6 Signs that You Might Have Bed Bugs
Nasty, pesty critters those bed bugs are. Because of their slow infestation rate, natural instinct to hide, and activity mainly at night, it may be hard to tell you have bed bugs at first and can be difficult to treat. To an untrained eye, bed bug bites can also be very easily mistaken as other biting insects.
But, because we have your back, we have found some easy telltale signs that bed bugs may have infested your home.
Bed Bug Bites
Imagine you are sleeping on your stomach, back, arms, and shoulders exposed. Often times when bed bugs become active at night, their first instinct is to feed. Coming straight from your bed mattress corners, they start walking across your skin, biting as they are moving. Thankfully, they don’t spread diseases to humans, but because of this movement pattern, the following are indications that it may have been a bed bug biting you:
- Flat, red welts
- Marks on skin exposed at night (ex: arms, shoulders, etc)
- Zigzag lines or small clusters of bites
- Bites that are in a straight row
- Irritating and scratchy
Musty Odor
When in large numbers, bed bugs release pheromones, which produce a strong, rather unpleasant, musty smell. This closely resembles an old, damp towel smell. Should you find that your room starts smelling like you left a load in the washer for a couple of days, you should take the next step and start checking your bed mattress for bed bugs.
Cluster of Dark Specks
We do it. We don’t like to talk about it, but we all do it. We poop, and so do bed bugs. Once they feed, they leave behind dropping of partially digested blood. What do they look like? We have your answers:
- Appear in clusters
- Found on your bed
- Rust Colored or Black
- About the size of a dot created by a marker tip
Red Stains
We talked about before about how bed bugs walk on you while you sleep. So what happens when they bite you one time too many and you rollover or wake up in your sleep? You crush them! When you squish these critters, you often times are crushing the bugs that just fed, which create red stains from blood on your sheets. Check where your body usually lays for these red blood stains.
Shells
Having 5 stages to grow from an egg to an adult bed bug, bed bugs need room to grow within their exoskeleton, and the only way to grow is to shed their shell. This means that each nymph will leave behind four shells before reaching adulthood. That is a lot of exoskeletons!!
Often found in their hiding spot, these shells will vary in size from .5 mm to 4 mm and will have a pale yellowish color. Bed bug eggs can also be found within this area. They will be white and be about 1mm in size.
Live Bed Bugs
Obvious, but it has to be said. Within your mattress corners, holes and cracks in furniture, or within the cushions of your couch, bed bugs could be hiding out for their next meal. Mahogany brown in color and about the size of an apple seed, bed bugs can even be found in loose wallpaper or wall hangings. If you believe you may have been exposed to an area with bed bugs, it is important to inspect your home regularly or call a professional right away.
If you are identifying signs of bed bugs in your home, the first step in your bed bug treatment is a complete inspection by Bed Bug BBQ. If you are able, collect samples to show our professionals. Bed bugs are tenacious and difficult to exterminate as they can hide anywhere. They hide in clothes, closets, shoes, electronics, dressers, etc. Therefore, your cooperation is required for us to obtain success. We are here to make sure that the pest is completely eliminated from your home or business.
We do not use chemicals within our bed bug treatments as this is a temporary fix and the infestation often returns. Our bed bug heat treatments comes from specialized heaters that are equipped with safety devices such as sensors and thermostats to safely heat the target area to an exact temperature. After an appropriate amount of time, based on the homes size, all bed bugs, including eggs, nymphs, and adults will be removed.
Bed Bug BBQ is your #1 bed bug removal and extermination company in the Cleveland, OH area. Call us now for a FREE inspection: (216) 232-2762.
