Bed Bug Frequently Asked Questions

Detecting a bed bug infestation requires a meticulous examination. These flat, reddish-brown insects, roughly the size of apple seeds, are visible to the naked eye. Carefully inspect your mattress and sheets for clusters of small, white eggs. Look for dark fecal spots that resemble miniature ink stains left behind by bed bugs. To confirm their presence, use a magnifying glass and flashlight to thoroughly scour seams, crevices, and hidden areas of your mattress, bed frame, and nearby furniture. While early detection can be challenging, regular and thorough inspections, especially after travel, can aid in promptly identifying and addressing a bed bug infestation. 

Because they are tiny and flat-shaped, bed bugs can hide away in very small spaces throughout a home or business. They rarely move around in daylight and spend most of their time hidden away. If a crack is wide enough to fit a credit card, it is big enough to allow them access. 

While mattresses, box springs, and bedding material provide them excellent hiding spaces, they can also thrive in upholstered furniture, linens, and even ordinary clutter sitting around. They can hide in the joints of wooden furniture and inside curtains or wall hangings. We also find them along the edges of carpeting and even inside electrical outlets.

Like most pest species, bed bugs thrive and rapidly reproduce if provided food and a safe place to hide.  If bed bugs find shelter near human hosts that can supply blood meals, they lay eggs as soon as possible. They lay one or two eggs daily, which hatch within one or two weeks. Newly hatched bed bugs must frequently feed on human blood to mature. A bed bug is ready to reproduce with sufficient food after one to four months. Adult bed bugs typically live for about six months but can live for several years if sufficient human blood is available. 

First, separate potentially contaminated items and spray colorfast clothes with rubbing alcohol from a spray bottle. Alcohol kills live bed bugs, but eggs must be killed by washing and drying or professional dry-cleaning. Place the clothes in sealed heavy-duty trash bags until they are ready to go in the washing machine.  You should seal dry clean only items in a separate bag for professional cleaning. Dump the washable clothes from the bag directly into the washing machine and wash them at the hottest temperature. It is fine to use ordinary laundry detergent. When they are done washing, place them in a dryer at the highest temperature setting they can tolerate.

Bed bugs are not “contagious” in the sense that they are not transmitted directly from one person to another. They are rarely found on humans except when they are actively feeding on their blood while people are asleep or inactive. However, they survive by moving from place to place where they can hide near human victims. They move by hiding in luggage, clothing, bedding, furniture, and boxes brought from one place to another. If you unknowingly bring an infested object into your home, the stowaway bed bugs can quickly hide, waiting for human hosts they can bite.

Bites might be seen on your body even before you feel them, but sooner or later, they turn into red, itchy welts that look like flea bites, except that they do not have a red spot at the center as flea bites do.

Stains on your bedding may also be an indication. Bloodstains are common because these pests feed solely on blood. The bug's excrement also shows up as rust-colored or darkish spots.

Eggs, shells and shed skins may be found within bedding, mattresses, frames, and surrounding nooks, crannies, and bedroom furniture. The eggs are white and about the size of a grain of salt. The skins look like the bugs themselves except a bit paler and more translucent.

Foul odors in the bedroom might also be a sign. Bed bugs give off an unpleasant musty smell that intensifies as an infestation worsens.

Without professional treatment, bed bugs' life cycle and behavior mean that an existing infestation can go on for a very long time. The tiny bugs have a flat shape that allows them to hide away in extremely small spaces, and they can go for extended times between feeding on human hosts. As long as they can find a place to hide and occasionally feed, they reproduce and continue to come back. Even if bedding is replaced, they could hide in furniture, upholstery, or wall hangings. The reliable way to eliminate bed bugs and keep them away is to call us for professional treatments and protect against future infestation by using good travel and cleaning practices when bringing luggage, clothing, or other materials into your home.

The greater presence of bed bugs around the holiday season as the cold weather starts to set in has more to do with human behaviors than the change in seasons. The life cycle of bed bugs means they are active throughout the entire year in North America, and we tend to notice they are around when they have more feeding opportunities. We give them the chance to travel to new places where they can find human hosts to bite. More travel and house guests mean that there are more packages, luggage, and clothing coming in and out of your home. Use the common sense methods we recommend to check large items, properly clean luggage, and wash clothes to minimize the chance that bed bugs can become an unwanted Christmas present at your home. 

