How Do You Know if You Have Bed Bugs: 3 Key Signs

While it is easy to get caught up in the media-driven panic relating to bed bug infestations throughout the U.S., it is important to keep a level head about the situation while you assess your own situation. How do you know if you have bed bugs? There are, in fact, a number of signs that can help you ascertain if you have a bed bug problem at an early stage, before the infestation multiplies and spreads into a larger, more deep seated problem. 

How Do You Know if You Have Bed Bugs
Here are three key signs that you should focus on when conducting a bed bug inspection:

Sign #1: Waste Material: Bed bugs create quite a bit of waste, considering their microscopic size. This is one of the most obvious signs, which include the appearance of dark spots on your mattress, box spring, or linens. These stains are both fecal matter as well as partially digested blood that most likely look black in color. It will only look red if the bed bug just ate and then ended up being squashed and killed. The fecal stains will not flake off like blood might do and will simply smear if they are rubbed with something wet. Waste material may also be in the form of shed skins or eggs that appear to be a flaky material similar to rice. 

Sign #2: Bites: If you start to see red, raised bumps on your arms, shoulders, neck and face without having spent time outdoors, this could be a sign that the bed bugs have been biting. You will most likely not be awake when they are feeding. Although the bites might be thought to be a mosquito bite, you should know that these bites come out a few days after being bitten, which is longer than it takes for a mosquito bite to present. 

Sign #3: Physical Specimen: To answer the question, how do you know if you have bed bugs, the third sign is to actually get a physical specimen, which is often hard to do because they happen to be very anti-social. One way to catch a bed bug in the act is apply a sticky tape around your bedposts, frame rails and baseboards near your bed. You may end catching a few that are scurrying to and from your bed. You may be able to also use a flashlight in areas of your bed where you suspect bed bugs could be nesting. While very small and hard to see, you might be able to spot them with a magnifying glass.

In Review
Here are the main points from this blog post:

• Specific signs are the best way to know if you have bed bugs.
• Two signs involve the bed bug, including potential specimens as well as their waste products, like fecal matter that creates dark stains on bedding and egg shell casings that look like rice. 
• The third sign are bites on your arms, neck, and face, which may need to be examined for verification.

About The Author

Jeremy Ecker has worked in the pest control industry for the past 17 years. The last 8 years was spent as a Vice President of one of the most well respected regional Pest Control Companies in New York. He is part of a NESDCA Certified Dog Team