How to check for potential bed bug infestation in my house?
I truly, deeply hate to say it...but I'm afriad that I have bed bugs. I haven't found a beg bug YET, but I've been waking up itchy all week. I'm concerned there could be an infestation because I've heard if there's one there's usually many. How do I check for bed bugs? More importantly, what do I do?? Thank you so much!
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There are all kinds of treatment options, but I think the heat treatments are probably the best if you want to do it yourself. The trick is you have to heat up each room as fast as possible. And the reason I say this is because, you know, bedbugs, they can travel, I believe, 10 to 14 feet per minute. So, your average room is 12 by 12. You know, so once you start heating something up, if it's not fast enough, the bedbug could go into a cold pocket or wall outlet, etc. But once you get the heat high enough, you only need to leave it on for 2-3 hours to get rid of the bedbugs.
Now, what we like to do and what you can use yourself is a direct forced air heater. Direct heaters are better because you're heating up the areas where you’re likely to have bedbugs. Let's say you're doing a bedbug treatment in a bedroom. You strip down the bed, you check the dressers, and you say, holy smokes, there's a lot of bedbug activity. What you will do is you'll use a heat gun to heat up that specific area, and it will heat it up so quickly that nothing can survive.
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Now, what we like to do and what you can use yourself is a direct forced air heater. Direct heaters are better because you're heating up the areas where you’re likely to have bedbugs. Let's say you're doing a bedbug treatment in a bedroom. You strip down the bed, you check the dressers, and you say, holy smokes, there's a lot of bedbug activity. What you will do is you'll use a heat gun to heat up that specific area, and it will heat it up so quickly that nothing can survive.
If bedbugs are detected early on, and it's a low-level isolated infestation, it's completely treatable on your own. The first step is always going to be a thorough inspection of your home. Starting at the bed and working your way out from there. Ideally, you want to have a good high-powered flashlight with you to look in all the cracks and crevices.
Whenever you're able to find bedbugs, you can simply remove them either by vacuuming and disposing of a vacuum bag. You can use Isopropyl rubbing alcohol with at least 80% concentration. Steam is also hot enough to kill bedbugs if you apply it directly to the area for a couple of seconds.
There are a couple of different types of "bedbug traps" on the market that emit CO2, which is what we breathe out all day long, and there's also usually a backup bed bug pheromone. You open the trap and put it in a box and ideally, a bed bugs will get trapped. Just make sure you're not in the room at the same time, or else the bed bugs may be attracted to you instead.
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Whenever you're able to find bedbugs, you can simply remove them either by vacuuming and disposing of a vacuum bag. You can use Isopropyl rubbing alcohol with at least 80% concentration. Steam is also hot enough to kill bedbugs if you apply it directly to the area for a couple of seconds.
There are a couple of different types of "bedbug traps" on the market that emit CO2, which is what we breathe out all day long, and there's also usually a backup bed bug pheromone. You open the trap and put it in a box and ideally, a bed bugs will get trapped. Just make sure you're not in the room at the same time, or else the bed bugs may be attracted to you instead.
This is just my personal experience, so grain of salt and all that. If you think you might have bedbugs, I wouldn’t sit around waiting until you 100% confirm the problem yourself. Call an exterminator who specializes in bedbugs and explain why you’re worried. They’ll charge you $100-300 or something for an inspection, but they’ll be able to confirm if you’ve got them with absolute certainty. If you want to treat the problem yourself after that, fine, but that $150 or so is a steal for not having to wait for the problem to get out of hand.
When I first had bedbugs, I noticed bites but not any actual bugs, so I just wrote the bites off as spiders or mosquitoes. About a week later, I wake up in the middle of the night itchy. I turn a light on and there are probably hundreds of bedbugs all over my sheets. It was probably one of the most traumatizing experiences of my life. So yeah, don’t wait!
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When I first had bedbugs, I noticed bites but not any actual bugs, so I just wrote the bites off as spiders or mosquitoes. About a week later, I wake up in the middle of the night itchy. I turn a light on and there are probably hundreds of bedbugs all over my sheets. It was probably one of the most traumatizing experiences of my life. So yeah, don’t wait!
You’re probably not going to have a ton of bites if the infestation is new, but I’d assume you have bed bugs even if you only have a few bites. You can also look for little brownish-reddish or black stains on your sheets, blankets, and mattress (blood spots and bed bug poop). If you see any of that plus little yellow eggs or little black bugs, you've got bed bugs, sorry.
Start by washing and drying literally everything you own. This will kill any bugs or eggs on your clothing and sheets. When you take stuff out of the dryer, bag it up in garbage or contractor bags to keep the clean clothes safe. Then, I’d wrap your mattress in a mattress bag to suffocate any bugs. Do the same for your box spring if you have one. After that, I’d steam clean basically everything. Steam cleaners on the highest heat level will spot-kill any bedbugs.
