How To Tell If You Have A Bed Bug Infestation
The clue is in the name. Bed bugs can infest your bed, but they can also live in your carpets, furniture and even curtains. But how can you tell if you have a bed bug infestation?
You’ve been itching and scratching like crazy lately, and you can’t figure out why. It might be bed bugs! You see, while they are extremely costly to treat, they are quite frightening given that they cannot be seen without a microscope.
No one likes to talk about it, but in case you haven’t heard, there’s been a huge increase in bedbug infestations across the country. While they’re more prevalent in the warmer months, that doesn’t mean they only come out then! Since most businesses aren’t asking their guests if they have bed bugs, your best bet is to check for signs of an infestation every time you visit someone’s home.
How To Tell If You Have A Bed Bug Infestation
How to tell if you have a bed bug infestation
Bed bugs can be difficult to spot. To tell if you have a bed bug infestation, look for the following signs:
-New and unusual bites on your skin
-Blood stains on sheets and mattresses
-Small brownish black spots on the mattress or box spring
-Small insects that move quickly when disturbed
-Fecal matter (excreta) around the seams of mattresses, box springs, headboards, cracks in furniture, behind wall hangings and electrical outlets.
Bed bugs are small, brown, wingless insects that feed on the blood of humans and animals. They are found in beds and other furniture, but they can also be hiding in cracks and crevices of your home. Because they spread quickly and easily, it is important to know how to recognize a bed bug infestation. If you think you may have an infestation, here are some ways to tell if your house has been invaded by these pests:
1) Look for red spots on your sheets or pillowcases. These spots could be due to bites from these parasites or from another source like bed sores or acne breakouts. Bed bugs bite at night while you sleep and leave behind small red marks that resemble pimples or mosquito bites. If you see these marks on your sheets or pillowcases in the morning, there is a good chance that you are dealing with an infestation of these pests.
2) Look for live insects around the seams of mattresses and box springs by using a flashlight at night when no one will disturb them while sleeping; this way you can identify whether or not any live bugs are present before disturbing them with chemicals or traps which could kill them.
How To Tell If You Have A Bed Bug Infestation
A single female bed bug can lay up to 12 eggs each day, totaling 200-500 throughout her entire lifetime. With such rapid life creation, an infestation can happen before you know it. When it comes to treatment, it is very difficult to know if you’ve found every single bed bug at every life stage as bed bugs are excellent hiders. Without the help of a professional, you’ll likely miss a few eggs at the very least…and so the infestation persists.
The following five signs are indications of a bed bug infestation and should not be ignored.
1. There are red, itchy spots all over me!
Bed bug bites are small and red, but not everyone reacts to them. Actually, about 30-60% of people do not have a reaction to bed bug bites – consider yourself lucky if you’re one of them!
Bed bugs usually feed during the night. People rarely wake up due to a bed bug bite because they inject an anesthetic when they bite you that prevents you from feeling it. Instead, you’ll notice the bites when you wake up. You’ll find bed bug bites in areas near blood vessels on the hands, legs, neck, and arms.
2. Your pillowcase and/or sheets are stained with blood.
When feeding on humans, bed bugs inject an anticoagulant to help the blood flow more freely. Doing so will cause a blood droplet to form at the feeding site which then transfers to your sheets. If you wake up to find mysterious blood spots in your bed, you might consider a bed bug inspection.
3. Your mattress is polka-dotted with rust-colored spots.
Besides the blood spots, bed bugs often leave behind fecal stains. These spots have an unpleasant odor and may smear if you touch them. Imagine writing on your sheets with a felt-tipped marker – the spot left behind is similar to what a bed bug fecal stain looks like. These stains won’t necessarily be limited to bedding — you may also find them on your walls, especially behind pictures or in corners. On hard surfaces, fecal stains may look more like small black spots similar to black pepper.
4. Old, discarded skins begin to pile up.
As a part of the bed bug life cycle, bed bugs shed their skin. Once cast aside, the skin is tan in color and often found in the areas you might find bed bugs themselves like mattress creases, furniture seams, and along baseboards.
5. The bed bugs show themselves.
Occasionally, you might see the actual bed bug itself and not just the signs they leave behind. Adult bed bugs are relatively flat and oval in shape. These light brown insects have six legs but, thankfully, no wings. After a blood meal, they usually become a bit swollen and darker brown. As far as size goes, bed bugs resemble an apple seed (about ¼ inch long).
There are a few bed bug imposters out there, and if you confuse them with bed bugs, it can be very troublesome. Bat bugs, fleas, booklice, spider beetles, and carpet beetles are all insects that are often mistaken for bed bugs and vice versa. If you are unsure about which pest is hanging around, give Ehrlich a call. One of our highly-trained bed bug experts will come to your property and identify the pest. Proper pest identification is key to developing the most effective treatment plan.
Where do bed bugs hide?
Since bed bugs are flat, they can easily hide in almost any crevice or space. They can hide in the creases in your mattress and within the mattress covers. Aside from the bed, there are other hiding places where bed bugs rest between blood meals:
- Headboards – Bed bugs can hide behind them, on the wall, and, if the headboard is wood, there can be cracks where they squeeze in. Eggs, fecal matter, nymphs, and shed skins can also be found there.
- Behind picture frames – Check anything that is hanging on the wall, especially above beds, sofas and chairs, where the little insects can gather. Some of the signs listed above might be on the floor beneath the picture.
- Electrical outlets – Remove the faceplates and check behind them.
- Sofas and chairs – Just because they are called “bed” bugs doesn’t mean they only hide out in your bed. If you spend time in a favorite chair or on the couch you might find these tiny pests in the creases of and beneath the cushions.
- Piles of clothes – Bed bugs like to hide anywhere that can provide protection and shelter, including a pile of your clothes on the floor.
- Dresser drawers – Check all of the nooks and crevices inside dresser drawers.
- Luggage – Bed bugs are notorious travelers and if you stay in a hotel and put your luggage on the bed, there’s a chance one could hitch a ride and end up at your home.
Seeing signs of bed bugs?
As you now know, bed bugs can be hiding just about anywhere in your home. If you spot any of these signs of bed bugs, the best thing you can do is call in an Ehrlich bed bug control specialist. One of our specialists will conduct an inspection at your home or business by surveying all of the potential bed bug infestation sites. Your specialist will recommend the best bed bug elimination method for your property.
List Of How To Tell If You Have A Bed Bug Infestation
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