How To Check For Bed Bugs and Prevent Bed Bug Bites

Say the words bed bug to anyone who has experienced their horror and you’ll notice a visible shudder of disgust. While bed bugs can pop up anywhere, they tend to be more prevalent in cities due to a large number of people living in close quarters to each other. In recent years, there have been more cases of bed bug infestations around the United States due to increased travel, lack of knowledge about preventing infestations, increased resistance to pesticides, and ineffective pest control practices.

If you listen to the horror stories from people who have had bugs, it might seem like they’re impossible to get rid of. While a full-blown infestation requires the help of a professional if you manage to catch them early on, you can get rid of them by natural means. With that said, it can be difficult to spot them early on. Bed bugs are fairly small measuring in at around one-quarter of an inch long before feeding After feeding they can grow to around the size of an apple seed. They don’t fly or jump, but they can crawl rapidly.

It might seem like it should be harder to get infested by bed bugs than fleas or other bugs, but it’s actually very easy to get them. Since they’re so small and hard to see, they can easily hitch a ride on your clothes, bags, luggage or purses. In general, you’ll get bed bugs from places that already have them, but if you live in a city where you’re often in close proximity with other people, the bed bugs can easily crawl from one person to another. If you live in an apartment complex, they can also move from apartment to apartment. So if you hear your a neighbor has bed bugs, you’re at a higher risk of getting them. Use this helpful guide to learn how to check for bed bugs and how to prevent bed bug bites and more.

If you do end up with bed bugs, don’t panic! There are plenty of ways you can get rid of them, but the best way is to look for the warning signs and nip the problem in the bud. It takes around one month for bugs to develop in favorable conditions and they can produce three or more generations every year.

Where Bed Bugs Hide

How to check for bed bug bites on your mattress?

Bed bugs are able to invade your home so easily because they’re great at hiding. Thanks to their small size, flat body shape, and discreet color, they can easily sneak in on your clothes, luggage, used furniture, and other items. More importantly, their body allows them to fit into tiny spaces like your floorboards or, more commonly, your mattress and pillows.

There’s generally no obvious location where bed bugs live as they do not nest like ants. With that said, they do live in groups. Typically, bed bugs will stay close to their source of food (humans) so they have easy access to them during the night. For that reason, they generally congregate in pillows, mattresses, box springs, bed frames, and headboards. As their population grows, they’ll spread out from the bedroom to other rooms and even to neighboring homes if you live in an apartment complex. Considering they can reproduce so quickly, having just one pregnant bed bug can lead to an infestation in just a few months.

Remember, even if you have a clean house you can still get bed bugs. With that said, it’s still a good idea to keep your place clutter-free. The less hiding places you have for bed bugs, the faster you’ll be able to spot their presence.

When Bed Bugs Bite

Do you often wake up in the morning with little bites across your arms, legs, neck, or even back? If so, you might have bed bugs. These buggers crawl out from their hiding spot while you’re sleeping by piercing your skin and drawing blood through their beak. They generally feed in 3 to 10-minute increments before crawling away.

While bed bugs tend to be most active at night, right before dawn, they will occasionally feed during the day time if they need the food. Bed bugs can feed multiple times throughout the day, which is why most bed bug bites follow a zig-zag or line pattern and come in groups of three. With that said, bed bug bites look different on everyone, as people have variable reactions to the bites. Some people might only have small welts while others might have a serious allergic reaction. Some other symptoms of bed bug bites include:

Painful, burning sensation
Raised itchy bump with a clear center
Red itchy bump with a dark center
Small spots of blood from bites

All that said, bites aren’t the best way to diagnose the issue. The bites could be mosquitoes or potentially even an allergic reaction. You’ll actually need to find more concrete evidence that you do have bed bugs in order to combat them properly.

Signs of Bed Bug Infestation

A great place to start looking for signs of bed bugs is your bedding

So how do you know you have bed bugs? Bites are your first tip-off. If you’re waking up with bites that weren’t there when you went to bed, it’s time to investigate. The best places to look for signs of bed bugs are on your mattress and sheets. Look at the seams of the mattress for any bed bug droppings. Droppings are dark brown or black in color and look like little dots. If you don’t see any on your mattress check other hiding spots like your along your baseboards or walls.

While droppings tend to be the most common sign of bed bugs, you’ll probably also find things like shed skins and eggshells in the same location as the droppings. You might also notice bloodstains on your sheets and pillows from where you were bitten. Bed bugs also give off a very strong musty odor. You might not notice it at first, but you’ll usually smell it when you get close to their hiding spot or when you go to wash your sheets. The warm water will make the odor more noticeable.

When looking for signs of infestation, look at all of the potential hiding spots. That means checking places like:

Near the tags of your mattress and box spring
Cracks in the bed frame
In baseboards
Between furniture joints
Inside electrical outlets
Under wallpaper
Under paintings and other artwork on the walls
In the seams between the wallpaper and the ceiling

Make sure to really give every area a good look. Use a flashlight to really check between cracks for any signs of them. Remember, bed bugs are flat so they can easily hide even in the crevices of your floor. It might be tedious, but you want to know the extent of your infestation as this can be the deciding factor on how you will treat the problem.

