A bed bug infestation is something that you would never wish upon even your worst enemy. But if you are unlucky enough to get one here is what you should do.

How Can I Tell If I have Bed Bugs

If you think you have bed bugs the first thing that you should do is determine if it is actually bed bugs that are bothering you. What BedBugs Look Like

To do this you will need to search the areas where you are being bit. These bugs will often bite along a vein so look for a row of very small red welts where they have bitten you. These bites can also be very itchy depending upon the person being bitten.

Start by looking in the areas where you sleep. Although BedBugs will usually only feed at night, they are also a bug of opportunity. If you sleep during the day they feed then.

Since these bugs are so small they can be hard to find. I’d suggest that you arm yourself with a flashlight and magnifying glass when you start your search.

What Do Bed Bugs Look Like – Bed Bug Pictures

Bed Bugs are small. An adult BedBug looks about the size of a reddish-brown apple seed although the younger they are the smaller they are. They will plump up and be like tiny balloons when they have just eaten. BedBug Pictures

Bed Bugs multiply by laying eggs. A female can lay between 6 and 12 eggs a day. A newly hatched bug can be the size of a pinhead.

Where To Look For BedBugs

When you start your search look in the areas where you sleep. This includes in and around your beds and chairs or sofas where you sleep. These bugs can crawl as far as 25 feet each night.

Many times – when you are being bitten in one area – you’ll change where you sleep thinking you’ll get away from the bugs. While this might work for a while these bugs will just follow you. So it’s important to know where a Bed Bug infestation is so that you can treat it.

To find this bug look around the seams of your mattress. Especially the hidden folds of your mattress and sheets. Bed Bugs can also hide in any furniture, chairs, shelves, end tables, books, and pictures that are near sleeping areas.

What To Look For

You should look for the actual bugs, blood smears, shells, eggs, and fecal droppings. Blood smears can happen on your sheets when you roll around in your sleep, crushing a feeding bug. These bugs hatch from eggs so you can find either the hatched or unhatched eggs.

As the newly hatched grow they go through stages called molting where they shed their outer shell and grow into a larger one. You can find these abandoned shells.

They will also leave small traces of fecal droppings behind.

Bed Bug Treatment – Bed Bug Extermination Get Rid Of Bed Bugs

Bed Bug treatment includes several steps – whether you treat yourself or hire a Bed Bug exterminator. In either case, the better you are prepared the more successful any treatment will be.

I get asked a lot about whether these bugs are attracted to dirty conditions. The simple answer is no, they are attracted to a food source, which is you and your family. All a dirty or cluttered home will do is give them more places to hide.

Bed Bugs In Your Mattress

Because these bugs are so small they can get into your mattress through small rips. Once inside they can lay eggs and hide out during the day. The bulk of the mattress can make it hard to treat. These bugs can also crawl up to 25 feet to feed.

Getting a bed bug mattress enclosure can be a big help in starting to treat these bugs. Using a mattress enclosure will seal any bugs already in your mattress safely inside so they can’t get to you. It will also deny the bugs your mattress as a hiding place.