How to Identify Bed Bugs

Before you can begin to tackle a bed bug infestation, you must be 100 percent certain that you’ve got bed bugs and not a different type of pest.
In this guide, we’ll find out How to Identify Bed Bugs in Your Home, your clothes, and your mattress. Let’s get started!

How to Identify Bed Bugs

There are a few key things you should know about bed bugs. You should be aware that these pests are:

• Tiny. Bed bugs aren’t microscopic, but they’re small. Adults can be 3/16th of an inch long!
• Great at hiding. Bed bugs typically like to hide under your bed sheets or mattress, but they can also fit between your baseboards and inside of kitchen appliances.
• Not great housekeepers. These pesky critters leave a trail of dead bodies, excrement, and eggs wherever they go.

When a person wakes to find themselves covered in itchy red welts, the first suspect is often bed bugs. But mosquitoes, roaches, spiders, and even carpet beetles may be to blame.

If you’d like to know for sure that you’re dealing with bed bugs and not something else, you’ve got to look in the areas where bed bugs commonly reside.

This includes beneath your mattress, especially in the seams and crevices. If you lift your mattress and find reddish stains or inky spots, you may have a bed bug infestation on your hands. Should you notice these signs, be sure to investigate nearby areas where bed bugs may hide.

Bed bugs are typically brownish, especially after eating. They are flat, with oval-shaped bodies. They tend to feed during the evening when there is less of a chance that they will be noticed.

How to Identify Bed Bugs on a Mattress

Most mattresses are white, or off-white, allowing you to see better any stains or insects that may be lurking around.
Identifying bed bugs on a mattress is simple. Carefully remove any pillows, blankets, and comforters from the bed and store them in an airtight container or large garbage bag. Remove any sheets and store them also.

When bed bugs crawl beneath your mattress, they are typically full of blood and ready to hide for another day. But they often get crushed by the weight of the unwary sleeper above, leaving a dark reddish stain on the mattress.

If you see any of these markings on the front or backside of your mattress, you’re looking at a significant red flag for bed bugs.

You may also spot adult bed bugs crawling around the seams of your mattress while looking. This is a sure sign of a heavy infestation.

How to Identify Bed Bugs in Your Home

Bed bugs in the home are more difficult to identify, as they can fit into so many small areas of a home without being noticed.

Because they tend to inhabit places where we sleep or rest, the best places to look for bed bugs are sofas, upholstery, and cushions.

In addition to rust-colored stains, black dots are another common sign of bed bug. When made wet, these dots bleed like ink. This inky residue is bed bug feces.

Don’t worry though. You can remove bed bug stains from your clothing and upholstery!

How to Identify Bed Bugs in Clothes

White clothes and lighter-colored clothes are great for spotting adult bed bugs and bed bug feces. Black clothes and darker-colored clothes are better for detecting bed bug eggs.

Bed bug eggs are white, sometimes with a small black dot at the center. They are incredibly small and can easily be mistaken for dust or crumbs.

But if you’ve found evidence of bed bugs in your home, and you notice these white or black specks on your clothing, you will want to treat your clothing right away.

FAQ’s

What does bed bug excrement look like?

Bedbugs leave their sign of presence in the form of their droppings. Their excrement will appear like clusters of tiny spots. Their excrement is the size of a dot from a marker. The excrement consists of digested blood which initially will appear as bright red and later on turn to colour black

Can dry cleaning kill bed bugs?

Yes, dry cleaning can kill bed bugs. This is possible due to the high temperatures present during dry cleaning. Bed bugs will die promptly as they can withstand temperatures between 101-122 Fahrenheit. It is vital to inform your dry cleaners of your bed bug situation so that they can not mix your clothes with those of others. Chemicals used during the dry cleaning process do not kill bed bugs.

Can I get rid of bed bugs using a vacuum cleaner?

Yes, you can get rid of bed bugs using a vacuum cleaner. Vacuum cleaning reduces the number of bed bugs, especially if they are in groups. To ensure maximum efficiency when using a vacuum cleaner you should; use a strong suction, don’t press too hard against the fabric, repeat vacuuming from time to time and most importantly, remove the bed bugs from the vacuum after finishing with the vacuum cleaner.