Identify A Bed Bug

Bed bugs are small, oval-shaped insects that feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals. They can be found in homes, apartment buildings, shelters, hotels and other places where people sleep.

Identify A Bed Bug

Worried about having bed bugs in your home? In this article, we’ll explain the 7 early signs of bed bugs that you should look out for:

Bed bugs are notoriously hard to find and even harder to get rid of, especially if you live in densely populated places like New York City.

But despite their sneakiness, it isn’t impossible for a vigilant homeowner or apartment renter to recognize the early signs of a bed bug infestation.

One of the best ways to protect yourself and your family from these tiny, blood-sucking pests is to find and exterminate them early on — before they can reproduce and spread.

Early Signs of Bed Bugs

These signs of bed bugs are ranked in order of how much certainty each warning sign can provide when it comes to confirming the presence of bed bugs, especially at the beginning of an infestation.

We’ll start with the least reliable sign (odors) and work our way to the most reliable sign (live bed bugs), explaining what each one means and where to look.

If you suspect that bed bugs have invaded your home, it’s well worth your time to understand and familiarize yourself with these early warning signs.

In general, these signs of bed bugs may require professional confirmation to be certain of bed bugs, but this article will give you an idea of when to seek out that professional confirmation.

Odors

• An unusual, musty odor with no apparent cause
• Bed bug pheromones are often compared to the scent of raspberries, coriander, cilantro, or almonds
• A severe bed bug infestation may smell like rust, wet towels, and moldy laundry

Sometimes, the first hint that something is amiss comes from our sense of smell. If you notice an unusual, musty odor in your bedroom that doesn’t seem to originate from an obvious source — like a pile of dirty laundry — it might be an early sign of bed bugs.

Bed bugs emit “alarm” pheromones in response to being bothered or threatened. These pheromones produce certain odors that may smell slightly sweet or musty. People who have experienced it firsthand describe the smell as somewhat similar to raspberries, coriander, cilantro, or almonds.

Normally, the smell of pheromones is very faint — practically imperceptible to the human nose. Unless you’re a trained bed bug-detecting canine, your chances of noticing the raspberry-like pheromone smell from bed bugs are very low.

When you have a large number of bed bugs living together, the smell of their pheromones gets mixed together with the odor of dead bed bugs, shed shell casings, and bed bug excrement. The result is an unpleasant, rusty smell that gets worse as the infestation grows more severe.

Compared to other early signs of bed bugs, odor is typically the least reliable. That’s simply because when there are only a few bed bugs around, their odor is too faint for humans to notice. Furthermore, most people aren’t familiar with the scent of bed bugs — or a bed bug infestation — so even if you sense something, you’re likely to mistake the smell for something else.

Bites

• Small, red, itchy bumps that mysteriously appear at night
• The most common places for bites are the arms, hands, and legs
• Sometimes appears as clusters of 3 or 4 bites in a line (the so-called “breakfast, lunch, and dinner” pattern)

Many people consider waking up to find mysterious insect bites as the first sign of bed bugs.

Bed bugs are considered nocturnal insects that prefer to feed on our blood while we sleep. Therefore, their bites typically appear on skin that is exposed during the night. The most common places where people get bitten are the arms, hands, and legs.

However, pest control professionals agree that bites alone are not enough to diagnose a bed bug problem. That’s because different people can react very differently to bed bug bites, so there’s no definitive way to distinguish them from other insect bites. In fact, a whopping 30% of people don’t exhibit any skin reactions at all to bed bug bites.

While everyone reacts differently, the most common symptom of bed bug bites is red, itchy bumps appearing in small clusters. Some people refer to this as the “breakfast, lunch, and dinner” pattern, which describes bed bug bites as appearing in small clusters or lines of 3 bites. But in reality, bed bug bites can also appear as single bites or in random patterns.

As a side note, bed bug bites are usually not dangerous and do not transmit any known diseases. However, some people may experience allergic reactions to certain chemicals in bed bugs’ saliva. If you’re experiencing severe itchiness, painful swelling, blisters, fever, or flu-like symptoms after being bitten, you should seek professional medical attention.

 Bloodstains

• Unexplained red or rust-colored bloodstains
• May appear as small splotches or smears on bedsheets, clothing, or pillows
• Double check first for other probable causes

Even though we don’t notice bed bugs when they’re feeding on us, they don’t always get away unscathed.

After a bed bug becomes engorged with blood, its original flat, seed-like appearance changes into a round, bloated form resembling a tiny football. If you suddenly move or shift your body in your sleep, you might inadvertently crush or squeeze a bed bug that just finished feeding.

While it doesn’t usually kill them, it can cause some of the blood they just fed on to leak out and create a noticeable red or rust-colored stain.

If you see something that appears to be a bloodstain on your sheets, clothes, or pillow, check your body first to see if you can find a cut or scab that might be the cause. If there’s no other explanation for the bloodstain, then it might have been left behind by an unlucky bed bug.

Sometimes, bloodstains might also come directly from bed bug bites. Bed bug saliva contains an anticoagulant that prevents blood from clotting while they feed. After they finish their meal, the bitten areas may continue to bleed for a short while.

 Fecal Marks

• Tiny, dark brown or black spots around the size of a pen tip
• Usually clustered around harborage areas, but can also be found on sheets and clothing.
• Dark smears on fabric resembling magic marker stains after being washed

Compared to the bloodstains that we described above, bed bug fecal marks (also called “fecal spotting”) are much smaller and darker.

These small, dark spots resemble an ink dot from the tip of a pen or marker. Their average size is about 2 to 4 times larger than a period at the end of this sentence.

Fecal marks come from bed bug droppings, which consist of digested human blood. The digested blood appears dark brown or black in color and, because it contains iron, will give off a faint, rusty smell that contributes to the overall unpleasant odor of a bed bug infestation.

Bed bug fecal spotting can occur anywhere — on sheets, pajamas, mattresses, headboards, box springs, walls, curtains, and other types of surfaces. You can usually find them in large numbers around bed bug hiding places and harborage areas.

On fabric, bed bug fecal marks can be quite difficult to wash out. Water causes them to smear in a distinctive fashion, resembling magic marker stains.

Identify A Bed Bug

Identifying a bed bug can be tricky. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and they can be found in some very unexpected places. They are usually dark red or brown, but can also be black or yellowish-brown.

The first step in identifying a bed bug is to look for their eggs, which are usually a little smaller than grains of rice. You may find them on the surface of your bedding or mattress, but they can also be hidden in your furniture or behind wall panels.

If you find any signs of bed bug activity in your home, contact a professional immediately. The sooner you treat an infestation, the easier it will be!

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