bugs...well, roaches more specifically

If there's one thing I've learned in my years of city dwelling, that's the pleasure of the company of the goddamn cockroach. If I had a dollar for every one I've killed, invested in a 401K account, or maybe Microsoft stock, I'd be sitting pretty. Some years ago, after a particulars bloody massacre of the little beasties, I gave 'em a verbal warning. "Don't come in my house, or I'll kill you. I'll hunt you down and KILL YOU ALL! SPREAD THE WORD, I'F YOU'RE IN MY HOUSE, YOU'RE GOING TO BE KILLED!"

Of course, they really didn't listen. Or else, they just spoke German and didn't understand what I was saying. Anyways, good news on the front against the little bastards.

(via BBC)
Scientists have identified the female pheromone emitted by the common cockroach.

The way they did this is pretty damn cool...They took an antenna from a male roach, and...went all creepy Si-Fi on it...

"We would strap the antenna between two electrodes, and the electrodes would record depolarisation in the antenna as soon as it was stimulated by the active compound."

Once the hapless antenna had led them to the right chemical, the team was able to manufacture it artificially. Now all they need to do is design a clever trap.

Dr Roelofs is aware that any swift-death trap will only eliminate males, since the chemical does not appeal to females. So that is why he thought of the slower, deadly disease option: a sexually transmitted disease. "One of them passes it to the next and then to the next."

While I love the idea of this, I know, in the end, the roach will just mutate and become immune to whatever we use to kill 'em, but it'd be helpful for a while I'm sure. Since I get sort of a rush at killing the besties, I'd like to suggest a better way. Small cockroach killing robots!

I was thinking, for the most part, they'd just scoot around your house, ready to attack anything cockroach size that moved. occasionally emtting female roach pheramone, attracting roaches into mortal combat. I envision them to look a lot like the robots used in "robot wars" with small saws, clubs, harpoons and the like. Hopefully these little guys would have a video-feed, and a control interface - say through an x-box. Then whenever you wanted you could just take over control of the robot, and do the killing yourself...a video-game that actually has a practial purpose! Somehow I can see a swarm of miniature robots, with spikes and saws falling into the wrong hands, or just plain old running amok, but still...I like the idea.