If you think it’s worth it, here’s how to apply.
If you’re looking for a creative way to make some extra cash, we’ve got quite the proposition for you — but it’s not for the faint-hearted.
The Pest Informer, a pest control company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, is preparing to run some experiments, and the staff is on the hunt for American households to be their guinea pigs. Specifically, they’re looking for five to seven homes where they can release approximately 100 cockroaches, which they’ll seek to eradicate using different types of treatments. The families who are willing to take on this difficult-to-stomach challenge will be rewarded with $2,000.
The “lucky” homeowners who take on the assignment must agree that they won’t try any other cockroach treatments during the study, which will last for one month. And if all 100 of those roaches haven’t been successfully expelled by the end, The Pest Informer will use a traditional treatment to get rid of them all at no cost.
The company hasn’t specified exactly what kind of treatments they’ll be trying out in these homes, but founder David Floyd told NBC News the solutions are “designed to be more DIY treatments with materials and ingredients that someone can purchase themselves and that are safe to family and pets.”
There are a few other rules, too: Applicants must be 21 or older, and they must own their home or have explicit written permission from whoever does in order to be considered. And although The Pest Informer is based in North Carolina, any home within the continental United States is eligible.
There are thousands of species of cockroach worldwide, but The Pest Informer is specifically targeting the American Cockroach, which is one of the largest types that infest homes within the United States. They can grow to be up to 2 inches long, and on average, females can give birth to as many as 300 nymphs within their lifetime, which could potentially be as long as a couple of years.
Simply thinking about this for as long as we already have is making us squirm, but if you’re a braver soul and would like to explore this opportunity, you can apply right here. Just make sure not to invite us over until every last of your new houseguests has been banished!
