Question by Susan:
Signs of bedbugs?
What are the signs that a mattress has bedbugs? Any indications would be helpful, thanks!
Best answer:
Answer by Gawaine R
They are small, about the size of a wood tick, but nimble and reddish. There are usually large numbers of them in the same place, so they should be easy to spot. They hide in bedding too, hide in closets, and probably in pillows. They can go for months without feeding, but fortunately they don’t carry any diseases.
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How can you tell if the residence is infested?
Bed bugs infest only a small proportion of residences, but they should be suspected if residents complain of bites that occurred while sleeping. The bedroom and other sleeping areas should be carefully examined for bed bugs and signs of bed bug activity. Folds and creases in the bed linens, and seams and tufts of mattresses and box springs, in particular, may harbor bed bugs or their eggs. They may also be found within pleats of curtains, beneath loose areas of wallpaper near the bed, in corners of desks and dressers, within spaces of wicker furniture, behind cove molding, and in laundry or other items on the floor or around the room. Sometimes, characteristic dark brown or reddish fecal spots of bed bugs are apparent on the bed linens, mattress or walls near the bed. A peculiar coriander-like odor may be detected in some heavily infested residences.
Search for signs of bed bugs. Carefully inspect the bed frame, mattress, and other furniture for signs of bed bugs and their eggs. Although dead bed bugs, cast bug skins and blood spots may indicate an infestation occurred previously; they do not confirm that an infestation is still active. Search for live (crawling) bugs and ensure they are bed bugs before considering treating. To confirm the identity of the specimens, refer to our evaluation form http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/bedbugs/specimen.pdf.
Reduce clutter to limit hiding places for bed bugs.
Thoroughly clean the infested rooms as well as others in the residence. Scrub infested surfaces with a stiff brush to dislodge eggs, and use a powerful vacuum to remove bed bugs from cracks and crevices. Dismantling bed frames will expose additional bug hiding sites. Remove drawers from desks and dressers and turn furniture over, if possible, to inspect and clean all hiding spots.
Mattresses and box springs can be permanently encased within special mattress bags. Once they are installed, inspect the bags to ensure they are undamaged; if any holes or tears are found, seal these completely with permanent tape. Any bugs trapped within these sealed bags will eventually die.
To prevent bed bugs from crawling onto a bed, pull the bed frame away from the wall, tuck sheets and blankets so they won’t contact the floor, and place the frame legs into dishes or cups of mineral oil.
Caulk and seal all holes where pipes and wires penetrate walls and floor, and fill cracks around baseboards and cove moldings to further reduce harborages.
If you own your residence, we suggest you contact a licensed pest control operator who is knowledgeable and experienced in managing bed bug infestations. Ask the pest control company for references, and ask at least a few of their customers about their experiences before you agree to any contract.
If you are a tenant, contact your property manager or landlord to discuss your respective obligations, and to agree on a plan to manage the infestation. Generally, landlords are legally required to contract with a licensed pest control operator.
Request a written integrated pest management (IPM) plan from the pest control operator. This plan should detail the methods and insecticides to be used by the pest control operator, and describe the efforts expected by the building manager as well as by the tenants.
Because bed bugs and other pests may spread through cracks and holes in the walls, ceilings and floors, it is wise to inspect adjoining apartments on the same floor as well as those directly above and below.
What are your rights and obligations?
Landlords and property owners have specific legal obligations to provide safe and habitable accommodations for tenants. Certain infestations, including bed bugs, may constitute an unacceptable condition. Tenants have an obligation to cooperate with owners and landlords. This includes preparing the apartment so that the pest control operator can easily inspect the rooms and treat if necessary. Contact your state or municipal health agency or housing authority for more guidance on these issues.
What shouldn’t you do?
Don’t panic. Although bed bugs can be annoying, they can be battled safely and successfully if you adopt a well-considered strategy.
Do not apply pesticides unless you fully understand what you are applying and the risks involved. You are legally liable if you misapply a pesticide, or apply it without a license to the property of another (including common spaces in apartment buildings). Generally, landlords, owners and building managers cannot legally apply pesticides. They should, instead, hire a licensed pest control operator to confirm the infestation and to develop an integrated pest management plan.
Do not dispose of furniture that is useful. Infested furniture can be cleaned and treated. Placing infested furniture (particularly mattresses) into common areas or on the street may simply help spread bed bugs to the homes of other people. Infested furniture intended for disposal should be defaced to make it less attractive to other people. Officials in some municipalities affix to potentially infested furniture a label to warn of bed bugs. To reduce opportunities of infested furniture re-entering their building, building managers should ensure that any disposed furniture is locked within a dumpster or immediately carted away to a landfill or waste facility.
I’ve had bed bugs twice.. the first one, I had to toss out my mattress.. to tell what are bedbugs, they are like tiny ladybugs but their shell is darker. They clump together in one spot, and they breed fast!! They also bite you, but they don’t carry diseases- Thank goodness!! What you can do is to cover your mattress with a mattress plastic bag- you can get those at a bedroom warehouse store. Put your clothing and bedding in a plastic bag and tie it up real good.. leave it sitting like that for at least 6 months, then wash them. Here’s another way to do that is stick olive oil on the bottom of the bedposts and it’s legs, so they can’t climb up there. If your mattress is badly infested- toss it out…
I am grateful to have never had bed bugs and I believe they are a nightmare to get rid of .
You can look for small brown spots on the sheets or mattresses , check the mattress .
Heavily used hiding places are evident by black or brown spots of dried blood excrement on the surfaces where the bugs rest, like your bed. Eggs, eggshells and cast skins may be found near these places. Usually there is an offensive sickly sweet odour where bedbugs are numerous.Mattress piping, bed bases, door or window architraves, woodwork, behind light and plug plates, in old books and papers, behind wallpaper, in clothing, dresser drawers, behind curtains and drapes, any crack and crevice in floor or wall, wallpaper joints, upholstered furniture, pictures, covers and bedspreads.