The hardest infestation to get rid of in a home is widely considered to be bed bugs, with German cockroaches and termites being close contenders, but bed bug infestations are consistently ranked as the most difficult, expensive, and psychologically distressing by pest control professionals. Bed bug infestations are hardest because bed bugs have multiple survival advantages, they can survive up to a year without feeding on blood, they hide in extremely tiny cracks including mattress seams, box springs, bed frames, headboards, electrical outlets, and behind baseboards and are nocturnal, they have developed strong resistance to common pyrethroid insecticides found in over-the-counter sprays, they spread easily through luggage, used furniture, and shared walls in apartments, and their eggs are resistant to many chemicals and glued in hidden places. Eradication requires intensive integrated pest management including whole-home heat treatment raising temperatures to 135 to 145 degrees Fahrenheit for several hours to kill all life stages including eggs, thorough vacuuming, washing all bedding in hot water and drying on high heat, encasing mattresses and box springs in bed bug-proof encasements for over a year to starve any trapped bugs, and two to three professional chemical treatments with residual insecticides and growth regulators, costing $1,000 to $3,000 for a full home. German cockroach infestations are also extremely hard due to rapid reproduction, with one female producing 30,000 offspring per year, and termite infestations are hard because colonies have millions underground and damage wood undetected for years, requiring trenching and bait systems.
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