Why Bed Bugs Are So Hard To Kill

Humans have struggled against bed bugs for thousands of years. And despite our best efforts and technological advances, infestations are only getting worse. Bed bugs are developing defenses against our best insecticides, such as thicker hides and toxin-fighting enzymes.

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Why Bed Bugs Are So Hard To Kill

[evaristegalois]

1:36 "Picking up a single female from the movies and taking her home with you"

*_Bold of you to assume that any female, whether human or insect, would want to go home with me_*

[aaliyahkhadaroo]

nobody talks about the emotional side of bed bugs, its actually PTSD, so distressing and exhausting, waking up crying to bites over and over again

[fishbunn]

I remember having to wake up in the middle of nights because of these pests. Honestly made me want to sent my house on fire just to get rid of them.

[lkhjsdfg]

If I saw a single bed bug in my house 2 minutes later I’m standing in the front yard naked watching my house burn down.

[sol]

Ironically I first experienced the horrors of bedbug infestation in the US not some third world country. I didn't even realize they had hijacked my bed and turned it into a nest filled with dead bug shells and eggs. The most insidious thing about bed bugs is that u will never see them unless u have been asleep (they are literally attracted to body heat) and suddenly felt a sharp itch or the tickling sensation of something crawling on ur skin jarring u awake to see a brown bug with a belly full of ur blood scurrying away into one of ur bed corners. As the infestation grows worse u begin to see more bugs. They become so brazen that that just sitting down on the bed will have bugs of all sizes down to babies crawling out and charging at u to suck ur blood. It gets worse. Non of the insecticides work, u can empty a bottle in 3 days and there will still be an army under ur bed to replace the one or two bugs u killed. They will not let u sleep, they will keep crawling over u and waking u up, u will develop skin sensitivity to their tiny legs and eventually hives from even wind blowing on ur skin. If u manage to kill or catch any of them they will excrete black liquid that smells like cyanide (very strong bitter almond smell), an offensive odor that will make u cringe. U will eventually develop sensitivity to that odor as well and it will wake up Everytime u smell it. Psychologically it will turn u into a stress ball, wound so tight that even the mention of bed bugs will send u into an anxiety attack. Nothing can kill these monsters other then direct exposure to sunlight in summer. The heat thing rarely works because they hunt for body heat but exposure to heat and sunlight kills them instantly like vampires. The only way I got rid of these bugs was to dismantle the furniture they had made nests in and place them out in the open sunlight where the sun could heat everything up. After 2 to 3 days the entire nest will die. But unfortunately ur psychological fear of bugs will likely compel u to never bring that furniture back inside the house ever again. And I do mean psychological fear, because these bugs will mentally and physically scar u for life. After the bed bugs we're finally gone I suffered from chronic inflammation of liver that translated into the worst case of frequent full body hives I have ever experienced. The itching, burning and pain will literally make grown men cry. I did not even know I had a liver disease, no doctor could diagnose it for the next 5 years, until I went to a homeopathy doctor who took a shot in the dark and gave me liver medication and I instantly started to see a difference. Bed bugs are truly the stuff of nightmares. U see one I suggest u start taking emergency measures immediately.

[pigglespoopoo]

I had bed bugs on a few separate occasions. What a pain. The best treatment I found was to use diatomaceous earth (DE) which is a physical insecticide, i.e. it doesn't target any internal physiological aspect of the bug. It is a harmless white powder normally used in livestock feed as well as in the little drying packets. You sprinkle it around your bedroom and other places you may spend a lot of time sitting/sleeping (e.g. sofas), and the bugs walk through them at night, get the powder on their bodies, and it slowly scrapes away at their shell eventually drying them out and killing them. The nymphs (i.e. baby bed bugs) have especially thin carapaces, so they die out very easily, which means they won't be able to grow up and reproduce.

A downside to all of this is that my home made me look like cocaine addict: white powder EVERYWHERE. But at least it worked at getting rid of the bed bugs.

[quahntasy]

That's why I sleep with a grenade under my pillow.

[christophervillatoro]

Good night don’t let the Cimex Lectularius Bite.

