You went to bed hoping to get a good night’s sleep, but you had to get up a few minutes later because of little pinpricks of itchy pain. When you looked at the irritated areas on your skin, you saw little red spots. You suspected bed bugs, but how will you know?
Little Red Spots on Your Skin
One of the most common signs that your home is infested with bed bugs is if you see little itchy red spots all over you skin, specifically the areas that are exposed and not covered by clothing. More often than not, these bites are clustered or grouped together. After a few days, the bites worsen, turning into superficial skin lesions. However, this only happens to some people though.
Of note; the red spots are commonly mistaken for mosquito bites, so you have to be aware of other signs of bed bug infestation as well.
Little Red or Brown Spots on Your Bed
Those little red spots on your skin are not enough evidence that you have a bed bug infestation though, but you also have to take a look at your bed and pillows. Do they have little reddish or brownish spots as well? If there are, then there really is a very high likelihood that your home is infested with bed bugs.
The little reddish or brownish spots came from the bed bug’s droppings. Since bed bugs are feeding on blood and blood is rich in water, it means that these little creatures have to reduce their water content right away. One way of doing this is by excreting the excess liquid. The bed bug excretes the excess liquid and the digested blood anywhere they go, and because the digested blood is in a semi-liquid condition, the stains it causes can easily be seen.
Of note though; if there is minimal bed bug infestation, the spots are not that clustered. In fact, you will only see about a couple of spots in one place. However, if there is a huge bed bug infestation, then the spots are seen in clusters, particularly along the seams of the mattress.
More Telltale Signs
In addition to the red spots on your skin, mattress, bed sheets, and pillows, there are other telltale signs of a bed bug infestation such as cast skins as well as bed bug eggs. The cast skins are semi-translucent, dried-up “shells” of the bed bugs; while the bed bug eggs look more like rice grains. You’ll commonly see them along the bed or mattress seams, behind wallpaper or paint that has broken off or chipped away from the wall, in the cracks and crevices of the bed and adjacent furniture, and even on your personal belongings including books and magazines.
Looking for these pests during daylight is quite hard since they are nocturnal creatures, however, if you shine a light on the cracks and crevices on the bed, wall, floor, and adjacent furniture, you will see these little pests scampering about, trying to hide from the light.
If all these signs are present, then you need to get in touch with a pest control company quickly. The bed bug infestation problem should be addressed immediately, lest the problem worsens.
The author, Jennifer Daggett, writes for Admiral Pest in Orange County, a reputable pest control company. Bed bugs carry health risks, so it’s important to get rid of them quickly.