# I caught an oriental cockroach **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 4, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-caught-an-oriental-cockroach/660117 "2013-06-04T15:12:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-caught-an-oriental-cockroach/660117/1 "2013-06-04T15:12:50Z")
The other night I was watching the TV and out of the corner of my eye I saw something moving across the floor. I live in the basement apartment of a house, so the occasional insects are to be expected. At first it looked like a grasshopper, but it wasn’t hopping, and upon closer inspection it was a big ass cockroach. About an inch long, black, not very fast, and apparently, alone. We’ve been here since November and I’ve never seen one of these in here before, and I looked around (it appears to have come from out of the closet, there’s a sump pump in the floor in there) and didn’t see any more so hopefully this was just a straggler who found his way in. Anyway, I flicked it against the wall and went into the kitchen, grabbed an empty 8 oz. deli container (like [this](http://www.pjpmarketplace.com/v/vspfiles/photos/112407-2.jpg)), went back and scooped him up and snapped on the lid. Now he’s just sitting on a table and I’m wondering how long it can live in there. It’s been 2 1/2 days so far. ---
**Author:** ![Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Methyl_Ethyl_Death)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-caught-an-oriental-cockroach/660117/2 "2013-06-04T15:27:18Z")
Have you checked your apartment for high Radon levels???😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-caught-an-oriental-cockroach/660117/3 "2013-06-04T19:05:32Z")
When I worked in a biology lab in college one of the grad students who worked with leeches had a leech in a jar of water on a shelf. She wanted to find out how long it could live without eating or getting fresh air/water. At the time I asked her about it, it had been six months and the leech was still alive. So basically, you’re gonna want popcorn. Lots of popcorn. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-caught-an-oriental-cockroach/660117/4 "2013-06-04T21:05:25Z")
How do you know it’s oriental? Conical hat? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-caught-an-oriental-cockroach/660117/5 "2013-06-04T22:16:04Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > How do you know it’s oriental? Conical hat? I’m afraid to admit it but this made me snigger. ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-caught-an-oriental-cockroach/660117/6 "2013-06-05T01:49:13Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > How do you know it’s oriental? Conical hat? It crawled out of a chink in the floor. ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2013, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-caught-an-oriental-cockroach/660117/7 "2013-06-05T23:48:43Z")
> [@toofs](#): > > It crawled out of a chink in the floor. I honestly don’t know why I still try to eat or drink while reading these forums. Oh well… at least my monitor is squeaky clean now that I’ve cleaned off the diet coke. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-caught-an-oriental-cockroach/660117/8 "2013-06-06T00:01:38Z")
We call them Asian cockroaches now.