Are you concerned about bed bugs in your home? We’ll go through the 7 early indicators of bed bugs that you should be aware of in this article:
- Live bed bugs
- Bed bug eggs
- Shell casings
- Fecal marks
- Bloodstains on sheets
- Bed bug bites
- Musty odors
Bed bugs are notoriously difficult to discover and even more difficult to eradicate, especially in heavily populated areas like Sydney.
Despite their cunning, a watchful homeowner or apartment renter should be able to see the early indicators of a bed bug infestation.
Finding and exterminating these small, blood-sucking parasites early on — before they can reproduce and spread — is one of the greatest methods to protect yourself and your family from them.
This post will go through the seven early indicators of bed bugs, as well as where they hide and how to conduct a quick visual assessment of your house.
Bed Bugs: 7 Early Warning Signs
These bed bug warning indicators are listed in order of how certain each one can be when it comes to confirming the existence of bed bugs, especially early on in an infestation.
We’ll start with the least trustworthy sign (odors) and work our way up to the most trustworthy sign (live bed bugs), explaining what each means and where to check.
If you fear your home has been infested with bed bugs, it’s well worth your time to learn about and get familiar with these early warning signals.
In general, expert confirmation of these indicators of bed bugs may be required to be confident of bed bugs. Still, this article will help you choose when that professional confirmation is required.
07. Smells
An odd, musty odor with no obvious reason
The scents of raspberries, coriander, cilantro, and almonds are frequently used to compare bed insect pheromones.
Rust, moist towels and moldy clothing might indicate a major bed bug infestation.
Our sense of smell might sometimes be the first indication that anything is wrong. It could be an early symptom of bed bugs if you notice a strange, musty stench in your bedroom that doesn’t seem to come from an obvious source, such as a pile of dirty laundry.
When disturbed or threatened, bed bugs produce “alarm” pheromones. These pheromones produce scents that are slightly sweet or musty. According to some who have encountered it personally, it smells like raspberries, coriander, cilantro, or almonds.
The smell of pheromones is normally very weak, almost unnoticeable to the human nose. You have a slim probability of detecting the raspberry-like pheromone smell from bed bugs unless you’re a trained bed bug detector canine.
When many bed bugs live together, the odors of their pheromones mingle with the smells of dead bed bugs, shed shell casings, and bed insect excrement. The consequence is an obnoxious, metallic odor that worsens as the infestation progresses.
Compared to the other early indications of bed bugs, the odor is the least trustworthy. That’s because the stink of bed bugs is too subtle for humans to detect when only a few of them are present. Furthermore, most people are unfamiliar with the smell of bed bugs — or a bed bug infestation — so even if you smell something, you’re likely to misdiagnose it.
06. Bites
Small, red, itchy bumps that emerge in the middle of the night
The arms, hands, and legs are the most prevalent sites for bites.
Occasionally, it appears as a line of three or four bites (the so-called “breakfast, lunch, and supper” pattern).
The first indicator of bed bugs, according to many individuals, is waking up to find unexplained insect bites.
Bed bugs are nocturnal insects that like to feast on our blood at night. As a result, their bites are most common on skin exposed at night. The arms, hands, and legs are the most typical areas where victims get bitten.
However, pest management experts believe that bites alone are insufficient to detect a bed bug infestation. Because different people react to bed bug bites in various ways, there’s no definite method to tell them apart from other insect bites. 30% of people have no skin reactions to bed bug bites.
While everyone reacts differently to bed bug bites, the most common symptom is red, itchy pimples that emerge in small clusters. Bed bug bites appear in little clusters or lines of three bites, which some people refer to as the “breakfast, lunch, and dinner” pattern. On the other hand, bed bug bites might emerge as single bites or in random patterns.
On the other hand, bed bug bites are rarely hazardous and do not transmit any known diseases. However, certain compounds in bed bugs’ saliva may cause allergic reactions in some people. If you’ve been bitten and are experiencing extreme itching, painful swelling, blisters, fever, or flu-like symptoms, you should get medical help.
05. Stains of blood
Red or rust-colored bloodstains that aren’t explained
Small splotches or streaks on bed sheets, clothing, or pillows are possible symptoms.
