Are you worried that bed bugs are infesting your home?
Despite their size, bed bugs can be quite an inconvenience to any household. While they don’t spread any dangerous disease, bed bug bites can be irritating and painful depending on how your body reacts to them. What’s worse is that a small number of bed bugs can quickly grow into an infestation.
This is why it’s important to get rid of the bed bugs in your home before they spread. How would you know if they’re present in the household, though?
What’s great is that bed bugs leave many signs of their presence in your home. Below are the 10 most common ones. Read on to know whether these pests are in your house today.
1. Unexplained Bites
You’ll likely find out that bed bugs are present in your home this way. Small, reddish spots may appear around your body. Often, they’ll appear on your extremities, first.
Your arms and legs will often get covered with these bites first. They attract more bites since they’re easier for bed bugs to access. They won’t risk getting close to your torso unless there are a lot of them.
These normally aren’t much of a problem. They only itch or are sensitive when touched. However, it can be much more of a problem when you’re suffering from psoriasis, too.
2. Blood Spots on Your Bed
How to tell bed bugs have recently fed? You’ll notice that there are flecks of blood on your mattress or pillow. They’ll often appear close to where you’ll find bites on your body.
Blood often stains your bed because bed bugs don’t have any means to stop blood flow while feeding. They often engorge themselves when feeding, too.
Since they’re active mostly at night, their prey is asleep when they feed. This means there’s no risk to them over-eating and becoming slower.
3. Insect Husks Around Your Home
You’ll also find insect husks around your home when you have bed bugs living with you. As bed bugs feed, they grow larger, often outgrowing their shells. This prompts them to molt their shells so they can grow new ones that are bigger.
Their leftover shells have a deep red color, similar to that of an American cockroach. If you find husks that are around 5cm big, then bed bugs are your best bet.
4. Dead Bed Bugs Across the Floor
You will often find dead bed bugs across your floor. These are often the bug carcasses of female bed bugs that didn’t survive the mating season. This is the case because of how they reproduce.
They go through a traumatic insemination process. Males stab them through their abdomen with their genitalia. In some cases, the female doesn’t survive the encounter and dies before reproducing.
While this may look like a good sight to see, remember that these are rare cases. There may be other female bugs pregnant in your house.
5. You Find Egg Clusters In Your Home
Bed bug eggs look like small grains of rice. You’ll often find these eggs clumped together. IF you’re lucky enough, you’ll catch these egg clusters before they hatch.
If not, though, then it means a new generation of bed bugs are crawling around your home. It’s best to call professional extermination services to get rid of them in this case.
6. You Smell a Coriander-Like Scent
Bed bugs release a pheromone that many people liken to coriander. What’s unfortunate is that this isn’t always the case. The smell they produce depends on where they live and what they eat.
Often cases report that they smell like spoiled raspberries or moldy clothing. What’s worse is that you may not be able to smell it at first. The scent they release is weak at first but will grow stronger as they grow in number.
7. Movement Around the Carpet or Bed Frame
Unlike most household insects, bed bugs don’t have wings or the ability to do powerful jumps. They’re one of the few true bugs that only crawl from place to place.
Given that they’re around the size of an apple seed, they’re easy to spot when crawling on the floor. This is especially when the color palette of your home contrasts theirs.
There’s a downside to seeing them like this, though. Only matured bed bugs, those who are in the later parts of the bed bug stages, crawl around like this. If you see these around your home, there’s a good chance there are younger ones hiding until the night comes.
8. Paint Starts Peeling From the Wall
Paint peeling off of the wall can be a sign of a bed bug infestation. This s because they like hiding in dark places when building their nest. This includes small cracks and crevices made by furniture.
One way to get rid of them is by sealing all the cracks in your home. If you find a nest hiding behind peeling paint, glue it down and the nest should die off.
9. Fecal Stains Around the House
One of the more obvious bed bug signs is the fecal stains they leave behind. These have a dark and rusty color and are often smeared around your mattress or pillowcase.
These are what remains of the blood they drank after they got what they needed from it. Along with their other excrements, these tend to smell rancid even when small in size.
10. Seams on Your Mattress Become Undone
Bed bugs seek warmth when looking for areas to nest. This is why they prefer your bed as your body heat makes it an attractive living area to them.
To hide from you, they often live in the seams of your mattress. This is why it’s important to check whether the seams become undone. Bed bugs will undo the seams to make room for their nest.
Once you see this in your bed, it can mean that bed bugs have already made their nest there. Either that or your mattress is old. Regardless, it’s time to swap it out for a new one.
Does My Home Have Bed Bugs? Find Out Today
Bed bugs are quick to spread if you don’t find them and get rid of them immediately. Know whether bed bugs are infesting your home by keeping an eye out for the signs mentioned above. Purge these pests and breathe easy knowing you’re house is free of pests today!
Do you want to learn more about home and pest management? The guides we have can help you figure out what you can do to prevent pest infestations. Check them out and learn all you can today!
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