S5 E4: The Roach Motel: The Story of the Cockroach

0:00 Do you all like weird stuff about mysterious stuff? Are you a skeptic or a believer? You want to hear the legend and the fact and the Lord, and the science, smith and the theory. Come on down to None of This Is Real, the podcast for all Things mysterious and weird with us Doomsday Demeani and Sarah Sincle, lifelong friends who have spent years poking their fingers through the veil, all while making each other laugh. Till with her find us on all the major podcast platforms and social media. That's none of this is real the podcast. You don't have to believe any of this, but you do have to believe on yourself. Believe all over yourself. Dark Cast Network, come on over to the dark Side. We're really nice people once you get past the true crime and scary science. Hello and welcome to Cause of Death one hundred seconds to midnight. I'm your host, Jackie Moranti.

1:07 I want to start out by wishing everyone is safe, happy, prosperous, and blessed new Year. I'm cautiously optimistic that this year will be better than the last. I hear my dedicated listeners out there laughing at me because they know what I'll be talking about this year. You're right, that won't change. I'm just hoping some attitudes to I have to give a huge shout out to my friend and Patreon member Claire for upping her Patreon donation. Thank you so much, Claire. You don't know how much it means to me that you're supporting the show. I am again putting the E Coli episode on hold, but it's for a very good reason. I was looking around my new apartment and I found something that absolutely makes my skin crawl. I found roaches, not just one or two, but whole fleets of them, crawling all over my kitchen. All of my stuff is still in boxes while I decide what to do about this situation. I'm hoping that I can get out of my lease without any repercussions, but I fear that it may take a literal act of Congress. And part of my research for this episode was looking into Renter's rights for the state of Kansas. After listening to this episode, please don't write and tell me that DDT will kill about anything. Yes, it will, But I love my dog and I'd like to see my next birthday.

2:39 Okay, Well, with that let's get to it right now. I know way more about roaches than I ever thought i'd want to, and look at me sharing that love. Let's start with what roaches are besides gross, nasty, vile, disease carrying vermin. Since we're talking about something that's considered an animal, I'm going to go through their hierarchy. Roaches come from the class in secta kingdom Animalia, order Bladidia, Phylum Arthropoda, and superorder Dictoptera.

3:19 They are a paraphyletic group of insects. Paraphylytic only means that they've descended from a common evolutionary ancestor or ancestral group, but not including all descending groups. There are forty five hundred species of cockroaches in the world. Only thirty of these are considered pests. The ones I have are German roaches, which are definitely considered pests. There are four species of roach that commonly call the US home American, German, Australian, and Oriental roaches. My freeloading, non rent paink dirty little roommates are known as Laditela Germanica. They're the most common roach species in the US. They're not the ones that are considered the most quote dangerous if you will. Those would be Oriental roaches that hang out in sewers and then come and march all over your kitchen counters. A new breed of roach has just been identified in New York City, a novelle species with a higher tolerance for cold weather. Paraplaneta jaconica is a roach from Japan.

4:35 But one of these little critters was spotted by an exterminator in Highline Park in New York. The sighting was confirmed by an entomologist sometime later. In the Southwest, we had Turkistan roaches. They couldn't climb walls, but they reproduce so quickly that anyone with an impestation would see piles of them all over the place. They would be everywhere in New Mexico. If people didn't exterminate regularly, there would be roaches piled to the ceiling. We did have some natural predators, though, the little blue tailed skiing sloved them, and so did the road rivers. German roaches, like I said, are the most common, but those American roaches are the biggest. American roaches are also known as palmetto bugs. If you've ever been to Florida. You've seen one.

