Bed bug infestations can be tricky to handle, but you may be doing more work than you need to. We asked Jeffrey White, an entomologist and bed bug expert—White has invested hundreds of hours treating affordable housing complexes for bed bugs, advising other pest-control professionals about these critters, and lecturing public housing organizations around the globe—to give us the latest research-backed tips for tackling bed bugs in multifamily housing. Read on to see if you can separate bed bug fact from fiction, or whether it may be time to update your pest-control procedures.

As far as household pests go, cockroaches are pretty disgusting. They scuttle around under cover of darkness, multiply rapidly, and leave their shed skins and frass (aka poop) everywhere. Cockroaches are also a health hazard: They can cause or aggravate allergies and asthma in people who are susceptible to these conditions, and they’re a leading cause of asthma in children who live in urban multifamily housing.