[NotRoboticNoob]

*watches video in bed at night I am a brave person*

[radicalmatamune]

These things ruined my life
Got them from a mover's truck (!!!)
I couldn't sleep, couldn't study for college, cut every social life, focused my entire life on a war against them, how to kill them.
All my days and nights were build around how not to get bite, how to get some sleep, how to get rid of them.
Even if the exterminator gets rid of them, if you're in an appartement, there are chances that they invaded some neighbours around who don't bother them and won't complain about them,
so they will come back to you, because they feed on your fear.
At some point, as soon as I was closing my eyes, only thing I was seeing was them crawling, which made me open my eyes in panic, even when sleepy, and they were actually there, crawling, it's like I could sense their presence at some point
I caught some of them and make them my prisoners in a plastic box to starve them to death, this was a satisfying little win

I eventually won the war without any help, but it cost me everything!

I kept waking up with a start every night for months even after getting rid of them

[absoluteliigei]

_Hey Kim Jon Un, can I borrow your soldiers._

[lllDeaththeKidlll]

I remember these things literally mentally scarred me. Even months after I got them, I was constantly sitting in my "are there any bugs around?" position. If I ever saw a cockroach on the ceiling I'd immediately have an anxiety attack. I'm literally so used to sleeping on the floor, it's scary. If I ever hear someone has bed bugs and I know them I can't help but go out of my way to stay away from them. Bed bugs are the most draining infestation. I'd rather have to deal with head lice for five years than have bed bugs for five months. When I had them, even the mention of bed bugs made me feel like I was going to cry. I'm fine now, but I can't tell you how many times I just stop, and realize it's fine. I just look at my bed, so thankful I don't have to constantly look around and check. It's like after you have bed bugs, you are so thankful for sleep and a bed it's crazy. I never want to see another of those bloodsucking vampire bugs up close ever again. Not even to crush it. The smell they emit after being crushed makes me want to hurl.

[zwortrb]

These things are DEFINITELY not homies.

[Swnsasy]

Ughh I had an infestation after moving into an apartment.. It definitely depresses you because it's just so hard to kill them! Thank goodness I had awesome apartment complex and they paid to get rid of them.. It was hell!!

[enriquemunirediaztejada]

I know that right now you are feeling itchy

[Enkye_CA]

The best method for getting rid of bed bugs for me was placing my mattress and pillows in plastic covers. Even better if the cover is designed specifically for bed bugs. Then I put copious amounts of talcum or baby powder on the legs of my bed and moving it away from the wall. (My reasoning was that they wouldn’t be able to climb up the legs and all the bugs inside the mattress would be stuck and die.)

Had them gone in a week, so hopefully my method would work others too.

[JaKingScomez]

If you don't give consent they can't touch you problem solved

[Bowen_Windcalibur]

I had to deal with bedbugs once. They are an interesting insect as they are actually quite choosy on who they prefer to bite more in a household. For example my wife was targeted all the time when it was extremely rare for me to get bitten. We both have the same blood type but our stress levels were different. I am a much more laid back person. Maybe stress hormones attract them more? I also saw my neighbor deal with the same thing. Except he was being bitten more than his girlfriend. He was a more stressed person than she was. The video doesn't lie, they are immune to deltamethrine based insecticides. Diatomaceous Earth is a good option because it doesn't poison them, it suffocates them. Extreme heat like a hair dryer will kill them also within seconds but it needs to be virtually direct heat. These bugs are the terminators of the insect world. Don't pick up that brand new looking couch your neighbor put on the curb thinking you're getting a steal as it is likely a Trojan Horse. Hotels can be a good vector too if they are poorly maintained. Keep your luggage in your car if you can help it and inspect your clothes thoroughly before you leave.

[dabbingpenguin]

There will be no bedbugs if people don't have beds.

[XX-fdix]

I had suffered from a Bed Bug infestation. Never in my life I thought we'd get them. When I first saw it crawling on the bed my stomach dropped and my heart started racing. It was a living nightmare and leaves you paranoid for life. Thankfully we got rid of them using JT Eaton bed bug spray, that thing was magical, it saved us from throwing out wooden furniture, though we did throw out lots of clothes. I had sleepless nights when we first got them, I slept like a damn mummy covered from head to toe. Why aren't these fuckers extinct?!