Where Do Bed Bugs Hide?
Bed bugs may enter your home undetected through luggage, clothing, used beds and couches, and other items. Their small, flat bodies make it possible for them to crawl into tiny spaces and remain hidden from the untrained eye. Bed bugs do not have nests like ants or bees, but they tend to live in groups in various hiding places.
The initial places you will find them are typically in mattresses, box springs, bed frames, and headboards, where they have easy access to people to bite at night. Over time they may scatter throughout the bedroom, moving into any crevice or protected location.
They may also spread to nearby rooms or apartments. Because bed bugs live solely on blood, having them in your home is not a sign of dirtiness. You are just as likely to find them in clean homes and hotel rooms as in filthy ones.
When Do Bed Bugs Bite?
Bed bugs are active mainly at night and usually will bite people while they are sleeping. They feed on human or animal blood by piercing the skin and withdrawing blood through their elongated beak.
The bed bugs will feed from three to ten minutes or until they become engorged and crawl away unnoticed.
Most bed bug bites are painless at first, but later the bites will turn into itchy welts. Unlike fleas, which bite mainly around the ankles, bed bugs bite any exposed skin while you are sleeping.
People who don’t realize they have a bed bug infestation may attribute the itching and welts to other causes, such as mosquitoes. To confirm if you have a bed bug problem, you must find and identify the bed bugs themselves.
Signs of Infestation
If you wake up with itchy and inflamed areas you didn’t have when you went to sleep, you may have bed bugs. The chances of a bed bug infestation are higher if you recently got a used bed or other used furniture around the time the bites started appearing. Other signs that you have bed bugs include:
- Bloodstains on your sheets or pillowcases
- Dark or rusty spots from bed bugs excrement on sheets and mattress, bed clothing, and walls
- Bed fecal bug spots, eggshells, or shed skin in areas when bed bugs hide
- An unpleasant, musty odor from the bug’s scent glands
Bed Bug Treatments
Getting rid of bed bugs begins with cleaning up and disinfecting the places where bed bugs live. This should include the following:
- Clean bedding, linens, curtains, and clothing in hot water and dry them on the highest dryer setting. Place other items that can’t be washed in the dryer and run on high for 30 minutes.
- Use a stiff brush to scrub mattress seams to remove bed bugs and their eggs before vacuuming.
- Vacuum your bed and surrounding areas frequently. After vacuuming, immediately place the vacuum cleaner bag in another bag, seal the opening and place it in the garbage can outdoors.
- Encase mattress and box springs with a zipper cover to keep bed bugs from entering or escaping.
- Repair cracks in plaster and glue down peeling wallpaper to get rid of places bed bugs can hide.
- Get rid of clutter around the bed and organize your bedroom.
If your mattress is infested, you may want to get rid of it and get a new one. However, you need to take care of the bed bug infestation in your home, or they will infest your new mattress.
Rid-A-Bug Pest Extermination Services for Bed Bugs
While cleaning up infested areas can help control bed bugs, getting rid of them usually requires chemical treatment, which can be harmful to your bed and bedroom. It’s important to use products that can be used safely in bedrooms.
Generally, the safest and most effective way to eliminate bed bugs is to hire an experienced pest control professional for bed bug extermination. For bed bugs and other pest problems, contact Rid-A-Bug. We use our experience to develop the best plan for eliminating pests in your home, using safe and effective products.