# There is a roach in my shoe... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 29, 2007, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027 "2007-04-29T05:13:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/1 "2007-04-29T05:13:37Z")
and he won’t come out! I’ve tried throwing the shoe on the ground and poking pencils down the shoe. The little bastard is under the cushion which isn’t removeable of course. I’m just going to have to wait him out… ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/2 "2007-04-29T12:17:07Z")
Why don’t you post something on a different topic? Like, say…Possums in your garage? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/3 "2007-04-29T16:32:04Z")
Have you got it out yet? What was the winning technique? ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/4 "2007-04-29T16:38:52Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] Why don’t you post something on a different topic? Like, say…Possums in your garage? 😃 [/QUOTE] Yeah, roaches just aren’t as cute as possums and possums rarely get in your shoes. As for your problem, you could do what I’ve done accidentally when I didn’t know there was a roach in my shoe. Put on your shoe and walk around a bit. Then when you feel the problem has been taken care of, change your socks. Or you could try bug spray. If you don’t want to smell like bug spray or absorb toxic chemicals through your feet then try hairspray. Your shoes will be sticky but possibly less roachey. I’m going to leave now before that song starts up. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/5 "2007-04-29T16:41:11Z")
Alternatively, you could just do what I’d do and throw the shoe out. No way I’d ever wear that thing again anyway. _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![nevermore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@nevermore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevermore)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/6 "2007-04-29T16:52:42Z")
I think I agree with the above… I couldn’t possibly ever don it again without thinking “ugh, it’s the ROACH shoe.” ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/7 "2007-04-29T17:00:35Z")
[QUOTE=pool] and he won’t come out! I’ve tried throwing the shoe on the ground and poking pencils down the shoe. The little bastard is under the cushion which isn’t removeable of course. I’m just going to have to wait him out… [/QUOTE] Stick a couple bay leaves in the shoe. IIRC many bugs do not like it. May just be an old wives tale I dunno. Feel free to slap me down with a cite and purge my ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/8 "2007-04-29T17:20:33Z")
Put it in the freezer for a few hours. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/9 "2007-04-29T17:36:49Z")
_looks at the google ad_ Hey, you could call Terminix! Hey, I’m as squicked out by bugs as the next guy but throw out the shoes? It must be nice to be able to buy new shoes just because it had a bug in it. Do you people not wear socks or anything? Socks are there to protect you from these sort of things. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/10 "2007-04-29T18:02:30Z")
[QUOTE=pool] There is a roach in my shoe… [/QUOTE] Dear Liza, dear Liza There is a roach in my shoe And I can’t get him out ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/11 "2007-04-29T18:08:24Z")
[QUOTE=Wile E] It must be nice to be able to buy new shoes just because it had a bug in it. Do you people not wear socks or anything? Socks are there to protect you from these sort of things. [/QUOTE] Socks are there to protect you from blisters, not vermin. Unless you have very special HazMat socks, toss the shoes!!! ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/12 "2007-04-29T18:41:03Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] Put it in the freezer for a few hours. [/QUOTE] It will then pick that moment to crawl out and die in your ice tray, or Rocket pops. Carry the shoe by the laces or tongue to the bathtub, and bang it against the side to shake the bastard out. Have fun flushing it down the drain. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/13 "2007-04-29T18:46:59Z")
[QUOTE=Wile E] I’m going to leave now before that song starts up. [/QUOTE] OOooo… the Yellow Rose Of Cockroach! With Possums In your Gar-aaaage! ---
**Author:** ![Tabithina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@Tabithina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabithina)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/14 "2007-04-29T19:01:14Z")
[QUOTE=thelurkinghorror] Carry the shoe by the laces or tongue to the bathtub, and bang it against the side to shake the bastard out. Have fun flushing it down the drain. [/QUOTE] I’ve never had occasion to remove a roach from my shoe this way, but I once used this method to dislodge a small, recalcitrant striped scorpion from an older pair of running shoes. I ended up throwing away the shoes anyhow a few months later, because I never could bring myself to wear them again. I’m a wimp, I know… :eek: Yes, there are scorpions in Missouri! Our old house, in a rural area, had a bit of a problem with them, until we bought chickens and guinea fowl for our yard. I don’t think they ate the scorpions, but they ate the insects that the scorpions were feeding on. [http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/wildthing/stripedscorpion.htm](http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/wildthing/stripedscorpion.htm) Smacking the shoe on the tub ought to work, good luck. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/15 "2007-04-29T23:37:29Z")
I’m not sure if he came out or not because I fell asleep. I guess I’ll find out if he is in there the next time I wear it. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/16 "2007-04-30T02:55:56Z")
[QUOTE=pool] There is a roach in my shoe… [/QUOTE] As long as this problem isn’t Kafka-esque, I think your ahead of the game. 😃 ---
**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:** [April 30, 2007, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/17 "2007-04-30T02:59:47Z")
[QUOTE=NoClueBoy] Dear Liza, dear Liza There is a roach in my shoe And I can’t get him out [/QUOTE] Get the Raid then, Dear Henry, Dear Henry, Dear Henry, Get the Raid then, Dear Henry, And give him a dose. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/18 "2007-04-30T03:12:42Z")
Do you have cats? FREE BONUS TOY!! Ours bring in “water bugs” (Texas-ese for freakin’ hyoooge flying roaches that are supposedly not nasty germ carriers like the kitchen ones) from the porch to torture, steal from each other, hoard, and kill, kill, kill. Then eat; then hack, cough, hork, barf. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/19 "2007-04-30T03:58:00Z")
“Water bugs” are the reason why I quit line-drying my laundry. There’s nothing quite like bringing in a load of towels, smelling all fresh and sunshiny, and finding an Industrial Size Roach on one of them. They do, however, make excellent cat toys, as **emilyforce** says. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/20 "2007-04-30T04:07:43Z")
[QUOTE=emilyforce] Do you have cats? FREE BONUS TOY!! Ours bring in “water bugs” (Texas-ese for freakin’ hyoooge flying roaches that are supposedly not nasty germ carriers like the kitchen ones) from the porch to torture, steal from each other, hoard, and kill, kill, kill. Then eat; then hack, cough, hork, barf. [/QUOTE] We call ours Palmetto bugs, probably because some of them are as big as the Palmetto tree. Aren’t water bugs really those long-legged things that can walk on water? Sounds like a sissy type name to give a cockroach. I thought Texans were tougher than that? The “water-bugs” of Texas are not that nice, you see, 'cuz they’re really just big roaches with a name of a sis-sy [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027.md?page=2)