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What Are The Signs Of Bed Bugs?
8/6/13
Bed bugs are invasive pests that can cause you a great deal of grief, frustration, stress and having them inside your home or business can cause you to lose many nights’ sleep. So before you have a bed bug infestation inside your home, learn to recognize the signs of these pests so that you don’t pick them up while out travelling and if you do have them at home, you can catch the problem before it gets out of hand.
Some signs of a bed bug infestation can be:
Shed bed bug skins. Because bed bugs have five nymphal instar stages, they shed their exoskeletons five times before they are a full grown adult. The shed skins look very similar to the grown bed bugs themselves but are translucent in color; they are truly just an empty bed bug ‘shell’.
If a host is present, bed bugs will feed frequently, usually every 7 to 10 days. When they aren’t feeding, they are digesting their last blood meal, which means they eventually leave fecal spots of digested blood in areas where they congregate or areas where they are passing through. In a large infestation, you will see these drops of bed bug fecal matter (which appear like little black or dark brown spots that are smooth and flat, like liquid stains) pretty much everywhere. In a smaller infestation, bed bug fecal matter can be seen along mattress seams, on the wood frame of box springs, along the tops of baseboards or the edge of carpeting, at electrical outlets and in the seams of curtains.
You may see bed bug eggs in especially large infestations, although they can be difficult to see. Their eggs are extremely tiny, about the size of a pin head. They are pearl white in color and can be found in areas where bed bugs are congregating.
In a large infestation, some people report the smell of over-ripened raspberries. This is not an obvious smell in a smaller infestation, but can permeate a room when there are many bed bugs (and their eggs) present.
All these signs of bed bugs can alert you to an infestation either when spending time in a commercial lodging or in your own home. Unfortunately, sometimes these signs are easy to overlook, especially when the infestation is still small. But the sooner you can find an infestation, the better chance you have of getting it under control without having to resort to drastic measures. So, in order to carefully examine your property (or any commercial facility where you are staying), there are several places to look for these insects. Look for bed bugs:
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Around mattress seams
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Inside the holes for set-in screws
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Where the box spring fabric is stapled to the wood frame
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Behind any loose wallpaper
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Behind chipped paint on the wall or on furniture
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Along the interior frame of closet doors
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Behind baseboards
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Inside the baseboard heating units
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In personal belongings, including books, stuffed animals, picture frames, alarm clocks along with many others
If you suspect a bed bug problem, or you’ve found definitive evidence of bed bugs inside your home or a commercial facility, contact a pest control professional before you do anything else. An educated professional is the best one to determine if you truly have a bed bug problem or if you could have a different pest inside your property. They are also the only ones that are capable of providing effective bed bug control solutions that are safe for you and your family.
For more information on bed bug control for your Nashville or Mid-Tennessee home or business, contact the professionals at All-American Pest Control today. They can offer bed bug inspections by trained professionals and trained canines as well as eco-friendly and effective bed bug heat treatments to eliminate your bed bug problem for good.