Killing Bugs!

Question

Hey everyone,

Hope you guys are well. So, check this out. I'm at my local Wal-Mart and I walk up to these two spanish girls, and I knew that they spoke spanish. I was asking for Raid (a roach bait killer/spray/trap.) Trying to impress, I walked up to them and asked...

¡Hola¡ ¿Ummm, donde tienen la machina de matas las cucharachas?

They started to laugh their behinds off. I am so happy I rarely get easily embarrassed, so I laughed with them and asked them what I said wrong. They said that I supposedly asked them about a "roach tree." I guess different countries have different ways of saying things.

But what is the correct way of asking if a store has roach bait...what should I have said?

Answer 1

Well, you may have actually asked for the roach-killing shears (machina), but I don't know.

El insecticida might be the thing to ask for.

Would roach bait be cebo de cucarachas, insecticida en cebo, or what??? I don't know.

This makes soooo much sense. Thank you. So much for impressing girls right? hahaha. - chrismc143, Feb 9, 2010

I think insecticida de cucarachas would have been more appropriate. - chrismc143, Feb 9, 2010