When you hear the word pest, what first comes to mind? You probably think about ants, cockroaches, rodents—all the big names. It is always the pests that show themselves and cause trouble that are popular. Bed bugs, on the other hand, are often forgotten in the pest world. Is it because they are too small to see?
What Bed Bugs Look Like
Despite what many people think, you can see bed bugs with the naked eye. They are about the size of an apple seed when fully grown, and five times larger when filled with a blood meal. Before reaching adulthood, bed bugs go through 5 stages of development, starting at about ⅕ mm long and growing to about 4 ½ mm long. Younger bed bugs appear more of a cream color and only turn reddish-brown at full maturity.
Signs Of A Bed Bug Infestation
Besides seeing live bed bugs crawling over your bed, there are other signs that these blood-sucking pests leave behind that give them away. Here are some things you should keep your eye out for:
- Bites on your skin that appear in a line or zig-zag pattern
- Spots of dried blood
- Dots of reddish-black fecal matter
- Tiny, almost see-through egg castings
- A musty odor in the air.
We should mention that although bed bugs bite, they are not known to spread diseases. The worst that can come from prolonged exposure to a bed bug infestation is an infection from scratching the sites or insomnia from lack of sleep.
How To Spot Bed Bugs In Your Home
Using the signs we talked about above, here are some practical steps you can take to inspect your home for bed bugs.
- If you do not like the idea of handling bed bugs, we recommend wearing protective gear such as gloves before starting your search.
- Strip the covers off of your bed. Check sheets and bed linens for the bloodstains we talked about earlier.
- Lift your mattress, keeping it at arm’s length to avoid falling bed bugs. Check underneath and around seams for any live bed bugs or the signs they leave behind.
- Lift your box spring in the same way and check it as well.
- Comb your room for dots of fecal matter. Common places you will find this include on baseboards, around outlets, along floorboards, and near other areas bed bugs might be hiding in your room.
- Repeat steps 2-5 in other sleeping areas throughout your home.
We recommend following these steps at least once a month as bed bug infestations can happen at any time of the year.
What To Do If You Find Bed Bugs In Your Home
If you think you have bed bugs in your house, or would like to know for sure, it’s time to give the professionals a call. Here at Connecticut Pest Elimination, LLC, we are committed to identifying and eliminating bed bugs from homes in our community. With several years of training and experience dealing with bed bugs, you will find no one better suited for the job at hand.
If you are losing sleep due to bed bug problems, we want to help. Don’t let a bed bug infestation take root in your New Haven home. Give us a call today!