I Spent $800 on Bed Bugs.
A $39 Device Fixed What
Nothing Else Could.

It was a Tuesday morning in early October. I was helping my daughter Lily get dressed — she's six — and I noticed three small marks on her forearm. Red. Raised. In a line.

I told myself it was mosquitoes. It was getting cold, but maybe one was still in the apartment. I put some cream on her arm, kissed her forehead, and sent her to school.

That night, I Googled the marks.

I wish I hadn't.

The Night the Floor Dropped Out

My name is Sarah. I'm a mom of two — Lily is six, Marcus is four. We rent in Scarborough. It's not fancy, but we've made it home.

After the kids were asleep, I stripped Lily's bed and checked the mattress seams with my phone flashlight. I found what I was looking for in about thirty seconds.

I sat on her bedroom floor for a long time after that.

Here's something I didn't know then: bed bugs have nothing to do with how clean your home is. They're one of the fastest-spreading pest issues in GTA apartment buildings. They travel through walls, electrical outlets, shared hallways. You can scrub every day and still wake up to this.

But in that moment, sitting on my daughter's floor at midnight, all I felt was shame.

What the Next Two Weeks Looked Like

I called our landlord the next morning. He said he'd “look into it.” Over the next two weeks I sent three follow-up texts and two voicemails. He replied once — to tell me the building wasn't responsible for “individual unit infestations.”

Both kids were getting bitten every night.

Lily started waking up crying. Marcus started coming into our room at 2 AM. My husband and I barely slept, lying awake and listening.

I called three pest control companies. First quote: $1,200 — available in twelve days. Second: $1,400, three-week wait. Third: $650 for chemical sprays, but when I asked if it was safe near sleeping children, the answer wasn't reassuring.

Twelve more nights of my kids being bitten before anyone could even show up.

I cancelled our only social plans that month. I didn't tell anyone at work. I didn't tell my own mother. I carried it alone.

The $800 I Spent Before Finding This

I wasn't willing to just wait. So I started throwing money at the problem — here's exactly what I tried and what happened.

Raid Bed Bug Spray — $24: Bought two cans. Couldn't bring myself to spray anywhere near where the kids slept. Seemed to do something for about a week. Then the bites came back.

Mattress Encasements — $89: Thick zippered covers to seal both kids' mattresses. Bites reduced slightly — but didn't stop. Because the bugs weren't just in the mattresses. They were in the walls.

High-heat laundry, obsessively — $60+: I washed everything on the highest setting every few days. It helped me feel like I was doing something. It didn't fix anything.

Throwing out Lily's mattress — $640 for a new one: The decision I regret most. Three weeks after the new mattress arrived, there were signs again. That was the night I truly hit my limit.

The Facebook Post I Almost Scrolled Past

It was a Thursday night. Kids were asleep. I was on my phone when I saw a post in a group called Toronto Moms Support Network.

A woman named Jennifer — also in Scarborough — was writing about dealing with bed bugs in her building for over a year. Landlord useless. Tried the sprays. Threw out furniture. Sound familiar?

Then she wrote: “I know this sounds too simple, but I tried an ultrasonic pest repeller and I genuinely haven't had any new bites in three weeks.”

I almost kept scrolling. Ultrasonic? Sounded like something from a late-night infomercial. I was not in the market for gimmicks.

But her post had 61 comments. I started reading them. Most were variations of: “I was sceptical too, but I tried it and…”

The product was called Pestix. I looked it up. $39.99. A 90-day money-back guarantee. Plugs directly into a wall outlet — no installation, no tools. Completely chemical-free.

I'd spent $800 on things that didn't work. What's $39.99 with a full refund option?

I ordered two that night.

The Pestix device — plugs into any standard outlet. No setup, no chemicals, works 24/7.

Here's What Happened Over 30 Days

I want to give you the honest version — not the version that sounds too good to be true.

The Night Everything Changed

About five weeks in, I was putting Lily to bed. She asked me to check under her bed — a habit she'd developed that broke my heart every time.

I checked. I showed her. Nothing.

She said “okay” and pulled her blanket up and closed her eyes.

I stood in the doorway until her breathing slowed.

It wasn't excitement I felt. It was something quieter. The kind of feeling you get when something that's been tense for so long finally lets go. Like your whole body exhales at once.

Home felt like home again.

“She pulled her blanket up and closed her eyes. Just like that.”

The Product Sarah Used Pestix™ 2026 Upgraded Pest Repeller

Pestix uses advanced ultrasonic technology to create an environment that common household pests — including bed bugs — find uncomfortable, encouraging them to move away from treated areas. Chemical-free, silent to human ears, and safe around children and pets.

• ✓
  Chemical-free — no sprays, no fumes, safe for kids & pets
• ✓
  Plug & play — any standard Canadian outlet, zero setup
• ✓
  24/7 continuous — works while you sleep
• ✓
  Quiet & odourless — completely undetectable to humans
• ✓
  Designed for Canadian homes — standard outlet compatible
• ✓
  90-day money-back guarantee — zero risk

Why Not Just Use Sprays?

How Many Do You Need?

For most Toronto apartments — the 4-pack covers all rooms completely.

I wrote this because I spent three months feeling completely alone in a problem that turned out to be incredibly common in Toronto apartment buildings.

If you're dealing with a landlord who isn't helping, with costs that feel impossible, with the specific exhaustion of watching your kids get bitten — I just want you to know there's something worth trying before you give up.

The 90-day guarantee means you genuinely have nothing to lose. That's what finally pushed me.

— Sarah C., Scarborough, ON · March 2025