Signs your room may have bed bugs will be the focus of this article. Knowing what signs to look for when it comes to identifying if your house is infested with bed bugs, is the first step in ensuring that you win the battle against these vile pests. If you don’t know what to look for, chances are you what know what a sign of bed bugs presence is even if it is staring you in the face.
Can you see bed bugs
Bed bugs are nocturnal insects. They carry out most of their activities deep in the night. Their Nocturnal habits mean it can be difficult to spot them in your homes. Even with the heightened state of their epidemic, most people find it difficult to identify bed bugs.
Bed Bug Life Cycle
The peculiar lifestyle and life cycle of bed bugs mean it can be challenging to identify bed bugs. A bed bug life cycle is made up of three stages
- Egg
- Nymphs
- Adult
A female bed bug gives birth to about 500 eggs in a single lifetime. The eggs take under ten days to hatch into nymphs. The nymphs are the upon emergence immediately seek out blood meals for their growth and maturation. The maturation stage of a nymph comprises of five molting stage. The Nymph needs to feed at least once in each stage to grow and develop. Each stage is characterized by growth in size and shedding of skin because of the intake of blood.
A typical bed bug bite can easily be confused with a mosquito bite or a flea bite or any other insects. Because of the difference in our human makeup, different people react differently to bed bug bites. Some people don’t even show any reaction to bites, this also adds to why bed bugs are difficult to find.
Signs to Look For
However, bed bugs cannot hide forever. Occasionally they leave signs around, and if you are observant enough, you can pick up on some of these signs. Also, bed bugs are found in certain places in the house. They love places that offer them a favorable temperature and humidity. The familiar places to find bed bugs in the house include;
- Cracks and crevices
- Behind picture frames
- Headboards
- Wall sockets
- Under carpets
- Besides furniture
- The entire bed area including, mattress seams, bed frames and so on
Life Stages of Bed Bugs
A bed bug life cycle is made up of three stages
- Egg
- Nymphs
- Adult
Eggs of bed bugs are translucent in appearance and tiny in size, and this makes them difficult to see with the naked eyes. They are usually in clusters of five to ten at a time.
The nymphs are immature bed bugs with brown coloration. The nymphs must go through five molting stages before becoming adults bed bugs. The typical size of a nymph is close to the size of a pinhead. They feed on blood a lot to boost their growth and development
The adult bed bug is roughly five millimeters in size, that is the size of an apple seed. They are flat in stature, wingless and reddish-brown in coloration.
Bed bugs stay close to where humans spend most of their time such as sleeping areas and sitting areas. The proximity to humans allows them to feed quickly and then hurry back to their hideouts with minimal detection. Although bed bugs are stealth, they still leave evidence of their presence scattered across the crime scenes.
Physical Evidence of Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are stealth, quiet and discreet but even with that, they still leave lots of evidence scattered around. Some of these physical signs bed bugs live around include.
- Shed of skins
- Fecal stains on bedding, fabrics, and clothing
- Blood stains on clothing
- Eggs and live bed bugs
If you suspect the presence of bedbugs in your room, you can take off the sheets of your bed to inspect the edges of your mattress. Look for the signs of bed bugs and even the presence of live bed bugs and eggs.
Let’s take a closer look at the some of the physical evidence bed bugs leave behind.
- Bed bug shells
Discarded bed bug shells are often left behind where bed bug feed and hide. Shedding of skin and empty shells are common with the nymphs stage of the bed bug life cycle. In this stage, bed bugs feed a lot, and when they do, they undergo a process called molting which entails expansion of size and shedding of skin. The shells resemble bed bugs although they are usually empty and translucent. Depending on the level of infestation, empty shells could be few or up to hundreds.
- Fecal stains
Bed bugs usually leave a fecal stain anywhere they find themselves.These stains are different from blood stains as they are brown. These stains can be easily found in bed dings, clothing, mattress, furniture, headboards and just about any other place bed bugs find themselves.
Signs and Symptoms of a Bed Bug Bite
Signs your room has bed bugs? The first sign most people look at for regarding bed bugs bites. But bites are a poor indicator of the presence of bed bugs because people react differently to bed bug bites. Our genetic makeup means that some persons will show mild reactions to the bites, while others will show more severe reactions, there are also some individuals who won’t show any reaction at all.
When it comes to bites, bed bugs,the anesthetic and anticoagulant present in the saliva of bed bugs mean you won’t even notice when they bite you and start sucking your blood. It takes about three to ten minutes for them to be well fed with your blood.
Immediately after eating, bed bugs swiftly move back to their hiding spots to rest, digest the blood, grow and reproduce eggs.
Common signs of bed bug bites include;
- Red welts and bumps
- Excessive itching and burning sensation
- Rows of Straight lines of bites
- Bite rash
Treating Bed Bug Bites
Mild bites can be washed using soap and water. The washing prevents the emergence of secondary infections. For itching bites, apply cortico steroid cream.
The recommended way to treat severe bed bug bite reaction on your skin is to see a dermatologist. Severe reactions include allergic reactions, secondary infections, the appearance of pus, blisters and so on.
How to get rid of bed bugs
Bed bugs infestation of the house can run deep unnoticed; it is important as soon as you spot any signs of their presence, you contact professional pest control company to help you investigate and administer the right treatment methods. Do not rely on on the counter sprays as bed bugs are resistant to them. Signs your room has bed bugs? Read More…
