Bed bugs are nocturnal and usually come out to feed at night when you’re sleeping and therefore make it very difficult to spot them. They are attracted to the carbon dioxide you exhale while you’re sleeping which triggers an alert that it is a safe feeding time. Typically, once you see active bed bugs crawling across your bed, couch or wall during the day, you most likely have had an infestation for some time. So how do you know if you have an active infestation? You have to inspect your home very carefully to find out if and where they are harboring.
Bed bugs are excellent at hiding. They can squeeze through tiny cracks and crevices making it very difficult to find. If you have noticed any of the warning signs of a bed bug infestation, but still can’t actually find them, grab a flashlight and start searching in the common hiding places listed below:
- Floor cracks
- Cracks in and between walls
- Underneath carpets
- Around window frames
- Under baseboard molding
- Behind cable and electrical plates
- Inside vents
- Beds (85% – 90% of bed bugs found near/on mattress)
- Around mattress buttons, stitching and seams
- Inside the box spring and corner protectors
- Inside pillows
- Cracks in the bed frame
- Around head boards
- Under dust ruffles
- Pet Bedding
- Furniture
- Drawer tracks
- Around couch and seat cushions
- Clothes and sneakers
- Toys
- Books and magazines
- Behind pictures
- Inside appliances such as computers and clock radios
Bed bugs in mattress seams
