How to tell if you have bed bugs at home

Bed bugs, also known as Cimex lectularius, are small insects that feed on human and animal blood.Bed bugs are flat, wingless insects with a red-brown color. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source say they can be 1–7 millimeters (mm) in size.

Bed bugs usually live close to where a person sleeps, often within 8 feet, only coming out to feed. However, they can travel up to 100 feet during the nighttime. Bed bugs can also survive without blood for several months.They live in dry, dark places such as mattress seams, bed frames, or cracks or crevices in walls or furniture.

While bed bugs do not spread disease, they cause itching and irritation and may trigger an allergic reaction. In some cases, excessive scratching of bed bug bites may lead to a skin infection.

How to tell if you have bed bugs at home

People who experience bed bug bites do not necessarily have bed bugs living in their home. For example, bites may occur after a trip to a house or hotel infested with bed bugs.However, there is a fair chance that if a person has stayed in a location with bed bugs, they may have brought some home.

Some signsTrusted Source of a bed bug infestation in the home include:

1. Visible bed bugs:These may appear as tiny bugs or dots in the folds of sheets or pillowcases or in the seams of a mattress.
2. Bed bug exoskeletons:These crunchy looking bed bug shells may be visible in or around the bed.
3. Bed bug feces:These tiny, rust colored spots may appear on the sheets or mattress.
4. An unusual odor:There may be a sweet or musty odor coming from the mattress or sheets.

How to remove bed bugs

1. Use heat to kill bed bugs by placing items with the infection in a clothes dryer on high heat or in a sealed, black plastic bag in a hot, closed car.
2. Place items with the infection in a sealed bag and put them in the freezer at 0°F (-17.8°C) for four days.
3. Use a steam cleaner to treat bedding, furniture, carpets, and cracks or crevices. Set the temperature to a minimum of 130°F (54.4°C) and use a diffuser to prevent scattering the bed bugs.
4. Use bed bug killer, Petsman Bed Bug Killer is a highly effective bed bug control product. It contains 1% of the active ingredient ivermectin, when bed bug touches the powder, itdestroys the bed bug’s motor nerves and the bed bug immediately stops moving and cannot suck humans’blood any longer. The active ingredient was originally used to treat parasites in animals and is widely used to kill parasites in cattle, sheep, horses and pigs. It is virtually non-toxic to humans and can be used safely in the living environment. The effect is fast-acting and kills bed bugs in as little as 3 days.

If you find bed bugs in your home, you can use the above methods to eliminate them.