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Start by washing and drying literally everything you own. This will kill any bugs or eggs on your clothing and sheets. When you take stuff out of the dryer, bag it up in garbage or contractor bags to keep the clean clothes safe. Then, I’d wrap your mattress in a mattress bag to suffocate any bugs. Do the same for your box spring if you have one. After that, I’d steam clean basically everything. Steam cleaners on the highest heat level will spot-kill any bedbugs.
Good job noticing the blood specks – that’s one of the most common ways to detect the presence of bedbugs. I’ll add in some more tips for others who visit this page in future looking for help. To check for bedbugs, start by checking the mattress, since that’s the direct link to humans. Pull the sheets back and inspect the mattress seams. In larger infestations, you might see red staining on the mattress or pillowcases—that’s digested blood residue. Bedbugs are about the size of an apple seed, dark reddish-brown, and often cluster along mattress seams.
If you don’t see them there, check the headboard, especially where the seams come together. They prefer wood over metal, so they’ll often hide in small cracks. You can also check nightstands, books, and even dresser drawers. In homes, you should also inspect baseboards since bedbugs spread as the population grows. If you’re bringing in second-hand furniture—especially upholstered pieces—inspect the seams, zippers, and hidden crevices. That’s a common way they get introduced into homes.
To get rid of them in your home, you have a few options. If you relocate within the house—say, from your bed to the couch—you risk spreading them. Instead, stay in the affected room so treatment can be effective. Chemical treatments work by allowing the bugs to come in contact with the pesticide, while heat treatments kill them outright. Either way, you are the food source, so they will seek you out.
For DIY treatments, you can buy liquid or dust applications at home improvement stores, but always follow the label instructions. However, I strongly advise against attempting a heat treatment yourself. Too many people have burned their homes down using propane heaters or other unsafe methods. If you opt for heat treatment, hire a professional. Steaming can also be effective for targeted areas. It won’t burn your house down, but you do need a steady, high-temperature steam output for it to work effectively.
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If you don’t see them there, check the headboard, especially where the seams come together. They prefer wood over metal, so they’ll often hide in small cracks. You can also check nightstands, books, and even dresser drawers. In homes, you should also inspect baseboards since bedbugs spread as the population grows. If you’re bringing in second-hand furniture—especially upholstered pieces—inspect the seams, zippers, and hidden crevices. That’s a common way they get introduced into homes.
To get rid of them in your home, you have a few options. If you relocate within the house—say, from your bed to the couch—you risk spreading them. Instead, stay in the affected room so treatment can be effective. Chemical treatments work by allowing the bugs to come in contact with the pesticide, while heat treatments kill them outright. Either way, you are the food source, so they will seek you out.
For DIY treatments, you can buy liquid or dust applications at home improvement stores, but always follow the label instructions. However, I strongly advise against attempting a heat treatment yourself. Too many people have burned their homes down using propane heaters or other unsafe methods. If you opt for heat treatment, hire a professional. Steaming can also be effective for targeted areas. It won’t burn your house down, but you do need a steady, high-temperature steam output for it to work effectively.
Bed bugs have a unique musty smell. I noticed that my mattress smelled musty and was waking up with bites.
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That is very true. When bed bugs start getting into large numbers or people have sensitive noses, you can begin to pick up an odor.
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This is my second time around with bed bugs, absolute hell!!! My experience by now tells me that nobody knows how to deal with that, that said you will read and hear a lot on how to get rid of those bugs but unfortunately none of those solutions will be 100% accurate,
The game changer is to use as many
tools as you can and what you think a make sense to you and I mean that the way you know it will work for you!
Yes, as a last resort, I called pest companies, $100.00 of dollars later, minimum $1000.00,
No resolution, got on the web, following my instincts, choosing what maybe right, also learned the hard way,
Will have a prevention plan for now on... no worries, choose your own avenues, will be hard but you will place those buggies out of your life and where they are meant to be.
..wishing you the best.
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The game changer is to use as many
tools as you can and what you think a make sense to you and I mean that the way you know it will work for you!
Yes, as a last resort, I called pest companies, $100.00 of dollars later, minimum $1000.00,
No resolution, got on the web, following my instincts, choosing what maybe right, also learned the hard way,
Will have a prevention plan for now on... no worries, choose your own avenues, will be hard but you will place those buggies out of your life and where they are meant to be.
..wishing you the best.
