Author: Editor

I used to think bed bugs and hygiene were connected – dirty homes get bed bugs, clean homes don’t. Completely wrong, but that’s what most people believe until they deal with an infestation personally. When I found bed bugs in my fairly clean home, I was confused and embarrassed. How could this happen when I […]

We’ve got six people living in our house – me, my wife, four kids ranging from 8 to 17. When we discovered bed bugs last year, I initially thought we’d just treat the affected bedroom and be done. Completely wrong. Our exterminator explained that in large households, bed bugs spread faster and farther than in […]

I travel for work about twice a month. Hotels, Airbnbs, conference centers – I’ve stayed in hundreds of places over the past decade. Bed bugs never crossed my mind until I brought them home from a supposedly nice hotel in Chicago. The bites started appearing three days after I returned. Little red welts in groups […]

I dealt with bed bugs three years ago after staying at a hotel during a work conference. Brought them home in my luggage without realizing it. By the time I noticed the bites, they’d already established themselves in my bedroom. The exterminator came, did the treatment, and everything seemed fine. Then six months later, I […]

I researched bed bug treatments for two weeks before making any decisions. Every website claimed their method was best. Chemical companies said heat was temporary. Heat treatment companies said chemicals were ineffective. Confused the hell out of me. Finally talked to an exterminator who offered both services and didn’t have incentive to push either one […]

My mattress cost $1,200 three years ago. When I found bed bugs, my first thought was throwing the whole thing away and buying new. seemed like the cleanest solution to a disgusting problem. Glad I talked to an exterminator before doing that. Turns out, throwing away infested mattresses often spreads bugs during removal, and new […]

Finding bed bugs creates instant panic. I know because I’ve been there – staring at a tiny brown bug crawling across my pillow at 2 AM, immediately spiraling into worst-case scenarios about my entire apartment being infested. My first instinct was to run to the hardware store at opening, buy every bug spray they had, […]

I never thought I’d deal with bed bugs until I moved into a nice apartment building in downtown. Third floor, modern renovations, professional management – seemed perfect. Two months in, I woke up with itchy welts on my arms and shoulders. Turns out, bed bugs don’t care about how nice your building looks or how […]