# Dashing Cockroaches

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashing-cockroaches/103053>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [April 11, 2002, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashing-cockroaches/103053 "2002-04-11T17:03:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ChordedZither](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9c0ed/32.png) [@ChordedZither](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChordedZither)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashing-cockroaches/103053/1 "2002-04-11T17:03:54Z")

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In [this classic column](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_018b.html), Cecil suggests that

> [@](#):
>
> Cockroaches don’t normally enter a building of their own volition; they have to be brought in.

That’s something of a surprise to me. Many times I have come home at night, unlocked and opened the house door, then caught sight of a sudden flurry of movement as a roach dashes from some shadow of the porch towards the now open door.

There’s something very satisfying about crunching the little vermin **before** they actually make it into the house.

Anyone else observe this kind of behavior?

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**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashing-cockroaches/103053/2 "2002-04-12T03:21:22Z")

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I’ve seen them do it, although I didn’t study their behaviour and can’t be sure that this is typical or whether it just forgot it’s keys when it went out that morning.

One other thing which struck me odd in this one: the person who posed the question didn’t say that they all lived next to one another. Was Cecil suggesting that they’d all been infested by the same mama roach, or had somehow cross infested each other with eggs?

That’s just gross. Blech.