Woman Tries to Kill Bed Bugs With Fire

Matt Unrein • June 19, 2024

Woman Tries to Kill Bed Bugs and Starts a House Fire


According to KWCH/Gray News a Wichita woman in early December 7th, 2023 was critically injured in an apartment fire.


Firefighters were able to rescue a trapped woman from the Liberty Way Apartments near Ninth Street and North Estelle and she was taken to the hospital. 


According to witnesses in the area who called 911, the woman said that "she was trying to kill bed bugs with her lighter."


"We were sitting here and we heard screaming. It was a mom screaming about her children," the caller, who asked not to be identified, explained. "Smoke was everywhere."


"She didn't seem like she was very coherent, like she was on something possibly," the witness said. "She said flat-out that she had started the fire to kill bed bugs and she knew that her roommate was on the floor asleep in front of the couch. She said that she didn't realize that it would start a fire and she panicked and ran out of there, leaving her roommate on the floor."


Please take this as a warning not to use fire or any other dangerous material to deal with bed bugs. These pests are difficult to deal with when you don't have the proper tools and know what to look for. Here at SOS Pest Control, we understand the urgent feeling to take action when you see bed bugs but please contact the professional first. We don't want you to do something that you might regret later. You might not even have bed bugs since they can be mistaken for other insects, that's why we offer free inspections. Let us help you protect your home and property and call us first before you set something on fire.


See here for the original story:

KKTV

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Bed Bugs’ Historical Hankering for Humans

By Carley Norton • October 3, 2025
Humans have fought— and lost—many battles against pesky insects and rodents throughout history. From plague-ridden rats in 14th-century Europe to the modern comorbid mosquito, millions of people have fallen to opponents a fraction of their size. But the earliest war has lasted over 245,000 years and is still fought today: Humans versus bed bugs. A team of researchers at Virginia Tech studied the lineage of bed bugs and found that patterns in their activity coincided with the rise and fall of the human population over time. Though these findings admit the defeat of bed bug reign by humans, they can be used to predict future invasions as urban living develops, and to investigate the phenomenon of insecticide resistance in the determined bed bug species. Though bed bugs first preferred cave-dwelling bat blood, a group of them jumped over to the Neanderthals in those same caves, and their palates have remained un-cleansed ever since. In fact, humans became the bed bug’s exclusive source of sustenance, a preference shared by only one other insect species—head lice. Just like you won’t find a family of lice at the local park, you won’t find bed bugs in your garden—only in your bed and other suitable dark spots in your home. Bed bugs have hitchhiked and set up camp amongst humans for centuries, just waiting for the perfect time to indulge in their human midnight snacks. But there is good news. Bed bugs will not be the cause of any new plagues, as they cannot make humans sick. Though their bites, as well as their resilience, can be irritating, their harm is liminal, and there are easy methods for getting those lazy bones (or exoskeletons?) out of your bed. However, bed bugs are resistant to many residential chemicals, and consulting professionals is your best bet. First, call SOS Pest Control for a FREE inspection. If they do bombard on a bed bug sleepover, their safe and effective heat treatment heats your home’s walls to rid of bed bugs from the inside out. This safe, effective, and damage-free process takes little time, and SOS’ unmarked vehicles ensure your neighborhood won’t be all up in your business (as for businesses, we will make sure the neighborhood is back up in you soon). Call (816) 471-5733 today or visit online at soskc.com Original article: https://news.vt.edu/articles/2025/05/bed-bug-whole-genome-human-lineage-warren-bo

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By Carley Norton • August 18, 2025
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