Just 20 years ago, Canadian cities were seeing a few dozen bed bug infestation reports a year. Now they get thousands—and in Toronto, tens of thousands. In Canada and around the world, the terrifying creatures are back, and they're getting stronger. (Seriously, they're becoming harder to kill, we told you this was stuff you "never wanted to know".)

How did bed bugs come back to become such a huge problem? What works against them and what doesn't? How can you recognize them, prevent infestations and how should you handle one it it happens? Also: Why are these bugs, of all the things that crawl on this Earth, the ones that make us so nauseatingly uncomfortable and paranoid?

GUEST: Lauren McKeon, journalist and author, deputy editor at Toronto Life (Read Lauren's bed bugs opus right here.)

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca 

Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemail

Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter