CHICAGO—During his monthly visit to the building at the corner of Spaulding and Milwaukee Avenues, Pest-Away exterminator Harold Batten was once again mildly baffled to find that, despite its unsanitary condition and state of utter disrepair, apartment 4B contained no roaches. "You have got to be kidding me," said Batten, who used a high-powered flashlight to inspect a sink containing two weeks' worth of dirty dishes in 4 inches of gray water and soggy cereal bits. "I should look underneath that bathtub again or check around that lasagna pan on the couch, because there is just no way." Batten was reportedly also surprised by the apartment's lack of mice, rats, bedbugs, or eviction notices.