Bed bugs are hard to control, but you can do it! Using insecticides alone to control bed bugs is not the best solution. Cleaning, getting rid of clutter and taking a few other steps are just as important as applying insecticide when you're trying to control bed bugs.

Bed bugs are notoriously difficult to eradicate due to their extreme resilience, tiny size, and rapid reproduction. One of the main challenges is their insecticide resistance; many modern populations have evolved to survive common over-the-counter chemical treatments. Bed bugs are also experts at hiding in microscopic cracks, behind wallpaper, and deep inside mattresses or furniture, where sprays cannot reach them. Furthermore, while a treatment might kill adult bugs, it is often ineffective against the eggs, which can hatch two weeks later and restart the infestation. Eradication typically requires a multi-pronged approach: professional-grade heat treatment (temperatures over 50°C/122°F), industrial steaming, and repeated chemical applications. Because they can survive for months without a meal, simply "starving" them out by leaving a room empty is ineffective. For those in multi-unit buildings, they can easily migrate between apartments, meaning a single untreated unit can re-infest an entire floor. Due to these complexities, most health authorities strongly recommend hiring a licensed pest control professional rather than attempting a DIY fix, which often only causes the bugs to scatter and worsen the problem.