One Way to Get Rid of Bedbugs: Burn the House Down

You might want to do anything to get rid of bedbugs, but adding fire to the mix didn't end well for one Cincinnati woman trying to rid her apartment of the tiny creeps. As the AP reports, she accidentally started a house fire while trying to kill bedbugs with rubbing alcohol on Friday, causing $250,000 in damage and hospitalizing three people with smoke inhalation. Ten people are now homeless. "When I got here the whole house was on fire," one resident tells Fox 19. "I'll start from scratch. It's like a dream....everything is burnt. I'll start fresh. It's all we can do now." It's worth noting that the fire isn't as much a fluke as one might think: Two weeks ago, a 13-year-old Cincinnati boy set fire to his building in the course of trying to kill bedbugs with alcohol; eight were left homeless in that blaze. Says a Cincy fire chief of proper bedbug removal: "Get a professional." (More bedbugs stories.)