For forty beautiful years, bed bugs disappeared, but now they’re back — with a vengeance. These almost invisible pests creep into our most sacred spaces and turn our beds into blood-sucking nightmares.
If you’re constantly waking up to welts that appear to be bed bug bites, it’s probably time to call a pest control merrillville in company.
Before you panic, find out whether it’s really bed bugs in your home by looking out for these five signs.
- Bed Bug Bites
One of the first signs that alert people to the possibility of a bed bug infestation is bites. Of course, there are plenty of other little critters that bite, including mosquitoes and spiders, so how do you know if it’s bed bugs?
First, check where on your body the bites are cropping up. Bed bugs prefer exposed skin, so you’ll usually have bites on places such as your arms, shoulders, neck, face, and bottom of your legs. Essentially, the places that aren’t under a blanket or covered in pajamas when you sleep.
The bites are typically in clusters, and while they are painless, they may be itchy or inflamed. If you are hypersensitive to the bites, the itchiness and swelling can be severe.
The welts typically form in a zigzag pattern or line and may be surrounded by blisters or hives.
These bites are pretty distinctive from mosquito bites, which don’t appear in clusters or in a zigzag pattern.
If you’re constantly waking up to welts that appear to be bed bug bites, it’s probably time to call a pest control company.
- Blood Marks on Your Bedding
These little pests may be tiny, but they leave behind tangible evidence of their blood-sucking habits. If you’re noticing rust-colored or brown marks on your sheets, pillows, and bedding, it could be a sign of bed bugs.
This happens because you may be squashing the insects when you sleep, which leaves behind tiny blood marks the size of a pinhead.
Additionally, bed bug excrement contains blood (probably yours) and when they poop on your bed, the blood bleeds into the fabric.
These little blood markings will never be red. Rather, look out for dark brown, rust-colored, and sometimes even black droplets.
Red, itchy bites and telltale blood signs on your bedding? Call a pest control service that uses bed bug heat treatment to avoid nasty chemicals in your home.
- Eggs, Shells, and Skins
Bed bugs shed their exoskeletons up to five times during their lives! So, look out for yellow-colored skin that the bed bugs have shed.
Along with finding their shed exoskeletons, there are some other physical signs to look out for. You may come across their eggs or eggshells, too. It’s likely that you’ll find all of these signs in the same place (as well as the ones above).
If you find something on your bed, for instance, that you suspect is an eggshell, then look around for other physical signs.
Remember, bed bugs are tiny and these little tidbits of evidence that they leave behind will be tiny, too. However, if you have a large infestation, then you may find a mass of eggs, exoskeletons, and blood marks.
Unfortunately, if you lift up your bedding and find a collection of these physical samples, simply boiling your bedding won’t be enough. It’s a sign of a large infestation and you’ll need to contact pest extermination services.
- A Strange Odor
This is one of the strangest indications of a bed bug infestation that pest control companies will tell you to look out for. You may be able to sniff out the presence of bed bugs in your home.
When there is a bed bug infestation, so a lot of the bugs in one place, the pests produce pheromones that have a strong and unpleasant smell.
It smells musty and dank, a bit like wet dog or dirty laundry. So, once you’ve removed the wet dog from the room and cleaned all the laundry, if the smell still remains, you may be dealing with a bed bug infestation.
- Finding the Bugs
You can’t deny the presence of bed bugs when you find the bugs in your bed! However, these are sneaky little critters, so finding them is no easy feat. You need to know what they look like and where they love to hide.
If you suspect bed bugs because of the above telltale signs, you’ll need to go in search of them if you want physical proof of their existence.
Bed bugs need to live close to their food (…you) and so will usually hide out in the mattress, in the corner, or the headboard. Use a flashlight to inspect these places and see if you can spot any creepy crawlies.
Then, you need to make sure that you’ve spotted the right bugs. You’ll be able to see them with the naked eye. They’re oval-shaped, between 4 to 7mm long — the size of a flattened apple seed. They range from red to dark brown in color.
If Bed Bugs Have Moved In, Call Pest Control
Uh oh. You’ve found the telltale rust fecal markings on your bedding, you’re scratching incessantly at bites and your bed has officially become an area you dread climbing into. It’s time to call pest control. If you recognize all the signs that there are bed bugs in your home, then there probably are.
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