Bed bugs are excellent hiders and can be very difficult to discover unless you know what to look for. While many people notice bug bites on their arms and necks, some people are not allergic to bed bug bites and therefore do not develop red welts. To discover if you have a bed bug problem, you have to go looking for other signs in and around your bed. 

Bed bugs spread

Bed bugs hide in purses, luggage, and coats to ride to new places so they can find new sources of food.  They do not continually eat like other parasitic pests do. Bed bugs only come out to eat for a few minutes at night. They are expert hiders during the day and will stay completely out of sight until they are ready to eat again.

Bed bugs can infest any area where they are close to a food source and often live in fabrics. Any soft or upholstered surface, like carpet or cushions, in public places like airports, cabs, and waiting rooms creates the perfect nesting place for bed bugs. Unlike ticks, bed bugs bite at night while you are sleeping and do not travel by staying attached to their host’s skin.

What an infestation looks like

The signs of bed bugs can be difficult to spot, so it is important to take the time to look for evidence that your home could be infested with these tiny creatures. You likely won’t actually see a bed bug crawling around because they are very good at hiding. A few places to look for bed bugs are:

• Behind your headboard
• In the seam of your mattress
• Under the lip of your night stand
• In the carpet
• Around the tag of the mattress

Signs to look for

As you are looking in the above areas for bed bugs, be on the lookout for:

• Red or brown spots on your pillow, sheets, or mattress
• Tiny, appleseed-shaped exoskeletons or bugs
• Tiny, white eggs

Preventing bed bugs

Each female lays up to five eggs a day, making a small bed bug problem quickly turn into a major infestation.  After your home has been treated for bed bugs, keep a careful eye out for signs that bed bugs have returned, and it’s not a bad idea to have a regular inspection to make sure that a new infestation does not enter your home.

Always take extra precautions when coming home from a vacation or holiday where there is the possibility of picking up bed bugs to prevent bed bugs from re-infesting your home. Good habits include:

• Vacuum frequently
• Regularly wash your bedding
• Keep a clutter-free home so they have fewer places to hide
• Re-checking for bed bugs regularly
• Changing clothes and washing them before you sit down
• Setting your luggage down on a hard surface to be inspected and steam cleaned
• Have a routine pest control inspection

If you are in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, and need help eradicating a bed bug infestation, give Bug Baron Exterminator a call today.