If the shady business practices, abuse of drivers or straight-up possible negligent homicides don’t make you pause before hitting that Uber or Lyft app, maybe this will: at least one Dallas exterminator is doing big business killing bed bugs in ride- share vehicles.




Dallas is up there in terms American cities experiencing bed bug infestations. Both Orkin and Terminix place the city in the top 10 most buggy cities in America, according to WFAA. The news station spoke to Don Brooks, owner of Dallas-based Doffdon Pest Control about the problem.

“Quite frankly, they’re not racist at all and they don’t care about how much money you have,” Brooks said. “They’re bloodsuckers.” Brooks’ has a unique mobile business, one that focuses on burning out bed bugs with high heat. He pulls around heating equipment on a trailer that can heat homes up to 150°F. Hoses run into the home and Brooks controls the temperature from the trailer. He also puts up a tent and heats it to the same temperature to treat cars that possibly have bed bugs, and that’s where Brooks has been seeing an interesting trend. Brooks told WFAA that he’s seeing more and more rideshare drivers. “I probably do five to 10 rideshare cars per week,” Brooks said.﻿

My first thought is yeeeesh, followed up by, oh, oh my good god, no. Other exterminators contacted by WFAA said they also regularly treat cars for infestations, though they couldn’t confirm if the creepy crawlers were living in a ride-sharing Honda or just a personal one. As Brooks said, bugs don’t care about your race or income level or if you’re considered an independent contractor or not. All they care about is jamming their needle-like snouts into flesh and sucking out blood. The giant, itchy red welts the bugs leave is just a fringe benefit.


Of course, with bed bugs being found on planes and on buses, it was only a matter of time before they came for our beloved cars. If you suspect you’ve been in a ride-sharing car infested with bed bugs, Brooks suggests throwing your clothes into a dryer and setting it on high heat for 50 minutes. A hot shower and prayers won’t hurt either.

