Bed bugs are really nasty little creatures, and as pesky as they are, they’re also stealthy. Here are some cool tips to detect those irritating bugs.

Search for their waste

Bed Bug blood smears on bed sheet

Search yourself for bites

Bed Bug Bites Rash

One of the biggest evidences of bed bug infestation is bed bug bites. Bed bug bites symptoms are very hard to identify because it takes a while before you feel the itchy sensation. They are also very hard to compare with other insect bites because they are closely identical. Even though it is usually an itchy bite that we ignore, there are some cases wherein it reaches a large magnitude. There are some cases when bed bugs bite baby infants and transfer diseases like hepatitis b and Chagas disease.

Search for their lairs

If there are bugs, then they must be hiding somewhere. Their hiding places include crevices in the mattress, holes, the folds in the linens, nearby carpets and furniture, curtains and many more. Seeing a live one may be unlikely but seeing a dead one is a first sign that bed bugs are really present in the area.

Catch them red handed

If you still want solid proof that there are bed bugs around, then you may want to stay up late and see them for yourself. Bed bugs are nocturnal creatures, so have a flashlight with you in your sleep. Turn the lights off and wake up at around dawn. With the flashlight, watch the bedbugs slowly creep through your sheets. This, however, does not guarantee a 100% sighting especially if you only have a few.

Climb Up Detectors

If you really want solid evidence that there are bed bugs around then you may want to try the climb up interceptors/detectors.   Deceptively simple these devices with their two capture areas can protect you but in some ways more importantly will give you samples to confirm that you have bed bugs.   And secondly determine if the bed bugs are coming from areas away from or off the bed or on the bed and attempting to leave the bed.  One capture area is for bed bugs coming from a nest off the bed and the other  capture receptacle from bed bugs on the bed.  This will  givie valuable information to find their lair and if they are off the bed protect you at night as  you weight the decision to opt for pest extermination. These climb up interceptors are a good investment.

Bed Bug Dogs

Dogs ability to smell is 10,000 times superior to humans.  Specially trained dogs that have completed a 6 month course are the best  way to determine if you have bed bugs and where they are hiding.  These dogs can also smell and detect bed bug eggs.  They are in the high 90% of accuracy.  Many pest control companies have them available and although they are expensive; the peace of mind if they do not find them is often worth it and conversely the pest control companies will frequently apply at least a portion of the dog inspection charge against the cost of treatment.   I have seen pest control dog handlers come in first and do a visual inspection themselves and not charge you for the dog inspection in cases where the bed bug infestation is obvious.  Find local pest control companies with bed bug dogs click here.

Bedbug signs can be anything from red dots to white little spots, these are eggs. Itchy raised lumps on your skin after a night of sleep, especially in threes can mean bed bugs have dined on you. Bed bugs are small wingless insects that are parasitic similar to mosquitoes and they feed on the blood of warm blooded creatures. To date there are nearly 100 sub species of bed bugs around the world, 92 to be more precise. Cimex lectularius is the most common specie known to feast on human blood as they adapt to human environment easily.

Bed Bug Feeding on Human Being

A flat, oval reddish brown, wingless bug covered in microscopic hair is what the average adult bed bug looks like. They grow from 4 to 5 mm in length. While the bug itself is visible their eggs are whitish and merely specs that are not always visible to the human eye without the aid of a magnifying device. Newly hatched or nymphs are more translucent in appearance and grow darker once they age. You can trap these nymphs from ever growing or feeding by using a Bed Bug Mattress Cover. They are not strictly nocturnal though they are much more active at night with a peak attack period an hour or two before dawn. Their bites catch you off guard as the marks, bumps or welts are are not necessarily apparent immediately. Different people have different reactions to bites, indeed, some people have a negligible reaction while others flare up. These are just some bed bug signs.

Allergic reactions to bites have been apparent in most people as the repeated bites have caused the skin to be sensitized to their saliva. The bite signs are misleading and can resemble the appearance of other blood seeking insects like fleas and mosquitoes. People bitten the first time sometimes even mistake the bites as poison ivy or spider bites. The distinguishing characteristic is the small red dot in the center of each bed bug bite.

Adult females lay as much as 5 eggs a day or 500 in their entire lifetime. As aforementioned these eggs are whitish in color sometimes they are visible enough to see without the use of magnifying devices. To prevent these eggs from ever spreading and to trap them inside your infested mattress you need to use an effective and proven bedbug mattress cover. These eggs can be found in crevices or cracks in the wall, floor, behind wallpaper, in furniture, baseboards and the like. Their flat characteristic makes it easy for them to find dwelling in tiny crevices. From its namesake bed bugs are often found living in beds, tufts, seams, mattress crevices, box springs the headboard or the bed frame can be itself their sprawling Beverly Hills neighborhood. While it is common for the bed to be their domicile, nightstands, sofas, upholstered chairs, clocks, telephones, wall fixtures, and even ceiling fixtures like your smoke detector is more than enough space to set up camp.

Initially they will usually be close to their meal, you, so the nest may start out in the crevices of the the mattress, box spring or behind the head board. Don’t let this happen and protect the spreading of bedbugs by using a mattress cover to lock in these nests. Look for little black spots. The black spots are their fecal matter. As the colony grows in size they will branch out to multiple nests. The best method to determine if you have them or not for certain is specially trained bed bug sniffer dogs.

Bed Bugs, Fecal Matter and Casings on Mattress

Do not delay you have to learn how to deal with bed bugs before the problem explodes totally out of control. For example people often retreat to their couches to escape the bed bugs, but they will follow their food by your heat and carbon dioxide so you will soon have bites on your couch too.

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