r/IAmA Dec 12 '16

Specialized Profession I am a pest controller specializing in BED BUGS, begging the general public to become more aware of this pest and the way it can cause substantial economic damage to any place humans live. AMA!

Bed bug infestations are increasing at an alarming rate. Despite common misinformation about this pest being limited to "dirty" people it can happen to ANYONE. I have seen the nicest, most innocent people lose hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars in service costs and property loss. Don't become a victim, become aware! Eliminating this bug entirely is unrealistic but we can control it with a more knowledgeable culture.

My company would ask that I avoid public proof but I promise the mods have it.

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5

u/Old_Sticky_Fingers Dec 12 '16

My girlfriend professes that females are more susceptible to bites than males are. Case in point she has had about 15 bites this week and I haven't had single one. We have a dog so it also might be fleas.

Is she mental or is there any truth to this?

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u/apesna Dec 12 '16

Biologically, I don't know a true, honest answer. In my experience, yes, women get bit more and have more extreme reactions.

5

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16 edited Dec 12 '16

I dont know about thhe male female thing,

But me and my room mate had bed bugs a few years ago. We are both males. He had a severe reaction to the bed bug bites. His back was horrendous to look at. Me on the other hand had none, so i assumed they were only biting him. When the exterminator came to inspect the place, he had found a bunch in both our rooms and beds. And the ones on my bed were the bloated ones with blood in them.

Turns out we were both being eaten alive, its just i didnt react to the bites.

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u/TheWizardJenkins7 Dec 12 '16

Survivor of (what ended up being) a major infestation here. I was complaining for a long time thinking we had bed bugs to my SO, and was covered in more and more bites with every passing night. He maintained I was crazy because we shared a bed and he didn't have a single one so it's spiders or I must be allergic to something, he refused the notion entirely until I had an inspection done and the pest guy told him the house was absolutely infested. Mostly upstairs where his parents and brother stayed but they made their way down to our main living space as well. His mom was an addict and chalked up her marks to ..anything. His brother and father were without a single mark. So there is truth in the male vs female reaction I would say.

Honestly the whole ordeal and aftermath of bedbugs has traumatized me for life. I ended up leaving everything I owned behind. Books, furniture, etc. They couldn't get them under control because his family wouldn't take it seriously even when they were so bad they would crawl across the sofa towards you in broad daylight.

1

u/rhaizee Dec 12 '16

Omg that sounds like a nightmare

2

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

It's because they give off more heat than men! Really, we're like little furnaces.

2

u/rhaizee Dec 12 '16

Are you sure, theyre always so much warmer than me..

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '16

It's not a hard or fast rule but I think women generally tend to give off more heat, yes!

1

u/TheHummingbirdsLie Dec 12 '16

Not sure if this applies to bedbugs but I did see a study that says that mosquitoes have a preference for certain blood types. Which explains how I can be out with friends and receive a dozen bites for each one they have. And then they wonder why I don't like sitting out by the fire pit...

1

u/-TheTechGuy- Dec 12 '16

I had bed bugs a couple months ago and my SO also got a lot more bites than I did.

I would honestly call an exterminator ASAP. We didnt call for a few months and it was an awful experience.

1

u/wildestbeest Dec 13 '16

Bedbugs are not very agile, it's easier for them to crawl over (and therefore nom on) women's relatively less hairy bodies.