Tips for Bed Bug Inspections

I found a great article from Melanie Michael at 8 On Your Side news in Tampa, Florida about ways to search for bed bugs (Cimex lectularius). I loved her advice so I thought it would be helpful to pass along while also adding a few additional pieces of insight from our own experience.

According to the article, bed bug infestations have been on the rise in Florida and the reason is credited to increased tourism. We have found this is pretty common for other states as well. Increased ease of travel is making it much easier for bed bugs to crawl onto an unsuspecting person and hitchhike with them long distances to a new residence.

Matthew Miller of Arrow Environmental Services recommended travelers thoroughly inspect hotel rooms before staying the night. He recommended, “When you get into that hotel room, one of the things you want to do is inspect the mattress...Particularly the cracks and the crevices in the mattresses. I very commonly find them in the labels on the mattress, as well...So, it's a good thing to pull off the sheets and look there to see if you have any type of activity.”

The activity Miller is referring to would be not only an adult bed bug, but you can also look for blood spots, skin casings, and feces marks. For some pictures helping you identify these marks, check out our Bed Bug Archive.

Here are some additional helpful tips Melanie passed along:

Bed bug tips for home:

Inspect your home for signs of bed bugs regularly. Check locations where bed bugs hide during the day, including furniture, mattress seams and bed sheets, as well as behind baseboards, electrical outlets and picture frames.
Decrease clutter around your home to make bed bug inspections and detection much easier.
Inspect and quarantine all secondhand furniture before bringing it inside your home.
Dry potentially infested bed linens, curtains and stuffed animals on the hottest temperature allowed for the fabric. (At No Bull Bed Bug Control, we recommend a drying cycle of at least 45 minutes)

During travel, remember the acronym S.L.E.E.P to inspect for bed bugs:

Survey the hotel room for signs of an infestation. Look for red or brown spots on sheets.
Lift and look in bed bug hiding spots: the mattress, box spring, sheets and furniture, as well as behind baseboards, pictures and even torn wallpaper.
Elevate luggage on a rack away from the bed and wall. The safest places are in the bathroom or on counters.
Examine your luggage while repacking and once you return home from a trip.
Place all dryer-safe clothing from your luggage in the dryer for at least 15 minutes at the highest setting after you return home. (Again, at No Bull Bed Bug Control, we recommend a drying cycle of at least 45 minutes to guarantee you kill any bed bugs or their eggs that may be on these items)
While bed bugs are not known to spread human diseases like many other pests and some people have no reaction to bed bug bites, others may experience itchy red welts and swelling.

*Michael, Melanie. (2018, June 3). What’s the No. 1 spot for bed bugs in your hotel?. Retrieved from www.wfla.com