Because bed bugs feed on human blood, we can pick them up just about anywhere people gather, and they can find a good hiding place. As a result, hotels are among the most likely places to pick these pests up in clothing or luggage. Inspect your room closely and take steps to keep your belongings protected. Public transportation, airports, and airplanes are also easy places to pick them up in your clothing or bags. Nursing homes and hospitals have a high likelihood of bed bug infestation, especially since residents and patients are not usually able to do much to inspect bedding. You should also keep an eye on your kid’s clothes and backpacks when they return from school or daycare.

We included a trick question here, but it is one we get asked often. The absolute truth is that bed bugs do not only attack dirty people. They aggressively attack anyone, regardless of cleanliness. No matter how clean a home is or the people who live there are, bed bugs can be brought in on the cleanest packages or luggage. Because their only food source is the blood of humans and other mammals, they are not attracted to food wastes or dirt. [ link: https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pdf/bb-biology1.pdf ] They simply seek out a suitable place to hide while waiting for a person to become available for a blood meal.

The most important thing you can do is to protect your luggage and clothing. As soon as you enter your hotel room, put your bags in the bathroom on the tile floor. Then check the mattress by pulling back the linens to look at the mattress and box springs for rust-colored spots or stains. Look for evidence of infestation around baseboards and furniture. When unpacking, cover your luggage with a plastic bag that you can throw away after your stay. Don’t throw dirty clothes on the floor or bedding but keep them inside travel bags. When you get home, vacuum your luggage before putting it away, wash your clothes in hot water, and dry them on the highest heat. We know this sounds like a good bit of work, but it is much better than dealing with an infestation after returning from a trip.

When you get home from travel, unpack your luggage in your laundry or garage on a hard surface under bright lighting so you can see bed bugs that might be moving around. Take clothes directly to the washing machine and put anything that needs to go out for dry cleaning in a bag that you can tie off securely. Use a bright flashlight to inspect seams and pockets for bugs or eggs when your bags are empty. Vacuum your luggage with a brush and crevice attachment so you can get into the tight spots. You can then wash a suitcase with hot soapy water using a scrub brush along seams.

Bed bugs live in North America throughout the year and do not really have a “season,” as their entire life-cycle can be carried out inside climate-controlled buildings. When they have established themselves in a suitable hiding place inside a building, they can wait patiently for months at a time for the opportunity to feed on available human hosts.

In most years, we have found that bed bug infestation picks up in the late summer when travel is more common. This is not due to changes in their feeding habits but because infestations are more often detected soon after they have been brought into a building.

For many years, it was believed that bed bugs did not transmit diseases to humans. Recent medical studies have shown that they can carry several harmful pathogens, including the microorganism that causes Chagas Disease.

The more common health problems they cause include painful skin rashes and allergic reactions to their bites. Their bites can cause itching for several days and red blistering. Secondary infections such as ecthyma are also common. 

North Carolinians often confuse their bites with mosquito bites. Bed bug bites usually cause longer-lasting symptoms and are more closely grouped on the body. The psychological injuries these pests can cause include anxiety and insomnia.

Even the cleanest homes and businesses are not safe from bed bugs. They feed on human blood, so they are not attracted by dirt or our food. Bed bugs usually travel inside buildings as stowaways on things people normally carry with them, including luggage, clothing, and packages. When we take something with us inside an infested building, bed bugs are very likely to climb aboard and then wait to be carried along when we leave. They are also transported inside when furniture and boxes are being moved. Bed bugs can move between infested rooms in multifamily residential buildings and hotels, searching for human hosts.

Exclusionary materials and covers for bedding material will help prevent bed bugs from finding hiding places in and around your beds. Keep clothing and linens off of your floors, and don’t let them pile up in your laundry area to reduce the opportunities for them to find easy hiding places. Thoroughly check previously used furniture for infestation before you bring it inside. When you return from travel, wash your clothing immediately with hot water and dry them on the hottest setting. Check your luggage and packages carefully for any infestation. Use sealed containers for long-term clothing storage when possible.