Over the past few years Mississauga has experienced a surge in bed bug reports. They have been infesting homes, apartments and business all across Mississauga, often times going unnoticed for several months before any sort of action is taken. Bed bugs are notorious for spreading from one dwelling to another very easily without being noticed. They are very elusive creatures that, even when they have infested your home, are difficult to spot. Considering that they only come out while you are fast asleep in your bed, it is very difficult to catch them in action, unless you set a plan for catching them or know where to look during the day while they are hiding.
Their elusive nature is what allows bed bugs to quickly multiply and spread deep into your home. If you have any suspicion that bed bugs have infested your Mississauga home or business this article will give you tips on how to confirm these beliefs by detailing some of the most common signs that you have bed bugs and how to find them in your home.
Bed Bug Warning Signs
There are some common warning signs that bed bugs have infested your home such as red bite marks on your skin, tiny blood stains on your bed sheets and fecal matter on your bed. Even if one of these common indicators proves to be true but you haven’t actually found any bed bugs, it is still a good idea to hire a professional bed bug exterminator for a full examination of your home as some of the warning signs could also be a result of other similar pests in your home.
Bite Marks on Your Skin
Bed bugs bite their victims while they sleep, secreting a numbing agent from their saliva which allows them to feed without waking you. Everyone has a different reaction to these bites, some developing big red marks on the skin similar to mosquito bites and others having no physical signs at all.
Having red bite marks on your skin can be a strong indication that you have bed bugs in your home but it is not a definite indicator as these bite marks can be from various other insects as well. If, however, the bite marks appear in the morning this is more convincing evidence to believe that the pest biting you is a bed bug after all and reason for further investigation.
Blood Stains on Your Bed Sheets
As mentioned above, bed bug bites can have very noticeable effects on their victims but can also have no visual side effect at all. For the fortunate ones out there who do not develop the nasty bite marks on their skin, finding small blood stains on your bed sheets is another common warning sign that bed bugs have infested your home. These blood stains come from the momentary open wound on the part of your body that was bitten. It is good practice to regularly inspect your bed sheets ensuring that these blood stains are not present.
Fecal Matter on Your Mattress
As bed bugs crawl back into hiding after a night of feeding, they will often defecate on your bed sheets. Their fecal matter consists of partially digested blood, which turns black as it passes through their digestive system. The fecal matter as a result looks like several tiny black smudges within a small area. If you notice tiny black smudges on your bed sheets or small blood stains, this should be good reason to search further for signs of bed bugs in your home.
How To Find Bed Bugs In Your Home
Even if all the signs above are present, this is still not absolute proof that bed bugs have infested your home. The only true proof of bed bugs is finding an actual bed bug specimen in your home. As discussed above, bed bugs are elusive creatures that are great at hiding so the first step is knowing where to look. If you do find evidence of bed bugs in your home, you should hire a professional bed bug exterminator right away to determine the full extent of the infestation. Here are some tips on how to detect bed bugs in your home.
Catch Them While They’re Feeding
This method does require some discipline but is a sure way of determining whether or not you have bed bugs. Bed bugs typically feed on your blood close to dawn so you will have to set an alarm for around 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning and have a flashlight nearby. When the alarm goes off try to stay as still as possible to not scare them and try to sense any movement in your bed with the flashlight. In case you only have a small infestation, it is recommended to do this every day for about 7-10 days to truly confirm whether or not bed bugs are present in your home.
Find Them Where They Are Hiding
Another way to detect bed bugs in your home is to search out their hiding spots. They are tiny creatures that can hide in various hard to reach places but tend to stay within 5-10 feet of their feeding areas. Some of the most common areas of your home that bed bugs tend to hide include:
- under mattress seams
- at the corner of box springs under the plastic guards
- between small crevices in your bed frame or headboard
- in between the seams of upholstered furniture that is near your bed
- inside electrical outlets near your bed
- behind baseboards in your bedroom
- behind wall paper
- inside any other cracks or crevices in your walls or furniture that is located near your bed
Use a Bed Bug Detection Device
The best way to detect bed bugs in your home is by using some sort of an interception device. These devices are essentially traps that either catch bed bugs while they are on their way to feeding or which use some sort of lure to draw in bed bugs. A very basic bed bug intercepting device is made by placing double sided tape around the perimeter of your mattress. As the bed bugs are crawling towards you for feeding some of them will get stuck on the double sided tape giving you the evidence you need.Detection devices that use lures are a bit more sophisticated than intercepting devices as they have to trick the bed bugs. These typically use some sort of chemical attractant that bed bugs are attracted to such as CO2, luring them into the device which then traps them.