Check for other possible causes first.
Even if we don’t see bed bugs when feeding on us, they don’t always make it out alive.
When a bed bug becomes engorged with blood, it transforms from a flat, seed-like shape to a round, inflated shape resembling a miniature football. Inadvertently crushing or squeezing a bed insect that has just finished eating if you move or adjust your body in your sleep.
While it normally doesn’t kill them, it can cause some of the blood they just ate to flow out, leaving a visible red or rust mark.
If you notice a bloodstain on your linens, clothes, or pillow, examine your body first to see if there is a cut or scab that could be the source of the stain. If there’s no other explanation, the bloodstain could have been left by a bad bed bug.
Bloodstains from bed bug bites might also appear on occasion. The anticoagulant in bed bug saliva keeps blood from clotting while they feed. The bitten sites may continue to bleed for a short time after finishing their food.
04. Fecal Marks
Spots the size of a tiny pen tip, dark brown or black.
It’s most common in harbour areas, but it’s also found on bedding and clothing.
After being washed, dark marks on fabric like magic marker stains
Bed bug fecal marks (also known as “fecal spotting”) are significantly smaller and darker than the bloodstains described above.
These little, dark dots seem like an ink dot from a pen or marker tip. They’re about 2 to 4 times the size of the period at the end of this sentence.
Bed bug droppings made up of digested human blood leave fecal stains. Because it contains iron, digested blood appears dark brown or black and emits a faint, musty odor that contributes to the overall disagreeable odor of a bed bug infestation.
Faces from bed bugs can be found on sheets, pajamas, mattresses, headboards, box springs, walls, curtains, and various other surfaces. They’re generally found in great numbers near-bed insect hideouts and harborage regions.
Bed bug fecal markings on textiles can be difficult to remove. They smear uniquely when exposed to water, mimicking magic marker stains.
03. Eggs
Around 1 mm in length, pinhead-sized pearly white ovals
Loosely adhered to a variety of surfaces
Usually found around bed bug breeding grounds.
Pregnant female bed bugs lay one to seven eggs per day, which hatch in seven to ten days.
Bed bug eggs are approximately 1 millimeter large, pearly white in color, and ovular in shape. They look like microscopic rice grains that have been reduced to the size of a pinhead.
Eggs are visible to the naked eye, but unless you know what you’re searching for, they can be tough to spot. Each egg has a hinged cover at the end from which the newly hatched beg bug emerges. A darkish eye mark can be visible on bed bug eggs that are more than 5 days old, but only under a microscope.
Bed bug eggs are more common at harborage places, similar to feces spots. On the other hand, female bed bugs tend to travel around when they’re pregnant, perhaps spreading the infestation to other rooms and apartments.
They use a glue-like substance to bind their eggs to surfaces when depositing them. As a result, these tiny, white eggs are most likely to be found loosely adhering to cracks between fabrics or wooden surfaces, though they could be found elsewhere.
02. Shells Casings
Juvenile bed bug exoskeletons are yellowish-brown and transparent.
Throughout the bed bug’s molting cycle, it comes in various sizes.
Indicators of a bed insect infestation that can be relied on
There’s a good chance you have bed bugs if you encounter bed bug shell casings, also known as husks or shed skins. Shell casings that have been abandoned are a sure sign of a burgeoning bed insect infestation.
Shell casings are the translucent, hollow outlines of young bed bugs that are sometimes easier to spot than the bed bugs themselves. Mattress seams, upholstered furniture, holes, fractures, and fissures in wooden furniture are all places where bed bugs can hatch and breed.
Bed bugs shed their exoskeleton multiple times during their 5 lifecycle phases before adulthood. Molting occurs at every stage of the lifecycle, from the first instar nymph to the second instar, the third instar, the fourth instar, the fifth instar, and finally, the adult form.
Shell casings or “shed skins” of various sizes are produced due to this operation. Because most individuals are unfamiliar with the sizes and shapes of bed bug nymphs, recognizing shell casings can be difficult.
However, if you already suspect bed bugs and find yellowish, translucent shells in common bed bug hiding locations, you should schedule an examination with your local pest control professional.
01. Bed Bugs That Are Still Alive
The insects are little, reddish-brown, and about the size of flex seeds.
