CLEVELAND -- Buying used furniture could save you big bucks, but you might also be running the risk of bringing a pest into your house.

When the Shapiro family redecorated their 9-year-old daughter's room, they purchased a used bed frame. A couple of days later, their daughter Mackenzie suddenly seemed to develop a case of hives.

After three visits to the doctor, Mackenzie's hives hadn’t cleared up and her mother Anita had developed a similar case, too.

"It was so unbearable that I couldn't even go outside in the heat," said Anita.

Mother and daughter said they were miserable for almost three months before Mackenzie’s dad Leonard noticed a bedbug crawling in his daughter’s room.

Bedbugs are reddish-brown, flat and oval shaped.

"I freaked because I suddenly realized every night when I went to bed I had all of these bugs crawling all over me," said Anita.

Bedbugs don’t spread disease, but they do get around. They tend to hitch a ride on suitcases and clothing. They sometimes hide in the cracks of the floorboards, behind peeled wallpaper, in picture frames and in any upholstered furniture.

Bedbugs are also a challenge to exterminate. Health experts said pesticides will kill the bedbugs themselves, but not their eggs.

So the Shapiro's hired a company to come into their home, seal it tight, and heat it up to 150 degrees with a special heating machine.

The temperature inside the Shapiro's house reached 168 degrees before the crew turned off the heater. The machine can not only kill bedbugs, but it can also get rid of mold, viruses, bacteria and any other kind of insect crawling around the house.

Now the Shapiro's are sleeping a little easier.

If you like to buy used furniture, check the seams. Look for a black or reddish-brown stains on any part of the bed frame, box springs or headboard. Those stains could be signs that bedbugs reside there.

More information on bedbugs:

• Bedbugs: What are they?
  Bedbugs are reddish-brown, flattened, oval and wingless, with microscopic hairs that help to give them a banded look. Adults grow to be approximately 4-5 mm in length and cannot move quick enough to escape human observation.
• Bedbugs: When and how do they feed?
  Bedbugs generally feed at night. They are attracted by warmth and carbon dioxide. They then pierce the skin with two tubes. One tube injects saliva, while the other withdraws blood. Bed bugs are not known to transmit any infectious agents.
• Bedbugs: Where are they found?
  Bedbugs are very flat and are therefore able to hide in many areas. They prefer to remain hidden in mattress seams, bed frames, box springs, drawers inside bedside tables, behind headboards, in cracks of floorboards, behind peeled wallpaper, in picture frames, in couches, stuffed chairs, seams of curtains, and even clothing.
• Bedbugs: What to look for ...
  Peel back bed-sheets and check the mattresses. Check the mattress tag-they are known to hide in this area. A group of bedbugs may be found in the seams, usually surrounded by black fecal matter and/or reddish-brown stains.
  Remove the headboard. Look for tiny black spots (excrement) that are smaller in size than poppy seeds. Look for live bugs at this time.
  Check the bedside table. Open the drawers and look for evidence of insects. Also, look along the wall behind the table because this area is generally overlooked by cleaning staff.
• Bedbugs: How to eliminate the problem...
  Thoroughly clean the infested rooms, as well as adjacent rooms because the bedbug can easily travel 100 feet along pipes and wires.
  Scrub the infested surfaces with a stiff brush to dislodge the eggs. Remove and dismantle drawers, frames etc. Everything that can be laundered should be laundered. It is recommended to place the items in tightly sealed bags and washed in hot water and dried in medium to high heat for 20 minutes or longer.
  Heat, not water kills the bedbugs. Vacuuming is also recommended. Crevice tools should be attached to the vacuum to get into the crevices. After vacuuming, the bag should immediately be removed, tightly sealed (recommended double bagging) and immediately placed into the garbage.
  A 50-50 mixture of rubbing alcohol and water is recommended to be added to the bag. Fumigation and integrated pest control is also recommended to rid an area of an infestation. Contact a licensed pest control company for more thorough treatment.