Where to Find Bed Bugs

Wondering if you have Bed Bugs? You can start by looking at your bed skirt, sheets, mattress and especially the box spring, headboard and footboard. You will need a bright light and good eyesight to find nymphs or newly hatched Bed Bugs, but adult Bed Bugs will be much easier to see.

What Bed Bugs Look Like

Adults may look like a tick and are about the size of an apple seed, similar in color to a tick they may appear brownish black or if they have just taken a blood meal they will change from being tick-like to being more oblong and reddish brown in the abdominal area.

Bed Bugs Hiding

In an early infestation (2 to 5 bugs) you may not find any bugs or their shed skins, called castings, but most likely you will see some tiny black dots which look similar to roach feces. These dots almost look like someone took a black felt tip pin and made a few dots on the box spring, wall, or other item. It is important to search bed frames and any small screw holes or slits. Bed Bugs are shy and like to hide in dark tight places.

Where Bed Bugs Hide

Often times you will find the bugs on the bed or bed frame / headboard, but please understand that they may also set up a nest behind a hanging picture, in a side table, or any other number of places. Beds are the most common, but certainly not the only place that they will hide.

Bed Bug Bites

If you are unsuccessful at locating any evidence, but continue to feel that you are being bitten, I would suggest the following: Before you go to sleep put on socks and pj’s leaving only your arms, hands, neck and face exposed. Bed Bugs will avoid climbing into clothing which they may have a hard time escaping from. Next, be sure and turn on a bedside lamp and have some tape handy.

Set your alarm clock to go off in the middle of the night (a time when you are in your deepest sleep), wake up and immediately look on your sheets for any movement. Use the tape to catch anything that looks like a bug. If you are able to capture a bug, but still want confirmation, you may go down to your local college extension office and an entomologist will be able to identify the insect either by sight, microscope or DNA testing.

Need Help? - Contact a Professional

If you do not feel like being a guinea pig you can always contact a professional within the Bed Bug industry. They will send someone out to do a visual inspection and often times the professional will bring tools to help locate bed bugs. There are companies that have trained and certified K9 Bed Bug sniffing dogs and these can be a wonderful tool in helping to locate one or two bugs.

Integrated Pest Management

(Four Questions You Should Ask a Pesticide Operator when deciding if you have Bed Bugs)

Scarlet's Certification & Credentials

What is the bug that I have found and where does it come from?
Why is the Bed Bug here?
What do I do to get rid of Bedbugs as soon as possible?
What can I do to keep Bed Bugs away?

Bed Bug Detection Dog

Scarlet is our bed bug detection dog. Scarlet has been certified by the IBBMA to hunt out live eggs and live bed bugs. She continues to maintain her certification by attending annual training sessions where she must be tested to ensure that she maintains her certification. Scarlet will not hit on any smell other than bedbugs...and she loves her job!

The use of a certified bed bug dog that is trained to sniff out live bed bugs and live eggs are approximately 94% accurate with a professional handler. Scarlet has been certified by the IBBMA to hunt out live eggs and live bed bugs.

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