Where to search for bed bugs and what to do when you find them

Bed bugs don’t magically appear in your home. They’re brought into it… by you, your family members, even visitors to your home.

As crafty hitchhikers, the bugs ride along on luggage, backpacks, purses and clothing. Once inside your home, they hide, multiply and bite you while you sleep. They cause red itchy welts, emotional distress and can be expensive and time consuming to eliminate.

That’s why it’s so important to be bed bug aware. When you know the risks of picking up bed bugs, you can take action to prevent bringing them into your home.

The bed bug experts at Pest HQ, Ontario’s leading source of do-it-yourself pest control products, urge you to pay attention to three situations in particular:

Be aware when you travel

Before settling into a hotel room or short-term rental, inspect for signs of bed bug activity: small black polka dots or stippling (bed bug feces), tiny nearly translucent eggs, and molted bed bug exoskeletons. Use a high-powered flashlight to explore cracks and crevices where bed bugs prefer to hide:

· Mattresses - pull up the sheets to inspect the piping, seams and surface.

· Bedside tables, headboard and bed frame – inspect the seams, joints and bolt holes of furniture.

· Picture frames above the bed – remove the frame, if possible, to look at the back of the picture and the wall behind it.

Put your luggage in the bathtub while you inspect the room. Never, ever, put your luggage on the bed – in lodging or at home – as this is an easy way to pick up and transfer bed bugs.

Also pay attention to your everyday travels. Bed bugs often are found on the seats of public buses and trains. They can travel between work lockers and infest office buildings.

Discover 10 unexpected places to find bed bugs.

Inspect on you return

When you return from traveling, visiting others, work or running errands, inspect your belongings for hitchhiking bed bugs before bringing them into your home. Look in the seams, cracks and crevices of luggage, backpacks and purses.

Suspect you’ve been exposed to bed bugs? Apply the aerosol spray Kuus Knock Down™ Pro Bed Bug & Flea Killer to the seams and crevices of luggage. Test a small area first to ensure it doesn’t stain. Always follow label instructions.

Launder your clothing in hot water and/or run it through a hot dryer cycle.

If you store your luggage in the closet or under the bed, seal it tightly in a plastic bag.

Ask visitors – neighbors, home caregivers – to stow their personal belongings in a plastic tote by the front door. This makes it more difficult for bed bugs to transfer to upholstered furniture. Tell guests you worry about bed bugs and this step protects you both.

At work, store your clothing, purse or backpack in sealed plastic bins or bags.

Monitor where you rest

Bed bugs are attracted to body heat and carbon dioxide, which is exhaled as we breathe. Both are plentiful when you sleep. Plus, you’re lying prone so you’re an easy target for the slow moving bugs.

No surprise, bed bugs typically are found close to where people sleep, rest or spend lots of time: the bed or mattress, sofa, recliner, motorized wheelchair or mobility scooter. The larger an infestation grows, the more widespread you’ll find them throughout a room. But initially, bed bugs will be found near to where you sleep.

Monitoring for bed bug activity is your best bet if you suspect exposure to the pests. Pest HQ experts suggest using the following professional-grade devices to monitor for bed bugs:

· Blackout Bed Bug Interceptors and ClimbUp Insect Monitors – These disks fit under bed frame and furniture legs. Bugs enter the moat as they attempt to climb up or down the legs and cannot get out.

· Knock Down™ Bed Bug Detective - Place this trap between the box spring and mattress or under cushions of upholstered furniture to detect bed bug activity.

· Surge Protector Power Bar with Lure – This device functions as a surge protector and also lures bed bugs for up to 90 days. Replaceable glue boards trap the pests.

· Mattress Safe KleenCover® Encasements – Certified fabric covers prevent bed bugs from hiding in bedding. Install them on mattress and box springs. They seal up hiding places and make it easier to see signs of bed bug activity.

Make preventive treatments to kill bed bugs

In addition to monitoring for bed bugs, you can make preventive treatments using diatomaceous earth or DE. DE is a naturally occurring desiccant made from microscopic fossils. The abrasive fossils scratch the waxy exoskeleton of bed bugs as they travel across surfaces treated with the powder. This causes them to dry out and die. DE can last for years as long as it stays dry and is not wiped away.

Apply DE to cracks and crevices near sleeping areas: behind baseboards, to furniture seams, joints and bolt holes, and inside box springs. Applying it takes some practice – if you see it, you’ve applied to much! Get tips for applying DE like a pro.

Order bed bug monitoring and treatment products online from Pest HQ. Items ship fast or can be picked up at our headquarters: 7 Meridian Rd, Etobicoke, Ontario, Monday – Friday, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm.

Have questions? Contact Pest HQ.

Discover more bed bug how-to articles in the Pest HQ Learning Centre