When they are not feeding, bed bugs often hide in a lot of areas in your home. They can be found around your bed, near piping, tags, and seams of mattresses and box springs, and even in the smallest cracks in your wall.
It is given that there are several types of homes, but all homes have the same characteristics or parts that bed bugs love to target. Surprisingly, there are also similar locations in business establishments. This means that these critters are not only found in homes. Thus, making it necessary for people to know where they can possibly hide and what they can do once they found them.
Identifying bed bugs is an important stage in confirming an infestation. You should also understand the importance of knowing a bed bug life cycle. These will also help you determine the bed bug treatment methods that you should take in case you find them in different stages.
Common Spots Where Bed Bugs Hide in Your Home
If you are suspecting a bedbug infestation, you should take a look at some of the common hiding spots of these pesky critters in your home. The following are the common spots you should check when searching for these bugs:
Beds
Just like the name of the bug, they are most common in beds since it is the perfect hiding spot for them to stay close to their host. If you have already checked your bed, but still get the bites, then you should check it again.
Inspect the mattress and box spring, bedding, linens, and bed sheets that you’ve been using since you started suspecting an infestation. Look for signs of bed bugs like bloodstains, dried insect casings, black fecal residues, white eggs, and even live adult bugs.
Make sure that you also check the headboards and every nook of your bed to see if they are hiding there instead of the obvious areas. Live bugs may not be found in your bed, but you can always find the signs they left behind.
Carpets and Baseboards
Whatever item in your bedroom must be checked. See to it that you have the carpets and baseboards inspected as well. As they feed on humans to get full blood meals, there is a great chance that they will be leaving traces of feces, blood, or casings as they go back to their hiding place. If they are hiding in carpets or baseboards near your bed, you’ll most likely find the bugs in all stages if they treat it as their colony.
Upholstered Furniture
An alternative for beds are pieces of upholstered furniture in your room or even in your living room. One interesting fact that you should know about these bugs is that they don’t only bite when the host is sleeping. They can also feed on humans even when they are fully awake.
This means that you can actually acquire bed bug bites while you are busy or focused on a TV series in your living area. They can also stay in your favourite office chair and feed off of you when you are busy working. These bugs can establish a colony under the seams of upholstered furniture where you like staying. Look for the common signs of their presence to know if they are really living there.
Bags and Luggage
Did you know that a bed bug infestation can start in your home if a bug latches on your bag or luggage? Yes, they can actually come home with you. The most common way to get bed bugs is bringing them home without knowing. So, make sure that you check the bags and luggage you bring when you travel often.
This is the main reason why you should separate your soiled clothes from the recent travel in plastic bags and directly wash them in hot water and dry them off in high heat.
Behind Wall Hangings and Wallpaper
For heavily infested homes, bed bugs can also hide in wall hangings like picture frames, paintings, and even light fixtures. There will come a time when your wallpaper will peel off and leave spaces where these insects can hide and stay close to you whenever they like to feed. Better check these potentially infested areas to know if the infestation is worse than you are expecting.
Since you are already checking the wall hangings, you might want to check the cracks and crevices in your wall. These areas are also common hiding spots for these bugs. Use an old credit card and flashlight to scrape off any bugs hiding through these narrow spaces.
Aside from your home, there are more places where you can find bed bugs. You should be careful when it comes to bringing home any item from potentially infested areas. It is necessary that you conduct a thorough and proper inspection to these common areas. This will help determine a pest management plan to attain a full bed bug control.
You can call for experts to handle the extermination process, but you can also use pest control products. These products are highly recommended if you have a low-level infestation at home. However, when it is beyond control, a professional exterminator can be your last resort.
