Are you feeling a little itchier than you normally are? Are you covered in itchy bumps every morning? If so, you might be wondering if you’ve brought bed bugs home with you. Bed bugs are a true terror. It’s difficult to appreciate just how bothersome bed bugs can be until they’re in your bed and chewing on you while you sleep.
Worst of all, bed bugs infestations can be difficult to confirm if you don’t know what you’re looking for. If you’re wondering how to know if you brought bed bugs home, we have the answers for you.
How Do I Know if I Brought Bed Bugs Home with Me?
To learn how to know if you brought bed bugs home, you need to look in the right places. If you’re already itching, the first spot to check is where you’re itching.
Bed bug bites tend to be clustered and often form lines or angles. Bed bug bites won’t appear one at a time at random spots on the body. They will always be bunched together. Bed bug bites are similar to mosquito bites – the skin will be raised, red, and bumpy where you were bitten. Also See: Bed Bug Symptoms on Humans: What To Look For
If your bites seem to match that description, the next place to check is anywhere you might relax for long periods of time at home. Check your bedding and furniture for rusty or reddish stains. These stains can come from old blood or crushed bed bugs.
Tiny dark spots on bed sheets or mattresses may be the excrement left behind by bed bugs. You might also find eggs or hatched eggshells around 1mm in size or pale yellow skins left behind by growing nymphs. Also See: How to Find Bed Bugs During the Day
Where Do Bed Bugs Hide?
During the daytime, or when bed bugs aren’t actively feeding, they will hide in any textiles or plush surfaces they can find. These include clothing, mattresses, and furniture. However, they also like to be where it’s dark. Bed bugs will search for any holes or seams they can find and create a nest.
In heavy infestations, you might find bed bugs in the following places:
- Seams of chairs, couches, and mattresses
- Folds of curtains
- Dresser drawer joints
- Electrical receptacles
- Behind loose wallpaper
- Upper corners of the walls
- The heads of screws
The number of places bed bugs can hide can be dizzying, but the first place you should check is your mattress. Bed bugs like to stay close by to make feeding as convenient as possible. If the infestation is light or just beginning, you will most likely find them hiding in the seams of your mattress.
Keep in mind that bed bugs will gladly travel up to 20 feet from their hiding places to feed on you. If you suspect you might have bed bugs at home, look for the telltale rusty, brown streaks and dark black spots they leave behind.
When Should I Look for Bed Bugs?
Preventing bed bug infestations is the best solution for dealing with bed bugs, so don’t wait until you’re itching to start looking. If you’ve recently spent an extended period of time in a public place, camp, hotel, or hostel, there is a non-zero chance you might have encountered a bed bug.
Bed bug infestations start silently, so the place you visited may not even be aware they have a problem yet. However, because bed bugs are hitchhikers, you should always take caution when spending time in high-traffic areas where other people will be around.
If you’re worried that you’ve come in contact with bed bugs, the best thing you can do is contact a professional exterminator.
Before the exterminator arrives, make sure to wash all of your clothes and keep them in sealed containers. Then, quarantine the affected area with diatomaceous earth and bed bug monitors to slow or halt movement from one room to the next. After the exterminator has done their work, you can rest easy.
ESS Universal manufactures and supplies high-quality, cost-effective commercial grade beds, mattresses, and furniture to camps, hostels, shelters, dorms and more. View our entire line of furniture products including our popular waterproof foam mattress for institutional use, single metal bed frames, single over single bunk beds, single over double bunk beds, and triple bunk beds. Download our catalog for detailed information on our complete product line.
