Roach Motel

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Roach Motel is a term used to describe a roach bait device designed to catch cockroaches. Although the term is trademarked by the insect control brand, Black Flag, the phrase has come to be used as a reference to all traps that 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 Muhammad Ali, who was then a spokesman for the product.

The term "roach motel" also refers to a low-priced lodging facility, usually a considerably older property in disrepair, not affiliated with a major chain, and located in a decaying area of town.

Metaphorically, the term is used in computer circles to refer to a proprietary file standard -- "you can check your data in, but you can't check it out".

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