Get Paid for Catching Cockroaches in Houston, Texas

Do cockroaches make you head for the hills? They certainly make me run! I live in Texas where it is not uncommon for roaches to reach up to 1 ½ to 2 inches long and as an added bonus, the suckers fly. If you can get over squeamishness, I have found a way for you to make money off of catching live roaches.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science is offering a quarter per bug for the first 1,000 roaches bought to the museum. The Houston Museum of Natural Science, which is famous for the Cockrell Butterfly Center, is opening a new insect exhibit that showcases insects such as cockroaches, dung beetles and termites. After the first 1,000 roaches have been collected the donors of additional bugs will be given passes to return and visit their "friends" after the exhibit opens May 25th.

American cockroaches are the most common kind in Texas and have no problem invading homes. It is easy enough to catch them with out killing them if you know how. The easiest way is the "Jar Method". Get a clean 6 to 8 inch tall glass jar. Place a bit of dog food, cat food or beer in the jar. Insert the jar in to a section of pantyhose leaving the opening clear. The roaches will use the pantyhose as a ladder to scale the outside of the jar. Once inside the roaches will not be able to climb back out because of the slippery sides of the inside of the jar. Once you have collect the amount of roaches you desire, just screw the top of the jar on and you are ready to transport them. Bring your little "treasures" to the entrance of the Cockrell Butterfly Center on the following Saturdays, Saturday, May 12th and May 19th, from Noon-3 p.m. and ask for a museum entomologist to receive your reward. The Houston Museum of Natural Science is located at One Hermann Circle Drive, Houston, TX 77030.

The museum's curator of entomology, Nancy Greig, was quoted saying, "Absolutely, this wasn't devised as a joke," Greig said. "We needed more roaches for the exhibit, so I sent this message out to everyone in the museum asking people to bring them in. Well, someone decided to tell the press, and all hell has broken loose. But we really do need cockroaches." This sounds like a perfect project for a young, up and coming entomologist to earn extra cash or free passes to what promises to be a interesting exhibit.