Cockroaches have a reputation for being resilient creatures that reproduce at rapid rates. Even if you are one of the rare people who does not find cockroaches to be revolting or frightening to look at, you probably should not ignore the occasional cockroach sighting within your home. Where you see one cockroach, there are probably at least fifty more hiding in some dark and moist location within your home, such as below your kitchen sink or near your basement water heater. A cockroach presence within a home can get out of hand fast, and nobody knows this better than exterminator Milton Cardoza. In 2004, Cardoza was called to a restaurant in San Jose, California in order to eradicate a roach infestation. Before leaving for the restaurant, Cardoza was told by his colleagues to tuck his pants into his socks in order to prevent the many cockroaches from wondering up his pants. As it turned out, the restaurant’s reputation as a roach haven was well earned.

Despite his colleague’s warnings, Cardoza was convinced that the restaurant’s staff had only been experiencing a typical infestation, but upon arrival, Cardoza regretted not taking his colleague’s advice. According to Cardoza, roaches were crawling on everything in site, including up walls, on food and across ceilings. The cockroaches were literally raining down on Cardoza, and they seemed to be coming at him with aggression. Cockroaches can cause serious problems, as they can short out important electronic appliances like refrigerators and even video game consoles, but sometimes, a roach infestation gets so out of hand that the entire infested structure must be burned to the ground. It did not take Cardoza long to decide that fire was the only weapon that would work against the cockroach hoard within the restaurant. Cardoza contacted the local fire department so that they could start a controlled fire within the restaurant. In order to prevent the cockroaches from skittering out of the restaurant and into nearby homes, a trench was built around the structure. This trench was filled with gasoline-soaked straw and set on fire. The resultant ring of fire successfully halted and killed all the escaping cockroaches, and the neighborhood was saved at the cost of one restaurant.

Would you find it satisfying to light a cockroach-infested home on fire?