Question by Erica:
How do you detect bed bugs?
What can i do to check if our matresses have bed bugs? I also want some help on getting rid of them if they are there. Any information is more than welcome.
Best answer:
Answer by priscilla1487
You can see them they are little bugs that only look like poppy seeds to you but they bite you and when you start to itch you will know you have them
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They hide during the day, look under your mattress especially in the creases, behind your headboard especially where it is snugg against the wall.
Controlling Infestations
Bed bugs are challenging pests to control. They hide in many tiny places, so inspections and treatments must be very thorough. In most cases, it will be prudent to enlist the services of a professional pest control firm. Experienced companies know where to look for bed bugs, and have an assortment of management tools at their disposal. Owners and occupants will need to assist the professional in important ways. Affording access for inspection and treatment is essential, and excess clutter should be removed. In some cases, infested mattresses and box springs will need to be discarded. Since bed bugs can disperse throughout a building, it also may be necessary to inspect adjoining rooms and apartments.
Where They Hide
Bed bugs can live in almost any crevice or protected location. The most common place to find them is the bed. Bed bugs often hide within seams, tufts, and crevices of the mattress (shown left), box spring, bed frame and headboard.
A thorough inspection requires dismantling the bed and standing the components on edge so that upper and lower surfaces can be examined. Things to look for are the bugs themselves, and the light-brown, molted skins of the nymphs. Dark spots of dried bed bug excrement are often present along mattress seams or wherever the bugs have resided. Box springs afford many places for bed bugs to hide, especially underneath where the fabric is stapled to the wooden frame. Oftentimes the underlying dust cover must be removed to gain access for inspection and possible treatment. Successful treatment of mattresses and box springs is difficult, however, and infested components may need to be discarded. Cracks and crevices of bed frames should be examined, especially if the frame is wood. (Bed bugs have an affinity for wood and fabric more so than metal or plastic). Headboards secured to walls should also be removed and inspected. In hotels and motels, the area behind the headboard is often the first place that the bugs become established. Bed bugs also hide among items stored under beds.
Many areas besides beds, however, can harbor bed bugs.
Bed bugs hidden beside a recessed screw under a nightstand.
Upholstered chairs and sofas should be checked carefully, including seams, tufts, skirts, and crevices. Sofas can be major bed bug hotspots, especially when used for sleeping.
Nightstands and dressers should be emptied and examined inside and out, then tipped over to inspect the woodwork underneath. Oftentimes, the bugs will be hiding in cracks, corners, and recesses.
Other common places to find bed bugs include: along and under the edge of wall-to-wall carpeting (especially behind beds and furniture); cracks in wood molding; ceiling-wall junctures; behind wall-mounts, picture frames, switch plates and outlets; under loose wallpaper; amongst clothing stored in closets; and inside clocks, phones, televisions and smoke detectors.
The challenge is to find and treat all places where bugs and eggs may be present. Bed bugs tend to congregate in certain areas, but it is common to find an individual or some eggs scattered here and there. Persistence and a bright flashlight are requisites for success. Inspectors sometimes also inject a pyrethrum-based, “flushing agent” into crevices to help reveal where bugs may be hiding. A thorough treatment of a home, hotel, or apartment may take up to several hours.
Treatment Procedures
Bed bugs were treated years ago by wholesale spraying of beds, floors, walls, furniture, etc. with DDT. This practice is no longer permitted. Thoroughness is still very important, but treatments today are generally more targeted and judicious.
It often takes hours to properly inspect and treat a bed bug infestation, and follow-up visits are usually required.
As mentioned earlier, owners and occupants have important pre-treatment responsibilities. Reducing clutter is a necessity. Belongings strewn about rooms afford many places for bed bugs to hide, and impedes inspection and treatment. Infested bedding and garments will need to be bagged and laundered (120°F minimum), or discarded since these items cannot be treated with insecticides. Items that cannot be laundered can sometimes be de-infested by heating for several minutes in a clothes dryer. Other items can be wrapped in plastic and placed in a hot, sunny location for at least a few days (the 120°F minimum target temperature should be monitored in the centermost location with a thermometer). Bedbugs also succumb to cold temperatures below 32° F, but the chilling period must be maintained for at least two weeks. Attempts to rid an entire home or apartment of bed bugs by raising or lowering the thermostat will be entirely unsuccessful. Most housecleaning measures are of little benefit in bed bug management. Site-specific vacuuming, however, can help remove some of the bugs before treatment with insecticides. Bed bugs (especially the eggs) can be difficult to dislodge. Optimum results will be achieved by moving and scraping the end of the suction wand along infested areas such as seams, tufts and edges of bedding, and the perimeter edge of wall-to-wall carpets. Afterward, dispose of the vacuum contents in a sealed trash bag. Steam cleaning of carpets may be helpful for killing bugs and eggs that vacuuming may have missed.
Looks like it would be easier to move, but you’d have to throw out alot of your stuff.
you can look along the edges of your mattress/boxsprings for any small blood droppings. It would look like dried blood specks. You could also wait at night with a lamp next to you, and turn the lamp on and start searching the edges really quickly after turning on the light (they only come out in the dark) and try to see if you see any trying to run and hide. I saw this on Dateline once, so hope that helps you.
You don’t have to look for them . If they’re there they’ll find you .