Uncovering an infestation in the home is enough to make anyone’s skin crawl, but nothing quite compares to the living nightmare of a bed bug invasion. That’s right, the parasitic bug that makes a home where you lay your head at night. As unnerving as it may be to even think of them, it is important you know how to identify and locate these pests early on. Treating a minor issue is an inconvenience for sure, but it’s nothing compared to battling a widespread infestation.

Identifying and finding them

The first step is to learn what a bed bug is and where to find one. 

The bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is a small pest that feeds on blood, causing itchy bites to its host. Young bed bugs can be tiny, translucent and almost invisible, while adults are much more detectable, about the size of an apple seed. Their bodies are either brown and flat, or reddish and ballooned, depending on how recently they’ve fed.  

Bed bugs can be difficult to identify, given their small size and habit of hiding, so knowing where to look for them makes all the difference. Bed bugs like to hide in small crevices. You’ll see them stuffed into cracks in bedframes or headboards, in box springs, and along mattress cording and tags. Bed bugs leave plenty of evidence lying around as well. When changing your bedding be on the lookout for these telltale signs:

  • Red or rust-colored stains on the sheets or mattress– these are small deposits of blood extracted from the host
  • Dark spots the size of a pencil point bleeding into the fabric, like from the tip of a marker– these marks are traces of excrement from the pests
  • Eggs about 1 mm in size
  • Pale yellow skins shed from the adolescents
  • Live bugs hiding in creases of fabric or against the mattress cording
  • A sweet, musty odor
Bed bugs bite

Bed bugs also leave clues right on your skin. Most bites are painless at first, but later become red and itchy welts. Most feeding occurs at night, so if you go to bed feeling alright and wake up scratching and thrashing, you definitely want to take a peek beneath the sheets.

What to do?

So you have bed bugs, now what?

After identifying the bed bugs, by either collecting a sample and confirming with an expert or identifying them yourself, you’ll want to follow a few steps. 

  • Remove all infested items from the home. Place them in sealed plastic bags and storage containers.
  • Using a silicone caulk, seal up cracks and crevices in the home to eliminate places for the bed bugs to hide. 
  • Use protective covers to seal up your mattresses and box springs. Any bed bugs hiding inside will suffocate and die.
  • Discard infested furniture you cannot successfully seal, but discard it responsibly. It is good practice to mark furniture clearly as having bed bugs, with spray paint or any other easy-to-read method.
Severe infestations

Simply removing the population is the safest practice to rid your home of these blood-suckers, but for severe infestations you’ll likely have to resort to additional methods. 

  • Foggers
  • Chemicals
  • Heat
  • Steam
  • Cold
  • Traps 

Treating an infestation can be exhausting and take weeks to months, depending on how long the problem has been going on. Early detection is key, and calling a professional is always advised. The experts at Slug-A-Bug are happy to take your call and answer any questions you may have. Call 321-259-7844. Your safety and comfort is our number-one priority.