Bed bugs can be a pain to live with, and if they are not detected early, they multiply fast and can spread to other furniture in the home, not just the bed. This is why you should conduct routine checks to see if you have a bed bug problem to catch them early.
Catching bed bugs early is not an easy task, but if you have the right guide, there are some early detection signs you will not miss, which will aid you in your quest for early bed bug eradication. We will discuss the first signs of bed bugs and how to check for bed bugs. You can also see our guide on how to find bed bugs during the day.
Sudden itchy bites in the morning
This is the primary and most obvious sign of a bed bug infestation. However, not everyone reacts the same way to a bed bug bite; more than 30% of bitten people do not react at all. This is another reason to conduct routine checks regularly. Other people outside of this 30% may experience red, itchy bites on exposed areas of skin while sleeping (mostly their arms and legs).
People react differently to bedbug bites depending on how sensitive their skin is. But bed bug bites are never fatal and do not transfer any diseases; some people may itch for a short time, while others with more sensitive skin may experience more severe allergies, such as inflamed skin.
Bed bug bites usually occur in a pattern (not to say that there cannot be only one bite). You will usually notice three to four bites in a straight line or zigzag pattern, but they are around the same spot. People often confuse spider bites for bed bugs, but there are differences between house spider bites and bed bug bites.
Pets have skin irritation
Although they prefer to attack humans, bed bugs can also feast on your pet’s skin, which is susceptible to ticks and fleas, among other insects. Remember that their primary source of sustenance is blood, and there is no evidence that they are exclusively interested in human blood.
They may attack your pets as well, causing skin irritation. However, various other issues could be to blame, so you should take your friend to the veterinarian to get him checked out.
You don’t get enough sleep
If you’re waking up frequently at night, your skin may be reacting to several bed bug bites. Bed bugs prefer to feed at night while the sufferer is not moving, making their job easier. If you wake up itching or feeling something crawling on your body in the middle of the night, you may be dealing with a bed bug infestation.
If this happens to you, you should consult a doctor for a precise diagnosis, as frequent sleepless nights can have additional serious psychological consequences if left untreated.
How to Check Your Mattress
We’ve gone over three big indicators on how to tell if you have bed bugs in your mattress. Now it’s time to talk about the one spot they love to hide in, where they make their initial home when they arrive before spreading to other parts of the house: your mattress. Several telltale signs indicate that your mattress may be infested with bed bugs. Here is how to spot bed bugs:
Sudden bloodstains in the morning
After a meal, bed bugs grow significantly in size. They consume so much blood that they can grow up to three times their normal size. When this happens, they won’t be able to move as quickly as before they sucked blood.
This means that a bug that has just finished feeding may not be far away from its food source unless given enough time to flee. They don’t always get lucky, and you might crush them if you turn over just as they’re about to flee.
Even though they normally live, the weight forces their stomach to rupture, causing blood to leak into the bed, leaving a rusty crimson stain. This rusty patch is what we refer to as bed bug stains. Bed bugs can also leave bloodstains on the bed by excreting digested blood.
Blood can be dark crimson, rusty, or even black in hue. Because these blood particles have been inside the bugs before they come out, they are never brilliant red like regular blood. If you sleep on a mattress with a white bedding cover and wake up with a bloodstain that looks like the one described above, examine your body for bruises; if you don’t find any, it’s a clue that bed bugs are present in your mattress.
musty smell
This is one of the first indicators of a bed bug infestation. Bed bugs emit pheromones containing specific scents or odors based on their emotions. This is how they communicate. For example, if it feels attacked or in danger, a pheromone can be employed to convey a warning signal to its companion bed bug.
When they send these signals to one another, certain odors emerge that we can detect. Individuals can not detect the scent of their pheromones if only a few bed bugs are sending signals; only when many of them are sending signals at once will you be able to detect it.
Their signals can smell like raspberries, musty scents, or filthy laundry, among other things. Suppose you are certain that you washed your bedding cover properly and did not notice any strange odors coming from it, and you are certain that you do not have dirty laundry hanging around the house. In that case, this could indicate that you have a bed bug infestation on your hands.
look for eggs and shells
Female bed bugs can lay up to seven eggs per day, which hatch in eight to ten days. Without the aid of a microscope, their eggs are visible. They look like rice grains (but they are slightly smaller). They are white and have a circular shape.
They can be found in the corners of your bed frame or the seams of your mattress. If you find eggs in your mattress, you have an infestation. Bed bugs shed their skin up to five times during their lifetime, and they live for about 2-4 months, so the number of shells you find should indicate the number of bed bugs you’re currently dealing with; like eggs, their shells can be found in the corners of your bed and under your mattress.
Note: Bed bugs are not just likely to hide in your bed; in addition to examining your bed, you should also examine other furniture and cracks in your home’s walls. Don’t bother checking plastic or metal surfaces since they don’t normally hide there unless garment materials are present.
Conclusion
Bed bugs can make your life hard, and one of the worst things that can happen is that you don’t notice the early signs of bed bugs until you have an infestation. Once there is an infestation, getting rid of them can be very difficult and time-consuming. However, with the information provided in this article, you will be able to spot bed bugs in their early stages and get rid of them.