Roach Motel

Roach Motel is a term used to describe a device designed to catch cockroaches. Although the term is trademarked by the insect extermination brand, Black Flag, the phrase has become used as a generic reference to all traps which use a scent or other form of bait to lure cockroaches into a compartment in which a sticky substance causes them to become trapped.

Early versions of the Roach Motels used food-based bait, but later designs incorporated pheromones. The widely known tagline of the Roach Motel was "Roaches check in — but they don't check out!" In the 1980s, this line was frequently delivered by Muhammed Ali, who was then a spokesman for the product.