You wake up with a couple of red spots
on your skin.
It's nothing, right?
But every night, you get 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.
Trying to get rid of bed bugs
can be expensive,
so you'll need to be financially prepared.
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But don't spend too much time searching for your next piece
because you still have to deal with these little bloodsuckers.
You might think you could just spend
all your earnings on pesticides to get rid of them,
but that would be one of the worst mistakes
you could make.
Keep watching to find out why.
And remember
this is a list of what not to do, OK?
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.
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?
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
experts take care of them
or sharing your bed with them.
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.
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.
Find out more here.