5:33 They're huge. Australian roaches can fly. Isn't that something out of your worst nightmares? It was once thought that termites were a separate species from cockroaches, But lo and behold, these destructive vermins share an ancestor with the roach. Now they can all get together at family reunions and how a blast talking about how they can overcome the human race. Speaking of taking over, I wanted to know what an infestation looked like. According to go Forth Pest Control Company, if you have five or fewer roaches, it's a light infestation. If it's between ten and twenty five, it's a moderate one. If it exceeds twenty five, well you're just kind of done. I'm somewhere between moderate and done. I see about ten to fifteen daily. Some of them get caught in the carpet and die, and there are always five or six hanging out on the kitchen counters or in the sink. They crawl in and out of my stovetop. Go Fourth reminded me that just because I'm seeing ten or so roaches on any given day, there are probably fifty or sixty more that I'm not seeing, and they're multiplying exponentially every day. This is my life right now. I'll tell the whole story in the end, but yeah, this

7:04 is my life. Roaches are not turnal, so if you see them during the day, it's a pretty good sign that you have an infestation. They're competing for food, so they're coming out whenever they can to find something to eat. I see some during the day, but they stampede at night. Now, roaches stink. I thought my dog was having accidents in the house, but it turns out that it's the roaches. It doesn't really smell like peer pooh, but it's a musty smell that's prutty, dark and strong. Some of this is pheromones to attract mates. Some of this is a trail to food or water so others can find it. They're cannibalistic, so they leave trails to dead roaches so they can even find more food. It's also the smell of their droppings. As the imfestation goes on, the smell gets worse. The smell is really strong where they nest or breed. If you have a problem, you'll see roach eggs. They like to lay eggs in places that are well protected like books, furniture, and closets. A real favorite is cardboard Guess what my house is filled with Since I haven't moved into my house, Yes, my stuff is in cardboard boxes. Another thing you'll

8:39 see is roach droppings. Anything that eats is going to poop, and roaches poop more often than any other living being since they have a crazy high metabolism. I'm not even going to talk about what the drawers, cabinets, and counters look like in my kitchen. I've cleaned the counters, but it doesn't matter. They crawl across them and I have another mess to clean out. Roaches don't necessarily invade because your house is dirty. I'm not immaculate, but I'm not a slab either. I clean my house on a regular basis. I take my trash out, and I clean up messes right away. But I live in an impartment building, obviously one that hasn't been well taken care of. I'm not the only one complaining about a roach infestation. But just because I keep a fairly clean house doesn't mean my nextdoor neighbor is doing the same thing. They could be filthy for all I know. For those who live in immaculately clean houses where you may not have attached neighbors, you could still have a roach or two or a hundred. They can get in through ducked work cracks in the foundation walls, doors, any nookacrate that they find.

9:56 They come in in search of food, water, and warmth. Okay, So I'm not going to get into the lifespan of every roach species or description of them. I'm just going to give an overview of the common roach. They have an east shaped body, six legs and two and tenny and they're usually a reddish brown color. They range in size between three quarter inches and three inches long, and they live anywhere from six months to a year, depending on the species. There are some pretty good ways to stop roaches from invading your life, and since my property manager isn't doing much about it, I'm going to try a feel. Dietemaceous earth kills roaches by lacerating their exoskeletons and dehydrating them. This can be used in thin layers in cabinets and between the cabinets. It's the most highly recommended roach repellents because it's safe for pets, but it's still not recommended for surfaces where food is prepared. Actually, none of these are recommended for places where food is prepared, so let's just get that out there. Boric acid is another of the most effective roch killers out there. Its odorless, has low toxicity and doesn't repel the roaches.

11:16 They won't avoid it. They'll just crawl right through it. They will crawl through it until it kills them. Mixing boric acid with a little powdered sugar causes them to eat it, then they die. When the roaches tromp through the boric acid, it sticks to their legs and wings, and when they lick it off to clean themselves off, it affects their nervous and digestive system. Borax is rumored to be great for killing roaches. The recipe is one part boraxe and one part table sugar. Borax dehydrates them and kills them quickly. The only thing about borax is you have to watch your pets around it. O sage, orange oil, neptilacetoe, which is one of the chemicals, and cat nip and senial, which is found in bay leaves are great repellents. Baking soda is also a diy roach killer. Dice up some onions and sprinkle them with baking soda. Then when the roaches eat the baking soda, they get gassy, and since they can't fart, they explode internally.