While you’re examining your house, de-clutter your rooms. Clear your floor of any places where bedbugs can hide. That includes clothes, newspapers, magazines, junk mail, etc. The fewer hiding spots you have for them, the less your chances of having a recurring issue.

Bed Bug Treatments

There are a few ways to treat bedbugs based on the severity of your infestation. If you are able to catch the issue early on, you can manage the problem naturally. Natural doesn’t mean easy, though in regards to bed bug treatment.

The first action you should take is keeping bed bugs contained so you can get rid of them. The easiest way to do that is to vacuum. Run your vacuum over all of the potential hiding spots including your bed, dresser, carpets, electronics, etc.Once your bag fills up, or you finish vacuuming, immediately toss the contents of the vacuum into a bag and throw it away. Don’t forget to clean out your vacuum after to get rid of any stragglers.

Once you’ve vacuumed the hard surfaces, it’s time to treat the soft surfaces. Gather all of your bedding, linens, curtains, and clothing and wash everything with hot water (boiling is even better if you can). After that, dry everything on the highest setting. If there are items that you can’t put through the wash, just tumble them in the dryer on the highest setting for at least 30 minutes. Essentially, you want to reach temperatures of around 120 degrees F as this temperature kills bed bugs in every stage of their life. If you have clothes or other items that cannot be washed or dried, you may have to dispose of them.

If the bed bugs are living in your mattress, you have two options. The first is to encase the mattress and box spring in specific sheets that trap the bugs inside. The sheets come in all of the standard bed sizes and can be purchased in stores or online. In order for these encasements to work, however, you’ll have to keep them on for over a year as bed bugs can live a year without feeding. While these zippered sheets should be foolproof, it’s still a good idea to cover the zipper part with tape to prevent any potential openings for the bugs to escape. You’ll also have to make sure you don’t rip or puncture these sheets as even the smallest opening will allow for the bed bugs to escape.

Of course, if your mattress is severely infected or if you’re not able to keep the sheets perfect due to your pet’s scratching habits, the next alternative is to replace your mattress. When disposing of your old bed, make sure to properly wrap it up in plastic so you don’t spread the bed bugs to other areas of your house. As well, you want to make sure you’ve rid your entire house of bed bugs. Otherwise, your new mattress will just get infected.

In order to prevent re-infestation, you should also do the following:

Declutter and keep your bedroom neat and clean to prevent bed bugs

Repair cracks in plaster and glue down wallpaper to get rid of hiding spots
Sprinkle desiccants like boric acid or diatomaceous earth on your floors, carpets and in between the cracks of your baseboards. These will remove the protective coating of the bugs and eventually dry them out.
Place traps around your bed to intercept bed bugs between their hiding place and your bed
Keep the area around your bed free of clutter
If possible, keep your bed away from walls

Even if you follow all of these steps, you might not get rid of the bed bugs the first time you follow all of these steps. It takes time and patience to get rid of them completely. If you don’t have the time or the infestation is too bad, you might need to hire a professional.

Bed Bug Extermination

Replace mattress and hire an bed bug exterminator

While the steps above can help you clean up the infested areas and keep it under control, if you actually want to get rid of the bugs, you’ll need to use chemicals. Unfortunately, bed bugs seem to have built up a resistance to common insecticides found at stores. To treat a very stubborn problem, you’ll need to hire a professional exterminator. They have access to much stronger chemicals and better tools that can reach the bed bugs’ hiding spots.

There are a variety of insecticide products that have been registered as bed bug treatments. Your exterminator might use one or a combination of a few options in order to eradicate the problem. The most common chemical classes include:

Pyrethrins and pyrethroids - these are the most commonly used chemicals for bed bug treatment. Both act on the nervous system of the bugs.
Silicates - This includes diatomaceous earth. Essentially, these rub off the protective covering of the bed bug and dehydrates them. Since the effect is physical, the bugs cannot become resistant.
Insect growth regulators - In order for this to work, the insects must first bite before it becomes effective, making this an unattractive choice.
Carbamates - these work similarly to pyrethrins and pyrethroids but are more effective as there are not many causes of resistance.
Neocnicotinoids - these are man-made versions of nicotine and damage the bugs’ nervous system. As of now, these have been found to produce no resistance.

Sleep At Ease With The Knowledge Of Bed Bugs and How To Deal With Them

Getting bed bugs can be a harrowing experience. They’re tenacious and spread quickly. If you don’t deal with them immediately, they can easily overrun your home. Luckily, there’s more information on bed bugs and how to prevent bed bug bites and stop their spread. While it might take some time to get rid of them, it’s not impossible. Of course, once you do get rid of them, it’s up to you to prevent another infestation. With that said, most people who get hit by bed bugs once become hypervigilant about checking for signs early and reducing clutter. The faster you can identify and contain the spread, the fewer chances you have of having a full-blown problem.

Karen A Mulvey is a personal social blogger and mom with 14 years of experience in the every day world of motherhood and sustainable product research. Karen is on a mission to help everyday families select sustainable, non-toxic organic products, stop stressing about uncertainties on sustainable home goods and apparel, and start living the life they’ve always wanted.

Follow Karen at @karenAmulveycs | Karen A Mulvey