See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy ALEXANDER NOLL Updated: 20:45 BST, 15 July 2026
A KTLA 5 news reporter managed to keep her composure while a massive cockroach crawled over her during a live broadcast in California.Rachel Menitoff, a Los Angeles field reporter, was reporting live from Sherman Oaks on an extreme heat alert, when a large flying cockroach landed near her neck.Menitoff's eyes visibly widened, indicating she could feel the insect crawling over her neck, chest and clothing.'She probably wasn't sure what it was, you just know there's something,' said fellow KTLA 5 reporter, Jessica Holmes. However, Menitoff's reporting remained untainted as she finished the segment. 'She's just that much of a pro,' Holmes added. Multiple peers and thousands of comments on social media praised Menitoff's professionalism for staying relaxed as she powered through the broadcast. KTLA 5 reporter, Rachel Menitoff, was broadcasting live from a California neighborhood when a large flying cockroach invaded her shot Menitoff's eyes visibly widened indicating she could feel the insect crawling on her, but her reporting was untainted as she finished the segment Peers and social media comments praised Menitoff's professionalism for keeping her composure as she powered through the broadcast'I have to hand it to her, she was really calm,' said Eric Spillman, another KTLA reporter.'How did she not even flinch? on the other hand, would have thrown the microphone and screamed a bloodcurdling scream and run off into the street,' one person wrote on Facebook.The roach proceeded to jump onto her mic before flying out of the frame.'At the end I have to say, I'm so relieved that it jumped onto the mic. Because it looked like it was going to crawl into her clothing,' one of the anchors pointed out. The reporters unanimously agreed that there was 'no way' they would be able to keep their cool if put into the same scenario.The studio shared an off-air behind-the-scenes clip showing Menitoff putting down her microphone before swiping her skin and shaking herself off after the broadcast was finished.Menitoff's fellow KTLA reporters suspected that the recent weather was to blame for a general increase in bugs in the area.The reporters discussed experiencing an influx of ants and flies in their homes, which they attributed to California's recent extreme heat.'You open your door or your window and they're coming in,' they said.