12:26 It sounds like an awful death, and they deserve it. If you want to get a good take on the seriousness of the problem you have, use glue traps. That way you can get account and then you can figure out how many you have and whether you have a real problem. Bait stations are great for killing roaches, but they are toxic. Roaches are attracted to the bait. They eat the bait and then go to the nest to die. Other roaches will eat them and then they also get poisoned. No though that if your dog or cat eats the roaches, they may become sick. Totally avoid foggers. Foggers are extremely toxic to pets and humans. The chemicals can't be controlled, so they do get everywhere, but you can't always clean up after them. Minimizing places that roaches can get into the house is a huge deal. Cock anything around water pipes that go outside, Put screens in the dryer vents, do whatever you can to keep the roaches out, clean up your yard, keep trees and shrubs, cut back from the house and spray it outside as well as inside. Of course, if things get bad, you need to bring in a professional to take care of the roaches.

13:48 It's worth it. The best way to keep roaches at a minimum is to keep your house clean. Take your trash out and don't leave dirty dishes laying around. Keep food in air tight containers. Don't leave out any food nothing. Roaches have a huge impact on restaurants and food service facilities. Food manufacturers have a real problem with roach control, but if a restaurant or a food facility is inspected by any government agency, they can be shut down immediately if a single roaches seen, and this is the way it should be. No one wants to eat roaches, especially when you know what they carry around on their bodies. Roaches can transport salmonellas species, Staphylococcus species, Ecola, typhoid fever, Vacillus, serus, Shigella, dysentere rhodovirus, Aspergilius fumigodis, and Cryptosportian parvum. Roaches can also cause gastro intestinal distress, allergic reactions, respiratory distress, asthma, and something called roach rash, which is an allergic reaction presenting through the skin. We'll be talking about E. Coli, salmonella, and gastro intestinal distress in this season. I talked about typhoid fever last season, and the rest will come up in future seasons. You're not getting away

15:20 that easy. You'll hear more about these diseases and about roaches. This season is all about food board disease, So let's talk a little bit about how roaches affect the restaurant industry. On July twenty sixth, twenty twenty two, the Hawaii Department of Health issued a red placard and shut down the Lahaina Fish Company due to a roach infestation. The fish company was ordered to be closed until the problem was resolved. During a routine inspection conducted on July twenty second, roaches were seen by an inspector in the kitchen storage area and in the bar area. The restaurant was shut down for the presence of pests, food debris, and grease accumulation. There were improper cold holding temperatures and improper protection of food from cross contamination. At this time, the restaurant was issued a yellow play card. The restaurant could remain open, but was given a warning to clean the place up before they could serve food. They had to have pest control come through to get rid of the roaches. The follow up inspection occurred on July twenty sixth, and the DOH inspector did a full inspection of the restaurant. While examining the cook line, he found significant roach activity, food debris, and grease build up in the kitchen. That's a perfect home

16:53 for roaches. It's warm, and there's lots of food and water. At this time, the cold holding problems and cross contamination had been corrected, though this is when they were issued the red play card. The restaurant was not allowed to operate until they had eradicated the roaches by increasing pest controlled treatments and continued monitoring for juvenile and adult roach populations. They had to prove that they were having exterminators come out in spray, and they had to send the plan that the exterminators had created to the district Health inspector. They also had to deep clean all areas of the restaurant to get rid of the food debris and grease build up. The follow up inspection was scheduled for August first. After this inspection was conducted, the restaurant was allowed to open. The roach problem was not completely taken care of, but the filth in the kitchen had been cleaned up and all violations had been properly addressed. Another inspection was conducted on August fourth. Lahainah had continued to keep their restaurant clean and the roach problem was still being addressed, but a lot of progress had been made. They were allowed to open their doors and start serving food again. By August ninth, the restaurant had been hailed as one of the top ten best restaurants on Maui. The Lahinah Fish Company is fairly up scale. It's not your basic

18:30 taco bell, so for them to be shut down can be devastating for their business. Their reputation as well as their income, was at stake. That said, they got it together and got the problems under control, but this could happen to any establishment that doesn't comply with health orders. The Department of Health will shut down any establishment until they decide to comply. All those diseases that I talked about a few minutes ago are the very reason why complying is so important. The Lahina Fish Company realized this and got their problems under control very very quickly. Let's talk about some history. Roaches have been around forever.