I never had much success personally with removing bed bugs on my own. I’ve had them twice and the first time I tried to treat it myself. I washed and dried everything, used a steam cleaner, a mattress bag, etc. I even laid diatomaceous earth around my baseboards and bed to kill any bed bugs running around. After about three weeks, I got bit again. Voila, same thing. They came back a THIRD time after that. I ended up just calling a pro and that solved the problem permanently.
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Lots of factors have to be considered. The first thing to consider would be has any used piece of furniture/clothing/linen been introduced into the home recently. Many people purchase used furniture at yard sales and end up bringing them that way.
Next thing, think if you have visited anyone who may have bed bugs but might be to embarrassed to say something. Just sitting on someones couch who has bed bugs is putting you at risk to being them home.
Have you taken a trip recently? Stayed at a Motel 6 maybe? Its not just Motel 6 any hotel has the potential to have bed bugs even if they look fancy. I know it may sound a little ridiculous but always inspect your room prior to stay to make sure no unwanted critters are around. You can also pick them up at the airport or train station.
The main thing is be proactive. If you are traveling inspect your hotel room, inspect your luggage before you bring it back into your home. And if you have that friend who is questionable as far as bed bugs or roaches go maybe not meet up at their place or yours but at another location.
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Next thing, think if you have visited anyone who may have bed bugs but might be to embarrassed to say something. Just sitting on someones couch who has bed bugs is putting you at risk to being them home.
Have you taken a trip recently? Stayed at a Motel 6 maybe? Its not just Motel 6 any hotel has the potential to have bed bugs even if they look fancy. I know it may sound a little ridiculous but always inspect your room prior to stay to make sure no unwanted critters are around. You can also pick them up at the airport or train station.
The main thing is be proactive. If you are traveling inspect your hotel room, inspect your luggage before you bring it back into your home. And if you have that friend who is questionable as far as bed bugs or roaches go maybe not meet up at their place or yours but at another location.
Are the bites kind of like small mosquito bites? Do they appear in clusters or lines—especially in areas where you might sweat a lot at night? If so, you’ve probably got bedbugs. These things like to hide during the day and they’re pretty small on their own, so it can be tough to confirm you have them if the infestation just started and they haven’t really multiplied a whole lot.
You can look for them with a flashlight by peeking under your covers, under your mattress, and around the baseboards near your bed. If you see something tiny, oval-shaped, and about the size of a sesame seed, you’ve got bed bugs.
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You can look for them with a flashlight by peeking under your covers, under your mattress, and around the baseboards near your bed. If you see something tiny, oval-shaped, and about the size of a sesame seed, you’ve got bed bugs.
To check for bed bugs, inspect mattress seams, headboards, and furniture crevices for small reddish-brown bugs, tiny white eggs, dark fecal spots, or shed skins. You might also notice itchy bites in a line or cluster on your skin.
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Reader Tips from A Complete Guide to Getting Rid of Bed Bugs
Get an exterminator!!! I can't stress that enough. I have never had a bug I couldn't get rid of and I didn't even have that bad of a bedbug infestation. But the only way to get rid of bedbugs is an exterminator. It's expensive but it works.
Combine 91% rubbing alcohol with lavender, peppermint, and tea-tree oil in a spray bottle. This will kill eggs and bugs on target, and neutralize the oppressive scent of straight, particulate, rubbing alcohol.
When looking for signs of bedbugs, stay up late to catch them. They're nocturnal and feed very late at night, around 2 to 4 a.m. That's how I found the worst unwanted guest ever!!!!
Reader Tips from Bedbugs: How to Spot Them & What to Do About It
I spent a good 30 minutes examining every nook and cranny of my bed frame and mattress after finding red spots on the mattress pad. Didn't find anything, but the black dust that had settled into the crevices was ultimately the clue I needed to incriminate fleas from my cat as the culprit. Our vet said that flea dirt turns red when it gets wet (in my case, the heat and moisture coming from my body while I slept) and can look similar to bed bug fecal matter. So if you have pets, look for that black dirt before panicking, because fleas are much easier to deal with!
Be careful when you go to hotels, motels, Airbnbs...anywhere lots of people come and go. Bedbugs may latch onto you or your luggage and come home with you! Before staying at a hotel, look at reviews to see if anyone mentions seeing bugs there.
Reader Tips from How to Kill Bedbugs: A Thorough Guide for a Bug-Free Home
If you only see one or two bed bugs, don't freak out just yet. It may not be an infestation and you can easily get rid of these on your own by vacuuming them up. Just be sure to get rid of the vacuum bag or trap the bugs in a plastic bag so they'll suffocate.
Olive oil in a spray bottle instantly kills bed bugs. Baby powder can also kill them and it's the cheapest way I have found to deal with them. Put baby powder in all the nooks of the bed, where they like to hide. It will dry them out and kill them.
