Bed bugs are tiny insects that live in cracks and crevices. They can be found in homes, offices, schools, and other public places, especially when there is a lot of furniture or clutter.
Bed bugs feed on blood and can live for months without food. Because of their irregular feeding cycles and small bites, bed bug bites often go unnoticed. Bites are painless, but they may cause red bumps or welts, which itch severely at night. The bites may burst open and bleed if someone bitten scratches too much. For the bugs in your bed, this is called “breakfast.”
Unfortunately, the most common type of pest in the United States is bed bugs. Globally, these pests are found throughout almost every region. In some areas of the U.S., about one out of every five Americans have encountered them, according to a 2011 survey. Broken out, those numbers are 17% of residents in Northeastern states, 20% of residents in Midwestern states, and 20% of residents in Southern states.
If you think your home has bed bugs and want to know where they usually hide, remember that bed bugs are excellent hitchhikers. They easily crawl from place to place. They like hiding in small cracks near humans. They are often found under mattresses, box springs, in the folded areas of the bed, or the frame around it.
We know bed bugs live in cracks and places near the bed, but where are you most likely to find them outside the bedroom? Bed bugs thrive in areas of your home or office with lots of clutter and low lighting.
Bed bug habitats are not limited to any one specific type of dwelling. Pest control companies have reported infestations everywhere, including single-family homes, multi-family housing, apartments, hotels, hospitals, schools, college campuses, office buildings, retail stores, movie theaters, and public transportation.
Apartments and single-family homes are the most common locations for bed bug infestations, according to NPMA’s Bugs Without Borders survey.
When surveyed about where they are most likely to find bed bugs, 100% of pest professionals reported having found infestations in at least one type of residence. Single-family houses top this list with 91%, followed closely by apartments/condominiums at 89%. So if you live in a home, you are not necessarily safe from bed bugs.
To identify where a bed bug infestation is, you must check for physical signs. Look for rusty or reddish stains on your sheets and mattresses when cleaning. You may also notice bites on your back or stomach that look similar to mosquito bites. Search your bed or other places where you spend most of your time. You’ll often be able to see their feces clumped together in a bead shape on and in your seams.
Additionally, you might find crushed bed bugs or signs of maturing bed bugs, such as eggshells on your mattress. Baby bed bugs are tiny, but they shed their skins and leave them behind as they grow. Their pale yellow exoskeletons may be visible where dust collects typically.
Lastly, you’ll want to see if you can find any of the bed bugs themselves hiding in your mattress.
Although the signs mentioned above are a fantastic indicator of if you have bed bugs or not, there can be some false positives. For example, everyone’s immune system will react differently to bed bug bites, which means you might not show any signs that they are feeding on you at night. Some people’s reactions to bed bugs may also differ due to their allergies or medications.
So, it’s essential to be able to spot bed bugs when necessary.
Bed bugs have small, flat bodies that are oval-shaped. They don’t have any wings. Bed bugs typically feed at night when humans sleep, so it’s not easy to see them with the naked eye during daylight. Adults measure around 4-5 mm long, while nymphs can be smaller, requiring a magnifying glass or microscope to spot them.
If you find bed bugs, stay calm and get ready to deep clean everything. The best way to get rid of bed bugs is to call a professional pest control company. If you want to try to do it on your own, though, pesticides are one option. However, there are some importantessential things you need to know before using any pesticide around the house.
Make sure it has an EPA label and mentions how effective it is against bed bugs. Stay both safe and legal by following all directions for use on the product’s packaging. Always follow up with several thorough checks after applying pesticides to ensure they’re gone for good. These resilient little critters come back if not properly dealt with!
In some cases, you may treat your mattress, but bed bugs living in another part of your home (or the apartment across you) may migrate over after a couple of weeks, restarting your problem.
We recommend you call a pest control professional and go with either a heat pest control professional and go with either a heat treatment or a traditional treatment to rid your home of bed bugs.
Here are the steps you should follow:
Trying to treat bed bugs yourself is not a good idea. DIY treatments often fail, and the infestation worse infestationinfestation will worsen as time goes on. If you think your home may be infected with bed bugs now or in the future, it’s worth paying for professional pest management services early on to help eliminate them before they return and their numbers get out of control!
Even if a professional is involved, bed bug removal and treatment is an ongoing process. Bed bugs will not be gone overnight, but they can go away in about two treatments when a professional is called.