How to Identify Bed Bugs in Your Home: A Brief Guide

Do you suspect that there are bed bugs in your home? These tiny critters can be very sneaky, and it can be difficult to know how to identify bed bugs in your home until the infestation becomes serious. While not exactly hazardous to your health, bed bugs are unpleasant guests to have in your home. Call for the best pest control Sharjah to inspect your home, but if you want to save time and directly go for pest treatment, here are a few signs you can watch out for.

How To Know If You Have Bed Bugs: A Few Easy Signs To Spot!

For starters, bed bugs don’t appear magically, they travel. So, if you are aware that there has been a bed bug outbreak in your neighborhood or you recently visited someone who has bed bugs, be careful. There may be a bed bug making its way into your home—or is already there.

The most common signs that there may be bed bugs in your home include the following:

There are red, itchy bite marks on your skin when you wake up…

Seeing bug bites on your skin when you wake up in the morning? Are the marks red, bumpy, and itchy? Do these appear somewhat in a line? Sometimes the marks may even appear as fluid-filled blisters.

If these are what the bite marks look like, then the likely culprits are bed bugs. The distinctive line of red, itchy bites is how to identify a bed bug infestation. Bed bug bites also typically appear on exposed skin, so you may see these on your arms, legs, and neck. If you have sensitive skin or are generally allergic to bug bites, these marks may become inflamed.

Your mattress/sheets have red blood spots or rust-like brown marks…

Since bed bugs feed on your skin at night, you may see tiny red blood spots on your sheets in the morning. And no, it’s unlikely that beg bugs have bitten you to an extent that you’ve bled. The bloody spots are usually bed bugs that you squash when you turn over.

Unlike mosquitoes, these bugs can’t escape you in the middle of an onslaught. That makes these easy to identify. If the red polka dot-like blood pattern appears more than once on your sheet, you may have a bed bug problem.

However, if the spots are more on the rust-colored side, it’s dead, squashed bugs. The rusty spot will smear when you touch it and may have a funky odor as well. The good news is that you have definitely killed the bugs that attacked you. The bad news is that there are many more to go!

There is a strange, musty odor in your home…

Aside from bite marks and dead bugs, one of the early signs of bed bugs in your home is an unfamiliar smell. The scent is on the stale and musty side, the kind of smell that you get in homes that have been closed for a long time.

This kind of scent is not just naturally associated with bed bugs but with many pests. A pest control Sharjah municipality approved team can help you pinpoint if the smell is really bed bugs or simply dampness and mold. Bed bugs and other pests release pheromones, the smell of which is subtle when there are only a few pests. However, in case of a widespread infestation, the musty scent is very, very evident.

You’ll spot bed bug ‘shells’ on and around furniture…

As bed bugs get bigger, they shed their skin—i.e. their shells. These shells appear as tiny husks, usually light brown in color. You may not be able to spot bed bug shells on your mattress, but look underneath and around the bed or the couch, and you may see these.

One of the other signs your home might have bedbugs is small, white residue in the crevices of your furniture.  These are bed bug eggs, which is why you’ll usually find these in the joints of bed and couch, between cushions, or behind headboards. Get a flashlight and look at these spots to spot the shells clearly.

You brought in second-hand furniture in your home…

Been thrift shopping lately? There are many perks of buying furniture second-hand, one of these being the low prices. However, if you end up with bed-bug-ridden furniture, then the cheap furniture can seriously cost you.

Make sure that you check used furniture thoroughly before you bring it to your home. For complete peace of mind, treat the mattress, pillow, cushion, and any fabric stuff with heat, and sanitize and disinfect the furniture.

Bottom Line: Stay Alert, Steer Clear Of Bed Bugs!

It can be helpful to learn how to identify bed bugs in your home—as well as the common signs of other common household pests. You can keep an infestation from spreading out, saving money, time, and hassle!