19:17 This is one reason that they're becoming increasingly resistant to pesticides. They're becoming resistant to a variety of pesticides because they're evolving to have reduced sensitivity cuticular penetration, and they're just learning what bait smells like so they avoid it. They're actually evolving toward low sugar diets because so many people bait them with sweet sliced with roach killer. Long story short. To be successfully killing roaches, you have to rotate the bait. Using the same stuff all the time isn't going to cut it. Coctor roaches have been around since the dawn of time, and they may be around after hundred seconds are up. If I survived the end of the world, I'll be doing a show for the roaches. When you have a problem with them, it makes you wonder if they won't be the last living creatures on the planet. There are a pair of roaches that were found preserved and lumps of amber were found in the Hukun Valley in Maimar.

20:23 These roaches are suspected to be roughly ninety nine million years old. They are the oldest down animals to have adapted to life in caves during the Crestaceous period between sixty six to one hundred and forty five billion years ago. Scientists classified them as two new species of roach. Mellerablada balangi had a pale body and stunted eyes and wings. Their legs lacked the protective spines since you see on roaches today. They did have extraordinarily long and tennae, though they had traded some things so that they can navigate the caves better. The sense of touch was more important than the sense of sight, so long antennae, but stunted eyes, no need for wings. The caves weren't the place to fly.

21:21 They didn't need pigment there since there was no sunlight. The protective spines weren't needed since there were no predators. Chronecticulis edba looked a little more like the roaches we see today, but they have been more likely to travel closer to the cave entrance. It is thought that other animals and insects were also cave dwellers, but there have been no other fossils found in the caves. Roaches were alive and well on the land mass of Pangaea over three hundred million years ago. They were around before the continents split. The roach predates the oldest known dinosaur, Nassasaris parentoni, found in Tanzania, by about fifty million years. This was proven in a study that was published in Molecular Biology and Evolution by doctor Thomas Borignon with the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. He studied several genomes of roaches and collected data on their evolutionary clock. His research concluded that roaches were around when Pangaea was a super continent. As continental drifts split Pangaea into the continents we have now. The roaches traveled with the drift, and that's how they got to be everywhere. Then they multiplied like well roaches. The original roach species is long gone, but scientists believe that the

22:55 last common ancestor of today's roach appeared around two hundred thirty five million years ago. By the fossil record, the last common roach ancestor lived about one hundred and forty million years ago. Brignon told Molecular Biology and Evolution quote, our results indicate that extent cockroache families evolved over periods of up to around one hundred and eighty million years. Through reconstructions of the ancestral distribution of cockroaches using the known distributions of extent generad sampled in this study, we found evidence that the continental breakup has had important impacts on cockeerage, biogeography end quote. Roaches only fly well enough to gross us out, so they couldn't have made it to every continent on the planet unless they were brought there somehow. As Pangaea broke up and became continents, roaches went along for the ride, like little, disgusting, freeloading it's hikers. My personal situation today with the roach problem is that I have to do something to keep them from moving with me when I leave, which I'm hoping will be soon. I have gotten sick, I've had gastrointestinal problems, possibly food poisoning. I've had allergic reaction, and I've had roach rash. I have three dishes that I keep out to eat off

24:30 of. I use them, I wash them, I put them in the sink to dry, then I wash them again before I use them. I only use one counter. I clean all the counters every day with bleach, but I can't really prepare food, so I eat frozen dinners that I can put in the microwave. The roaches haven't been able to get into the microwave or the refrigerator yet. I go to great lengths to keep myself from getting is sick, but I still get sick. That said, I'm looking for a place to go, but I paid quite a bit of money and deposits, and I'm already paid two and a half months worth of rent. I at least want to be able to move and get my deposits back. I signed on for a year, but I'm not going to make it that long.

