Check your bed for this:The black dots are bedbug poop, black from the dried blood it contains. You will also see small white dots, which are bedbug eggs. This photo is from a very serious infestation, so you will hopefully not see as much.Don't go accusing every creature on your bed of being a bedbug and every welt on your skin as their bite. Bedbugs are very unique. They are wingless and flat and very small. If your creature has wings, it's not a bedbug. This photo has an adult. You can get a sense of scale from the stitches on the mattress.Get a professional opinion, but if you see the black dots and the eggs (salt and pepper sign), you should probably find a new hotel room or get the number of a good, name-brand exterminator service. You have a small nightmare ahead of you.Don't immediately think 'bed bug' when you wake with welts or other lesions. Those marks may result from the bites of mosquitoes, fleas, biting mites, and diverse other creatures. Use your eyes to try to find the villains in or near the bed.
Then, confirm the creature's identity, because not all bugs on the bed are bed bugs (most are not). Jumping to the conclusion without an expert evaluation risks wasting huge sums of money and unnecessary applications of insecticides. The information is available at no cost. Guidance is available there for obtaining a rapid, confidential, independent and expert evaluation of pests and digital images.Well-trained and properly handled dogs can sometimes be useful tools for detecting bed bugs. Many dogs, however, are not so well trained or handled. If a dog indicates a 'hotspot' for bugs, this should stimulate a search by eye for a bona fide bed bug. Absent that confirmation, it would be a mistake to conclude that the dwelling is infested.Are you talking about inspecting your home or a hotel room? When you are traveling, it is a good idea to inspect the hotel room before you bring your luggage in. In addition to peeling up the sheets and checking the edges of the mattress, as others have advised, I always check behind the headboard.
The carpet gets vacuumed and the sheets get changed daily, so a successful bed bug would hide behind the headboard. Many hotel headboards hang freely from a wooden board that is nailed to the wall, so sometimes it is possible to lift the headboard away from the wall and check for those black spots with a flashlight. Just make sure you're strong enough to put it back when you're done checking! It helps if you're traveling with a friend.Depending on how thorough you want to be, you can also look under seat cushions and check the underside of chairs and tables (they can hide in the holes drilled for screws and bolts) and the luggage racks. If you want to be really careful, it doesn't hurt to leave your luggage in the bathtub, to prevent bed bugs from crawling inside your bag.There's some good information here: University of Kentucky EntomologyWell-trained and properly handled dogs can sometimes be useful tools for detecting bed bugs. Absent that confirmation, it would be a mistake to conclude that the dwelling is infestedHow To Get Rid Of Bed Bug Bites.
Cool 9 Tips Bed Bugs BitesAppointments at Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic offers appointments in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota and at Mayo Clinic Health System locations. Tests and diagnosisBy Mayo Clinic Staff If you suspect that you're being bitten by bedbugs, immediately inspect your home for the insects. Thoroughly examine crevices in walls, mattresses and furniture. You may need to perform your inspection at night when bedbugs are active. Look for these signs:Typically found along mattress seams, these specks are bedbug excrement.Bedbugs molt five times before becoming adults. These empty skins are pale yellow. Rusty or reddish stains. You may find small smears of blood on your bed sheets where you accidentally crushed a bedbug. Preparing for your appointmentTreatments and drugs How to find bed bugs. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed Dec. 2, 2014. Do-it-yourself bed bug control. Protecting your home from bed bugs. Bed bug frequently asked questions.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Elston DM, et al. Bedbugs. Introduction to bed bugs. Bed bugs are public health pests. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic. The Mayo Clinic Diet OnlineA 4-Step Plan for HappinessMayo Clinic on Alzheimer's DiseaseControlling High Blood PressureThe Mayo Clinic Diabetes Diet Other Topics in Patient Care & Health Info Diseases and Conditions A-Z Tests and Procedures A-Z Drugs and Supplements A-Z Patient and Visitor Guide We’re not the only ones excited about summer. It turns out bedbugs enjoy the warm weather just as much as we do—maybe more. “Heat accelerates a bedbug’s lifecycle,” says entomologist Gil Bloom, who runs the extermination company Standard Pest Management in New York City. “In 64° weather it takes around four months for an egg to turn into a mature adult;
in 80° it only takes a month and half, making the bugs more plentiful and infestations more common."Another reason summer is high bedbug season: It’s when we humans travel the most. And bedbugs specialize in tourism, typically hitching rides on coats and suitcases, then setting up camp in beds, couches, and electrical outlets in homes and hotels. Let's Stay In Touch Keep this field blank Enter your email address You may unsubscribe at any time. The reddish-brown insects, no bigger than a poppy seed when they're babies, are characterized by horizontal stripes across their backs. They prefer warm, dark places that are in close proximity to their food source: us.Bedbugs can go unnoticed for weeks as they take hold in your home, hiding in cracks and crevices and only coming out at night. Once there’s a sizeable population established, they’re almost impossible to get rid of without expensive professional assistance. Detecting the problem early is the best way to stop an infestation before it gets out of hand.
Here’s what Bloom recommends looking for when you first arrive in a hotel room, or if you suspect you might have bedbugs at home:Recognize a bedbug: Examine mattresses, sheets, headboards, box springs, electrical outlets, and couches for reddish-brown bugs ranging in size from a poppy seed to an apple seed. They like to inhabit places that are 10-20 feet from where you sleep or sit, so start your search in this area.Scout for signature marks: Check mattress seams, pillow cases, and furniture for tiny red blood spots and brown excrement spots left by the bugs.Know an egg when you see it: Look in crevices/cracks in baseboards of walls or furniture for tiny white oval-shaped eggs.Do a sniff test: If you notice a distinct musty or bitter smell, that indicates a possible bedbug infestation. Check your skin: Welts usually appear where skin is exposed while sleeping, and they differ in size depending on your reaction to the initial bite. While it’s tough to tell the difference between bedbug bites and other insect bites, the common rule is that bedbugs will leave three red welts or more grouped together.
For help managing the itch, click here.If you have an infestation, here's what to do:Immediately notify your landlord and your neighbors. The sooner everyone knows, the better. This way you can work together to take care of the infestation ASAP. Choose a well-recommended professional pest control company. Make sure they come to inspect the apartment before giving you a quote, and expect at least two treatment visits and a follow-up to confirm bedbug elimination. Trap and kill 'em. Use flat-edged tools like a credit card or putty knife to scrape the bugs from crevices into paper towels. Then blow-dry them for at least 30 seconds—the heat kills them. Seal all cracks and crevices. Use caulk to seal gaps in baseboards, cabinets, and shelving, where the bugs like to live. Tighten light switch covers and remove all loose wallpaper. Clean and get rid of infested items. Make sure to throw out all things that are heavily infested (furniture is usually salvageable after cleaning), making sure to seal things tightly in plastic wrap and label them “infested with bedbugs.”