Imagine having everything you own in garbage bags throughout your house. You can’t sit on your furniture without getting up with MORE bites. Sleeping is nearly impossible; every time you lay down you feel tiny legs crawling over your body (even when they aren’t there). This is the tale of a bed bug infestation. Bed bugs are notoriously known for being hard to eliminate and coming back time and time again, often causing psychological effects on the residents of the infested home. Some people joke about “bed bug PTSD”, but it may be truer than you might think, here are some psychological effects of bed bugs.
Bugs of any kind in your home is often a stressor for people. Stress is a normal reaction to the situation, then you add in sleepless nights and paranoia and you quickly have a recipe for some more serious physiological effects. In fact, when compared to a checklist of PTSD symptoms Mississippi State University found that 81% of people that participate in bed bug related websites described psychological and emotional effects that are often associated with PTSD. Other disorders like hyper-vigilance, paranoia, obsessive thoughts, and depression were also highly suspected with many individuals that had bed bug problems.
In another study researchers sent questionnaires out to various cities with questions about bed bug bites. 474 results came back and showed that 29% of people said they suffered from insomnia, 22% reported emotional distress and 20% said they has anxiety due to the bugs and their bites.
If you or someone you know has ever had bed bugs you may have learned that their population has been on the rise for the past 10-15 years. In 2013 a survey showed that 99.6% of exterminators were contacted about a bed bug problem in the last year. Some cities like New York have a heightened risk due to the dense population and high tourism rates. In New York alone there were over 9,000 complaints about bed bugs in 2013. Even with that extreme number of bed bug reports, New York is only number 17 on the list of “buggiest” cities in the US. The list is topped by Chicago, Los Angeles, Columbus (Ohio), Detroit, and Las Vegas.
The key to getting rid of bed bugs heavily rely on education and reaction. To avoid physical and psychological effect of an infestation the problem must be solved quickly. Don’t wait until your home is unlivable because of the number of bugs that inhabit there. The best way to keep bed bugs under control is to perform regular self-inspections. If bed bugs are sighted call AZEX Pest Solutions right away. We can get rid of bed bugs quickly and effectively using our revolutionary AZEX Heat bed bug treatments. DIY heat treatments are also available. Heating equipment can be rented by the day and small infestations can be solved in as little as 1 day.