Do you ever wake up itchy and find tiny red spots on your skin? You may have bed bugs! You may want to check your mattresses, bedding, and bedclothes for dark maroon dots, which will indicate that you have a bed bug problem.
If you think you have a bed bug infestation, you can follow these easy steps to find out:
- Bed bugs: Even though they can be hard to find, the adult bed bugs will be about the size of a small apple seed and have a long, brown, flat oval body. If they have already been feeding on blood, they will be swollen, elongated, and a reddish-brown in color. Younger bed bugs or “nymphs” will be smaller, translucent or a yellowish-white color. They are nearly impossible to find if they have not fed recently because of their size and color. Bed bug eggs are the size of a pinhead and pearly-white in color.
- Shed exoskeletons: Every now and then bed bugs need to shed their outer shell. These are translucent casings, which may still hold the shape of the bed bug it came from, or be slightly broken.
- Odor: Bed bugs give off alarm pheromones that indicate to other bed bugs there is danger nearby. This odor will be a sweet or musty smell.
- Bites: Bed bugs require blood to thrive and reproduce, so they find a host and, through a tiny puncture in the skin, feed on blood. This will result in tiny red dots that can become raised, itchy, or burn. A bed bug bite rash may occur from a line of multiple bites. Most bites are usually mild but can be more severe for some people with sensitive skin.
- Dotting: After feeding there may be dark maroon dots on mattresses, bedding, and bed clothing, as a result of bed bugs feeding and eliminating feces.
Now that you know more about the signs of bed bugs, you will need to do a thorough investigation on beds, mattresses, bedding, and bedclothes. In addition, you should look all around headboards, nightstands, wall hangings, outlets, ceiling and wall junctions, loose paneling, and wallpaper, as well as other furniture and floors throughout your home.
If you suspect there are bed bugs inside your home you will want to take action and call a professional pest control company immediately to avoid a full-blown infestation. Due to the size and nature of bed bugs, they are extremely difficult to identify and even harder to eradicate.
You can count on our experienced technicians at American Pest Solutions for all of your bed bug control needs. Give us a call today for more information. We are glad to help.