How to Inspect for Bed Bugs

Have you noticed unexplained bumps or welts on your skin, especially after waking up? Or maybe your skin has been unusually irritated lately? If so, you might be dealing with a bed bug issue. You’ve come to the right place for help.

In this article, we’ll guide you through the key questions to ask yourself, identify common signs of bed bugs, and explain the tools you’ll need for an effective inspection.

Start by asking yourself: Why do you suspect you have bed bugs?

Consider these questions:

• Have you been experiencing frequent itching or new skin bumps and welts?
• Have you recently stayed in a new location, such as a hotel, Airbnb, or a friend’s house?
• Did you recently acquire used furniture?
• Have your children attended a sleepover or has a roommate been away overnight?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you could be at a higher risk of a bed bug infestation.

The next crucial step is to thoroughly inspect your home and furniture. By following our detailed guide, you’ll be better equipped to determine whether bed bugs are the issue and how to address it effectively.

 First, you want to grab yourself a flashlight. If available, you can also get a magnifying glass and a pair of disposable gloves. Gloves and a magnifying glass is not necessary the  gloves  provide added protection  for those who don’t like touching bugs as well as those nervous in accidentally coming in contact with bugs while inspecting. The Magnifying glass helps with the vision impaired but even ,those with the bests of eye site can miss a bed bugs. When born, bed bugs can be ⅛   the size of an adult, and are translucent, so missing a bug here or their can be easy. So, What to look for? We are gonna look for bed bugs but sometimes their not that obvious . So, let’s look for other signs like  pepper stains, molting shells, and bed bug eggs which resemble small white grains of rice. 

Now ! bed bugs themselves, are about the size of an apple seed as an adult, 3/16 to ¼ of an inch long. , as a nymphs they can appear a quarter of the size of an adult, and even smaller once newly born. They are oval size and a reddish-brown color,  and after feeding they can appear a little plumper.  

The first place to look may be a little obvious but that would be checking your bed. Looking on the edges of sheets and blankets and inside pillowcases, make sure to be gentle while looking, you don’t  want to flip a bed bug across the room.  Bag up all bedding and sheets in a trash bag to prevent spreading.

NeXT, check the seams of the mattress. Use your flashlight to look up under the mattress  and tags. Pay close attention to the mattress seams at the head of the bed and mattress corner. You may find a cluster of them under the mattress tag. 

 

After, start checking the box spring, look into the corner folds of the box spring. Turn the box spring on its side and if bed bugs have not been discovered at this point, check inside the screw holes of the bed frame on the bottom of the mattress and box springs .Bed bugs like to hide in a dark and quiet space. Screw holes give the perfect illusion of safety and  provide close and easy easy access to a blood meal.

 

Additional places to look are the corners of any computer, gaming, or kitchen chairs in the home. Check the bottom of the footrest of any recliner you may have and also look under the back frame. Tufting buttons and other seams are a great place to look as well . Check the crevices of the recliner or couches. The dust cloth under the couch ,that connected the feet of the couch, allows for a great hiding spot for those tiny vampires. Another great place to look would be the zipper seams of the living room couch. You can remove couch cushions and check inside zipper seams .   This should be enough locations to examine to get a yay or nay on your bed bug problem, but here are some additional facts that will help you inspect for bed bugs in other situations if needed. 

There is a myth that bed bugs are invisible. this is not true, bed bugs are born translucent and they receive their color by  getting their first blood meal. Second, bed bugs cannot jump or fly, so you will find them on items on the floor, or on walls. And third bed bugs are slow-moving insects, so they do like to stay close to their blood meal, so more than likely you will find them around humans like beds, nightstands, or wherever the host, stays or sits  the most.

If you had discovered bed bugs, contact your local pest control company for advice and treatment options. You can visit Tulsabedbugspecialist.com for more videos, articles, and advice.