25:19 I at least want to try to break my lease without any repercussions. I've contacted HUD, the State Health Department, my County Health Department, and the housing authority. The County Health Department told me that this apartment complex gets complaints every day. It appears that no one does anything about it. I'm going to end this with some food for thought. There are two socioeconomic classes that don't have roach problems, the very rich and the extremely poor. If you're on Section eight or living in low income housing, you can call HUD and they'll be on it. Things will get done. I lived in low income housing for a while, and all I had to do was make a phone call and whatever I needed done was done. And I never sought any pests in that apartment complex. My apartment was nice, things got fixed, and I was fairly happy there. I had to move when I got a raise. I wasn't in the quote low income bracket anymore. People with very low incomes can also get free legal services from the state, usually so they can call a lawyer and have some recourse against a landlord with a chronic problem.

26:41 They're very rich, just call the lawyer, they have a retainer, and things get done and a story. I fall into that middle ground. I edge closer to the low income bracket, but I make just enough money that I don't qualify for Section eight or legal I work really hard to make my rent every month. Everyone in these apartments has to work really hard to make rent, and we all deserve to have safe, clean, affordable housing. It seems like something could and should be done about the situation, but I don't know if anything can or will. It's apparently been going on for years. It's unfortunate. I would think that the property management company would want to invest in the property that they own, but they're not thinking long term.

27:34 They're only thinking about the money they can make today. So there you have it. Ruches, they're grows, disgusting creatures, But I guess that if I had a lizard, my lizard would never starve. Thank you for listening to Cause of Death one hundred seconds to the night. Please don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share these episodes. That's how I keep the show going. If you like to support the show, you can subscribe on Patreon, where I have several levels that offer different purse, ad free episode scripts, bonus content at tanks Merge. There's a lot of stuff on Patreon. You can also sign up on Apple Subscriptions for ad free episodes and bonus content. Come visit me at my website at www. Pose of Death one hundred, sects dot net. Drop me a line there to say hello, leave a voicemail, read my block, join my mailing list.

28:37 I promise I won't spam you all the time. I just let you know what's going on with the show. Please feel free also to drop me a line at Jackie at Pose of Death one hundred secs dot Net. I'd love to hear from you. You can also message me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I try to keep up with follow Take a look at the show notes for some further reading on roaches, the diseases they carry, and their history. Thank you all again and I'll see you in two weeks when I really do talk about ECLI. I am a voice of many, but

30:51 I am not the last, and I won't be until we come through the realization of our true crisis on our hands. I am speaking of my brothers and sisters of color, specifically of my Indigenous Asian Americans, Pacific Islander, Black and Latino people of culture. We are being kidnapped, murdered, and lost. This true crime podcast narrows on the murdered and missing Indigenous persons LGBTQ two spirits, as well as my other beautiful sisters and brothers of color and their families, the families that had tried ever so wretchedly to get their voices heard across social media and news broadcasts in the endless fight to get justice in a world so unjust because of our skin color, or of their status or their creed. This podcast shines a light. It makes our voices stronger, bolder, fearless amongst this large pond of true crime. My name is Jasmine Castillo and I am a Black Indigenous person of color, a woman that has a deep understanding of the pain of my extended community struggling to find a voice amongst the cries of sorrow and anguish. I will have a variety of families as well as nonprofit organizations in a variety of other guests. We will discuss on human trafficking, the missing and murdered, and the brutality against people of color. My current focus will be in the US and Canada. I hope to extend my podcast across the world to other continents of our lost loved ones.

32:22 We stand and we won't back down until all our sisters and brothers are home. Welcome to Hands Off my Podcast.