Woman accidentally burns her house down and injures three while trying to kill BEDBUGS
One Cincinnati resident was taking desperate measures to stop creepy-crawlies feasting on her blood as she slept when a fire broke out
A TORMENTED woman successfully used rubbing alcohol to rid her house of bed bugs — but burned down her home in the process.
The unidentified Cincinnati woman was dousing the infestation with the highly flammable liquid near an open flame when she inadvertently sparked the blaze, officials said.
Three people were injured and 10 left homeless as the blaze took hold in the building.
The intense inferno spread quickly through the five-unit home, doing some $250,000 (£187,000) in damages.
One of the residents affected, Kamaron Lyshe, said: “My House caught fire n got burned down – all my stuff is gone man.”
Amazingly, this is the second inferno in the city in as many weeks sparked by residents attempting to kill bed bugs with alcohol and fire.
A 13-year-old boy using the precarious combo to battle the pests left eight neighbours homeless last month.
The Cincinnati Fire Department has advised residents to hire professionals to battle future infestations, per a department announcement.
Getting rid of bed bugs can be an unpleasant and tricky job which can often require the help of professionals.
What are bed bugs?
Bed bugs are small, blood-sucking insects that can be found in the joints of your mattress.
They crawl out at night and feed on human blood after biting through exposed skin.
Typically they are brown, dark yellow or red in colour, are flat and oval-shaped and are the size of an apple seed.
Although they aren’t dangerous, they can cause extreme discomfort and stress to those who are bitten by them.
They can’t jump or fly, but can crawl long distances, so can quickly spread throughout a building.
Usually small, red bites on your skin will be one of the first indications that you have a bed bug problem in your house.
You can then spot further signs of small bugs, tiny white eggs in mattress crevices, or tiny black spots which could be their dried poo.
While you might not spot the creatures at first, an infestation will also see blood spots appearing on your sheets, as you squash the bugs in your sleep, and an unpleasant, musty scent in your bedroom.
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