Sorry bit of thread drift here.

When I was in submarines we never had problems with roaches. Only with fruit flies which managed to breed in huge numbers due to the humid warm conditions and availability of food.

We were not allowed to use insect sprays as they would have an adverse affect on the boats atmosphere.

Our Med Tech came up with the idea of placing glasses of sweet sherry aound the for'd part of the boat, the idea being that the fruit flies would be attracted to the glasses, drink, fall in and drown. It was reasonably succesfull.

Our captain was surprised to get a request from a rating on official paperwork to be re-rated as a fruit fly. The ratings justification were:

1. Run of the boat
2. No watches
3. Choice of thousands of females even at sea
4. Help yourself to as much food as you could eat
5. Free booze
6. An unlicenced allowance to drink yourself to death

The captain turned this down on the grounds that a submariner could not receive flying pay as well as submarine allowance and additionaly that though the rating was known to having a rather over active '5th' limb when ashore he had no chance of growing a 6th limb (or even wings)and submarines could not carry 'disabled' ratings.

Said rating returned to the sonar shack muttering about the inequality of life in boats.