certain areas. So that narrows
down your search considerably.
Hmm...
Yeah. Go to the basement of Willamette Week. Look
down there. Look in those corners. Especially around pipes!
And bring us your roach. It'll probably be one of the larger
ones. Don't spend your money on a lottery ticket. Don't
waste your time with Regis Philbin. Your odds are better
trying to find this roach.
A million dollars is a lot of money. How did you raise
it?
We have our ways. We killed a lot of roaches.
Do you ever feel sorry for
the cockroaches you're
exterminating?
No. Cockroaches are invasive, nasty creatures. They are
possible vectors of
disease. Their sheer numbers are an aesthetic concern! You
can be easily overwhelmed. No, I hate cockroaches--and I
hate what they do to people.
Right...
I feel like the Dr. Ruth of roaches. People don't understand
that roaches are in this area. In fact, there's an educational
component to this. Really, roaches have been indicted to
be the number one cause of childhood asthma.
No kidding?
Serious. Our industry is very aware of this. So when we
go into high-density populations, we see it in the kids.
We see these kids with runny noses, and all these problems,
and it kind of breaks our heart. People just need to be
aware.
Do you ever dream of cockroaches?
No. I don't. When I start dreaming about bugs, I'll quit
the business. Trust me.
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Willamette Week | originally
published May 10,
2000
|
