Click the play button on the video window to the right to view the storyNursery rhymes are meant to wish your child sweet dreams. "Good night. Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite."
Who knew it would come true?
The Shapiros’ tale started when they remodeled their 9-year-old daughter's room and purchased a used bed frame.
That's when Mackenzie first started getting hives. Three visits to the doctor later and Anita started getting hives too. “It was so unbearable that I couldn't even go out in the heat.”
They were miserable for almost three months before Leonard saw the little bugger. “It’s kind of nasty and kind of gross,” he said.
Not knowing what they were or how to get rid of them, Leonard went online.
Anita said she “freaked” when she found out what they were. “I suddenly realized every night when I went to bed I had all these bugs crawling all over me.”
In many cases, the bugs are so small you can't see them. But their bite can leave big red bumps.
Last year, an opera singer sued a hotel chain for six million dollars saying her stay at a Phoenix hotel left her with 150 bites on her arms, chest and face.
The Shapiros chose a non-chemical solution to get rid of the bedbugs.
AZEX Thermal Solutions is a company that comes into your home, seals it up and heats it to 150 degrees.
They claim heat is a perfect solution for bed bugs.
County Environmental Specialist Jay Downey agreed. “Pesticides don't really work,” Downey said “Heat actually kills the bedbugs.”
Downey says the county has recently seen an increase in reported cases of bedbugs.
“Since April, we've started categorizing them separately from our other rodent and varmint complaints.”
There have been 57 complaints in the last 5 months.
Bedbugs don't spread disease. But they do spread by hitching rides on suitcases and clothing.
They can be found in mattress seams and any part of the bed frame, box springs or headboard. They also can be found in the cracks of floorboards, behind peeled wallpaper, in picture frames and in any upholstered furniture.
Before you buy a used piece of furniture check out the seams, inside drawers and inside bed frames. If you see black or reddish-brown stains--don't buy it!
After weeks of infestation, itchy hives and very little sleep, the Shapiros were ready to heat things up.
Bedbugs start to die at about 115 degrees.
The company says the heat kills more than just bed bugs. It gets rid of mold, viruses, bacteria and any other insect in the house. So their target temperature is 150. The Shapiro house reached 168 degrees before the temperature started to come down.
And so far, it’s worked. They haven't seen a bedbug since.
