Signs You Have Bed Bugs In Your Home

Bed bugs are parasites that live off of the blood of humans and animals. So you might start to notice bites on your arms and legs or even more noticeably on your face. At first, bed bug bites may appear as a small, red bump. After some time, the redness around the site of the bite may turn into a slightly raised area that is reddish brown in colour, leading you to itch a lot. You might also have small holes or rashes on your skin or clothing. Bed bugs inject an anticoagulant along with their saliva when they bite and so bed bug bites usually take a little longer to heal than mosquito or flea bites.

 

Blood on Bed Sheets or Pillowcases

Bed bugs often leave small spots of blood on your bed sheets or pillowcase. These have to be quite fresh in order for you to see them so do check the sheets regularly. The blood spots may not look impressive and even harder still to spot until they dry up leaving tiny black stains behind.

 

Faecal Spots

Bed bugs leave dark brown or black, smelly faecal marks on your mattresses, pillows or bedding. The stool is usually dark oval shaped deposits, known as ‘faecal spots’ which are around 3mm long and quite hard in consistency. Bed bugs usually defecate in the area where they nest as well as other areas of your home.

 

Shells Or Molted Skins

You may also find little clumps of dark hair or even egg shells with tiny black specks inside them which are actually empty egg cases that have been shed by the bed bugs. Piles of dusty-looking cast skins in dark crevices and creases on mattresses, pillows or bedding are also signs that bed bugs have moved in.

Bed Bugs in Hiding Places

The reason the presence of bed bugs is quite distressing and difficult to tackle is due to the fact that bed bugs can hide pretty much anywhere in the tiniest of crevices in your home or business. They can be found hiding in the cracks in suitcases, bags, clothes, box springs and pillows. Look also in the crevices of chairs, sofas, headboards, bookshelves and picture frames.

 

Bed Bugs Traps and Monitors

Bed bug traps which help to identify a potential bedbug infestation include monitors that contain attractants such as heat or carbon dioxide (CO2), insecticide impregnated pads with pheromone lures or light/heat motion sensors.

 

How To Get Rid of Bed Bugs?

Getting rid of bed bugs is never an easy task. Bed bug infestations have a tendency to be quite tricky to treat as their eggs are resistant and allows them to survive for long periods of time without feeding. Bed bugs can also go into a semi-dormant state or even hide away in cracks and crevices until they sense that the conditions are right for them to start feeding again leading many homeowners going through endless rounds of insecticide treatments with no real progress at all being made. If you suspect you have bed bugs it is important to call a bed bug expert immediately who will help you determine if you do indeed have a problem and then provide the appropriate course of treatment to get rid of them. For a free no-obligation quote, call 1st Call Pest Control.