Cockroaches

Cockroaches are pests that appear in The Sims: Livin' Large and The Sims 2. They are spawned if a lot is dirty, and they will randomly move about the lot, further decreasing Room or Environment score.

The Sims: Livin' Large
In Livin' Large, having roaches on a lot can cause considerable distraction, as Sims and visitors may autonomously "Freak Out", neglecting their motives in order to go stomp on roaches on the other side of the lot. However, roaches can easily be killed by instructing a Sim to spray them. If the Sim instructed to spray them is in a good mood, they will automatically spray every group of roaches on the lot, until there are no more roaches left or their mood goes too low. The maid will also spray them, as will Servo and Bonehilda. If Unleashed is installed, cats may hunt them, but will only do so autonomously. However, they will still gain hunting skill. Once killed, roaches disappear and leave no trace. Roaches in The Sims can pass through walls, and so may be able to get to places that Sims can't.

There is an unfixed bug that causes the roaches to increase in value from nothing to §460 the midnight after they spawn. While roaches cannot be picked up or sold in buy mode without using the "move_objects on" cheat, this will still add to the household's net worth.

The Sims 2
In The Sims 2 roaches are more difficult to get rid of: while Sims can spray them, the maid will not, and spraying by Sims is not as effective as calling an exterminator. Upon seeing live roaches, Sims will get a bad memory and will frequently cancel actions in order to cry or think about the infestation over the next few hours; in addition, going near roaches carries the risk of flu, so hiring an exterminator is overall the safest and most effective option. However, roaches that have been killed by either an exterminator or a Sim will remain in a pile that decreases Environment score, and must be cleaned up: this can be done by either a Sim or the maid. If The Sims 2: Apartment Life is installed, the spell Corruptus Locus, which the evil High Witch casts automatically upon entering a lot, will summon swarms of roaches. This can be extremely annoying when she appears on an owned community lot, as there is no option to call exterminators over the phone.

The Sims 3
Roaches appear as an insect which can be collected and donated to the science facility.