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If you haven’t heard, Stranger Things Season 3 is now out worldwide and if you’re like me, you’ve probably been itching to get your fix of Eleven, The Upside Down and more monsters like the demogorgon and mindflayer! Luckily we don’t have these monsters in the real world but did you know, we have our very own pest that could easily have come from the Upside Down? That’s right, Malaysia is home to a terrible and frightening pest that would fit perfectly in the upside down, the Bed Bug! So here are some reasons why the bed bug is just like the monsters in Stranger Things.
Just like the demogorgon, bed bugs actively seek out blood for their next meal. These pests hide in tiny cracks and corners, waiting for their victims to fall asleep before executing their plan of attack. Once their victims are soundly asleep, bed bugs are able to cut through our skin using a sharp organ known as the proboscis, while injecting anesthetic to ensure we don’t feel any pain when they bite. These sneaky pests can then feed on our blood for more than 10 minutes at a time and we wouldn’t be any wiser. Even worse, bed bugs bite more than once! Bed bugs often bite multiple times to get their fill of blood and that’s not all! Bed bugs are able to expand their bodies to more than double their size after feeding. It’s like a monster that keeps growing bigger every time it eats humans! Imagine if the demogorgon got bigger every time it ate! Scary stuff if you ask me.
So what happens after a blood meal? The bed bugs start getting ready to mate and lay eggs! However, how they mate is a horrible, gruesome and frightening experience for female bed bugs. They go through something called “traumatic insemination”. When bed bugs are sexually mature and are ready to reproduce, male bed bugs seek out their female counterparts and proceed to stab the females in their abdomen to inject his sperm. In human terms, this would be the same as taking a knife and stabbing your wife in the stomach or back or anywhere on her body! This horrible act also leaves the female bed bug severely injured and weakened before having to lay eggs. Definitely only something from the Upside Down would do.
So after the traumatic experience, the female bed bug retreats into her hiding corner to recover and lay her eggs. What’s scary is how many eggs she can lay throughout her lifetime. A single female bed bug can lay 500 eggs in her lifetime! A typical bed bug nest will have multiple females present, all laying their own eggs. Soon your bed could be home to thousands of bed bugs and you wouldn’t be any wiser until it’s too late. Eleven only had to face one demogorgon, you’d have to face thousands and they aren’t easy to kill without a professional bed bug treatment! These newborn bed bugs are waiting for their first meal and you’re on the menu!
Remember how your parents used to say you don’t have to be afraid of the monster under the bed? Well, you might want to rethink that! However as scary as bed bugs sound, they aren’t undefeatable. Just like Eleven, you can try to get rid of bed bugs by using your psychic powers! On a wiser note, you should trust the experts and call Rentokil at 1300 881 911 or visit our website to let the professionals handle your bed bug problems.