{"id":11431,"date":"2026-08-21T08:56:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T08:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/?p=11431"},"modified":"2026-08-21T08:56:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T08:56:33","slug":"a-nasa-engineer-let-bed-bugs-bite-him-so-we-can-all-sleep-better-heres-what-he-learned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/?p=11431","title":{"rendered":"A NASA engineer let bed bugs bite him so we can all sleep better. Here\u2019s what he learned."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The big takeaway: most of what we\u2019ve been told about bed bugs is wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every parent has said the line: \u201cGood night! Sleep tight! Don\u2019t let the bed bugs bite!\u201d This&nbsp;sing-song rhyme&nbsp;that has been around for centuries alludes to the fact that bed bugs were prevalent in the past. After a significant decrease&nbsp;post-WWII, however, the sneaky pests have been making a comeback. Since the 1990s,&nbsp;bed bug infestations have risen dramatically, leading people to look for ways to avoid and get rid of the blood-sucking little buggers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unfortunately, a lot of the information about how to do that is&nbsp;flat-out wrong. Popular YouTube science communicator and former NASA engineer,&nbsp;Mark Rober&nbsp;invites viewers to forget what we think we know and go on an educational journey with the leading bed bug researchers at Rutgers University\u2019s urban entomology lab. Not only did Rober subject himself to bed bug bites on purpose to see what happens when they feed, but he also conducted a series of experiments in the lab to find out what is actually effective at killing them and what is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bed bugs have a reputation for being nearly impossible to get rid of, which isn\u2019t really the case, according to Rober. When you know what works, it\u2019s actually a fairly simple process to kill an infestation. And the good news is that it doesn\u2019t entail any toxic chemicals\u2014in fact the pest control chemicals sold for bed bugs don\u2019t work at all, according to Rober\u2019s tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.upworthy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/origin_780f1e.png?w=1200&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"bed bugs, bed bug prevention, bed bug treatment, bed bug bite, getting rid of bed bugs, pests, pest control\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the process of learning about bed bugs,\u00a0Rober shared\u00a0a few \u201csuper wild\u201d facts about the infamous creatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fact #1: Bed bugs can live 3 to 10 months without feeding.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eek. No wonder it seems like it\u2019s impossible to get rid of them. Starving them doesn\u2019t work. They can live in the resting stage for three to six months, and if the environment is cold enough, they can survive around 300 days, or 10 months, without eating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fact #2: Bed bugs don\u2019t transmit disease<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some good news here: Unlike blood-sucking mosquitoes, bed bugs don\u2019t carry or transmit disease. The bad news on the front is that because they don\u2019t pose a disease threat, only an annoyance, there\u2019s not a big incentive to fund research to eradicate them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fact #3: Bed bugs are attracted to vertical objects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In one of Rober\u2019s experiments, he placed a dish with a cylindrical vertical column inside it and a dish without a column, and nearly all of the bed bugs in the enclosure ended up in the dish with the column. \u201cIf you think about it, humans sleep at the highest elevation any given room. So their logic is just crawl up any vertical surface you see until you eventually find a warm-blooded meal at the top.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Part of how they find humans is by smell, which is why certain strong-smelling items can act as a deterrent for bed bugs. In Rober\u2019s experiment, Bounce dryer sheets, moth balls, baking soda, and essential oils all seemed to repel bed bugs (as opposed to ultrasonic pest repellants, which appeared to have no effect). However, none of those things did anything to kill them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fact #4: Before 1950, one in three homes had bed bugs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yikes. Even with the resurgence, we\u2019re still nowhere near those numbers, thank goodness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=FcJtfCdWe6U%3Ffeature%3Doembed\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fact #5: The way bed bugs mate is weird<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The term used to describe it is called \u201ctraumatic insemination,\u201d and really, you should just let Mark Rober explain it with his visual metaphor. Start at minute 11:30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Two things work well to kill bed bugs\u2014diatomaceous earth and heat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In testing chemical sprays, foggers, and other items marketed for killing bed bugs, Rober found a \u201csuperstar\u201d in a natural, non-toxic substance.\u00a0Diatomaceous earth\u2014pulverized fossilized remains of tiny aquatic organisms called diatoms\u2014was the most effective at killing the buggers with a 90% mortality rate after 10 days as opposed to 12% with the Hot Shot bed bug spray. Diatomaceous earth is mostly silica, which absorbs moisture, and when the silica dust sticks to the bed bugs as the walk through it, it dehydrates them. A light dusting of diatomaceous earth around all the cracks and crevices of a room is one way to kill off an infestation, though that process can take days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The other way to kill bed bugs is heat. Steam kills bed bugs, as does heating up a room to over 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Temps over 122 degrees kills bed bugs instantly, and as Rober points out, there\u2019s no way for them to build immunity to this kind of treatment. So steamers and clothes dryers set to high are the average person\u2019s best bet for killing off bed bugs if they have them. The \u201cnuclear option\u201d is to have a pro come in with big heaters and cook your home for a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do you avoid getting bed bugs in the first place?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and that\u2019s true for bed bugs especially. Avoiding an infestation if there\u2019s already one in your apartment building is trickier, but a lot of people inadvertently bring bed bugs home from hotel stays. Checking the underside of a hotel mattress as soon as you enter the room is a good habit to practice. Bed bugs poop a lot, and there will be spots along the edges of the mattress if bed bugs are present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The other tip is to use the luggage rack to store your suitcase instead of leaving it on the floor or furniture, and to hang clothes on the closet hangers instead of putting them into the hotel room\u2019s dresser drawers. Some people may even put their suitcase in the bathtub, at least until they\u2019ve checked the bed for signs of poop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nobody wants to deal with bed bugs, but at least now we have clear evidence of what actually works to get rid of them and what doesn\u2019t. Cook them with heat\/steam and dehydrate them with diatomaceous earth, and take some simple steps when traveling to lessen your chances of getting them in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sleep tight, everyone!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The big takeaway: most of what we\u2019ve been told about bed bugs is wrong. Every parent has said the line: \u201cGood night! Sleep tight! Don\u2019t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/777881678_1002438616175536_3182180529402852163_n.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11434,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11431\/revisions\/11434"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}