The Worst Things To Do When You Have Bed Bugs

5 min read

You wake up with a couple of red spots on your skin. It’s nothing, right? But every night, you more and more. Suddenly, these tiny monsters take over your whole house. They’re everywhere. On your mattress.Your clothes. Your furniture. And their only purpose is to suck your blood, perhaps destroying your life in the process. So if you want to get rid of them, you need to throw all your belongings outside. Right?

Wrong. That’s just one of the most common mistakes people make when battling bed bugs. And there are plenty more where that came from.

Bed bugs have haunted humans since the beginning. Scientists suggest that 200,000 years ago when humans began sheltering in caves, bed bugs used to feed on bats and developed a taste for our warm, sweet blood. If they’ve clung to us for millennia, do you think you can get rid of them on your own? Pay attention because you’re about to learn the things that can get you killed if you find these suckers below your pillow.

Should you use pesticides? Why could pest control experts kill you? How can these bloodsuckers get inside your head? And remember this is a list of what not to do, OK?

Number 5: Travel

If you notice bed bugs in your place, it’s too late. They hide so well that most people never see these tiny intruders. So you have to take matters into your own hands. Before pest control professionals take care of the infestation, you should prevent it from spreading. For scientists, bed bugs are a model of evolution. In a few years, bed bugs became resistant to pesticides and spread around the world. If you can, avoid traveling and even going into your school or office. Spreading bed bugs will only make them harder to control.

Number 4: Use Store-Bought Pesticides

Since they have evolved and can resist the most common pesticides, attacking them with products you find in the grocery store could kill a few of them and scatter the rest all over your home. If you discover an infestation, keep calm, call the professionals and take a deep breath. It will be expensive. According to some sources, it can cost up to $5,000. Have you got your credit card?

Number 3: Move to Another Room

Once you find these monsters invading your bedroom, it’d be a nightmare trying to sleep there. But trying to fool them by sleeping in another room of the house will only spread the infestation. They will track you by the carbon dioxide you exhale. Your only options are getting out of the house until an expert takes care of them or sharing your bed with them.

Number 2: Rush Home

One of the most common ways pest control experts get rid of these infestations is with heat. But you need to follow their instructions carefully. In 2017, an 82-year-old lady’s apartment in Houston got infested with bed bugs. The landlord called pest control experts but never warned her when they would be coming. She came home too early, and the 60 °C (140 °F) temperature killed her and the bed bugs. So, if you call pest control experts, listen carefully to their instructions, let everybody know about them and don’t hurry back home.

Number 1: Let them get into your head

The worst thing you can do is get the infestation in your head. In 2013, a 62-year-old woman’s apartment got infested with bed bugs, so she called pest control experts. But four weeks later, the infestation was back. She called pest control again. Two weeks later, she found a drop of blood on her bedding. In desperation, she wrote a goodbye letter and jumped from the 17th-floor balcony of the building.

Bed bugs are not known to spread diseases or cause death by themselves, but the psychological effect and social stigma of an infestation can be fatal. If you get rid of the infestation and experience nightmares, flashbacks or anxiety, don’t hesitate and get professional mental help. Remember, bed bugs can be anywhere, no matter how clean and diligent you are.

But some bloodsuckers are even more thirsty. Do you know how many leeches it would take to dry you out? Oh, boy. It might be fewer than you think. And it could only take them minutes.