Hiding in tight nooks and crevices is preferred.
Spider beetles, carpet beetles, and other microscopic insects are frequently mistaken.
The most obvious indicator, of course, is the presence of live bed bugs.
Unless they need to eat or are pregnant females evading aggressive males, bed bugs don’t want to roam about. Bed bugs have a habit of finding a hiding location and sticking to it.
As a result, many people do not see live bed bugs until the infestation has progressed significantly. Live bed bugs are only easily spotted when their hiding spots are disrupted, such as while you’re packing for a move.
Finding a live bed bug in your house may seem like a dead giveaway, but it’s not always the case.
Many insects are mistaken for bed bugs and vice versa. Spider beetles, carpet beetles, and cockroach nymphs are the most common insects that people mistake for bed bugs, according to our experience.
Bed bugs are also thought to be the size of apple seeds, which is a popular fallacy. This isn’t accurate; bed bugs are much smaller than apple seeds.
Adult bed bugs are usually only 4-5 mm long, but an average apple seed is about 8 mm long (although they can temporarily reach up to 7 mm). Nymphs of bed bugs are very tiny, measuring roughly 1 mm in length.
Bed Bugs: Where Do They Hide?
Bed bugs can fit into about any crack or crevice larger than 2 millimeters, thanks to their little, flat bodies.
They like to hide in mattress seams, furniture joints, cracks and crevices in walls and baseboards, and even within electrical outlets and among the folds of drapes. These are all places where you should look for the early indicators of bed bugs discussed earlier.
Here are some extremely common instances of bed insect harborage areas, based on our experience as professional bed bug exterminators in Sydney:
- Pillows, bed sheets, mattress seams, headboards, bed frames, and box springs are all part of your bed.
- Nightstands, dressers, rugs, and storage boxes are placed next to the bed.
- Couches and cushions, bookshelves, tables, desks, chairs, rugs, and pet beds are all examples of furniture.
- Wallpaper, baseboards, window and door frames, curtains, photos and posters, electrical outlets, and smoke alarms are all things that can be found on the walls.
- How to Conduct a Visual Bed Bug Inspection
- You’ll need a flashlight and a thin card to do a quick visual inspection for bed bugs at home (could be an extra business card, playing cards, or an old credit card).
- Look for feces traces and bloodstains on pillows and bed sheets.
- Remove your bed sheets and look for bed bugs, shell casings, and eggs around the corners and seams of your mattress.
- Remove the mattress and check the cracks, corners, nooks, and crannies around the bed frame and headboard using your flashlight.
- Slide your card inside any cracks you can’t see and use the thin, stiff edge to extricate any bed bugs or detritus concealed inside.
- Examine nearby dressers, nightstands, and other wooden furniture in the same way. Check for bed bugs in screw holes, another typical hiding place.
- Check the backs and baseboards of furniture by pulling it away from the walls.
- Remove cushion coverings from couches and upholstered furniture and use your card to inspect gaps and cracks.
Bed Bugs: How to Spot Them
We dedicated an entire essay to describing the appearance of bed bugs. Here are some more hints for detecting and recognizing adult bed bugs:
- Bed bugs have a flat, oval-shaped abdomen with a narrow head and thorax.
- Their heads are adorned with two beady, black eyes that protrude from the sides.
- They have two antennas and six legs. Their four-segmented antennas protrude from the front of their heads.
- Although bed bugs have little vestigial wing pads, they cannot fly. If something flies, it’s not a bed bug.
- Adults are brown/rusty in hue, whereas nymphs are white. They expand slightly and turn reddish after being fed.
- Interceptors (also known as monitors or indicators) are an excellent tool for catching and identifying bed bugs.
Still, have doubts about whether or not you have bed bugs?
You can email a picture of any of the following indicators to B2B Pest Control for a free Pest Identification Service. We will respond within one business day to help you determine if you have bed bugs. We are also delighted to address any questions you may have (at no cost) and recommend the next steps.
Bed bugs are a pain to live with, and getting rid of them takes a group effort. Hopefully, you now have a better sense of when that team should be called in.
Please read our resource page and pest blog for more articles and information on bed bugs.
