You might have heard of bed bugs, but you will want to know how to find out if you have them in your home. They are small, oval-shaped, brown insects that feed on the blood of people and animals. They don’t fly, but they move quickly, and you can find them on the floor, walls, or ceiling of your home. They are not known to transmit disease, but they are a nuisance.

Bed bugs can be carried into your home on clothing, luggage, or used furniture, and they normally hide in the mattress, box spring, or bed frame so that they can easily bite people during the night. They will bite any skin that is exposed, and they make small bumps on the skin. Read on to learn how to tell if you have bed bugs.

Check for Bites

One way to determine if you have bed bugs is to check your body for bites in the morning. They will leave small raised bumps in a zigzag pattern that itch. If you didn’t have any bites when you went to sleep, but you wake up with itchy bumps on parts of your skin that were exposed overnight, there is a good chance that you have bed bugs.

You should check the bumps to make sure you didn’t get bitten by a spider. Spiders will often bite you a number of times in one location, and you will notice a bite mark in the center of the raised area on your skin. If you suspect that you have bed bugs, you will want to remove the bedding and the dust cover and inspect your mattress and box spring.

Check Your Bed and Mattress for Signs

Bed bugs feed on your blood, and they will leave blood stains all over your bedding. You will see small little spots that look similar to rust stains. You will normally find these spots near the corner or the edge of your bed. In addition, young bed bugs shed their skin five times, and you might find oval brown exoskeletons when you check your bed.

Sometimes you can actually see the bed bugs if you look. Mature bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed, and they are brown with an oval shaped body. If you check your bedding, your mattress, and your box spring, you might find some of these pests. Use a flashlight and a magnifying glass as you search. You should also check the rest of your room.

Notice a Strange Smell

Unlike many other pests, bed bugs have a distinct smell. They have pheromones that can have a musty odor that is strong. If you notice a strange musty smell, you might have bed bugs. Be sure to pay attention if you notice even a faint smell because the sooner you find bed bugs, the quicker you can get rid of them.

The reason that it is difficult to see bed bugs before they bite you is that they are nocturnal. They won’t be crawling around on your bed or your walls during the day. They can go undetected because people don’t always realize that their bites are from bedbugs. However, you can see adult bed bugs with the naked eye, and you can inspect your bed and its component with a flashlight.

It is important to take steps to eliminate the bed bugs as soon as you discover them. If you wake up in the morning with bites, you should check for bed bugs right away. If you find any, you can wash and vacuum your bedding and your mattress, but you may need to call for a professional service to help you eliminate them. If your bed was a used bed, you will want to consider getting rid of it or treating it. You can seal the box spring or the mattress, and it will take up to a year for the bed bugs to die trapped inside.