How To Tell If Your Elizabeth City Home Has Bed Bugs

If something were to bite you, you would know about it, right? Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Think about mosquitoes, for instance. When these pests bite people, they inject a numbing agent beneath the skin. The same is true for bed bugs; when these small pests bite you late at night, they take every precaution to make sure you don’t wake up. This often makes identifying these pests more difficult. To provide you with some other options to know if bed bugs are crawling around inside your Elizabeth City home, here are a few less obvious signs to tell these pests are somewhere close by.

What Are Bed Bugs?

Although you are unlikely to ever see a live bed bug due to its adept hiding ability, it is still important that you know the signs of these pests. The most important thing you should know is what they look like; an adult bed bug is 3-5mm long, reddish-brown, and has a shield-shaped body. To stay out of sight when inside homes, bed bugs hide in dark and secluded areas when people are awake and will only emerge to feed long after you have fallen asleep.

How Do Bed Bugs Get Into Homes

Bed bugs are hitchhiking pests. This means they use items we carry around to get from place to place. When not inside a comfortable home, bed bugs spend their time crawling around, quietly looking for new objects to hide inside. Common hotspots for bed bug activity include hotels, airports, bus stations, hospitals, daycare facilities, and schools.

Bed Bug Bites

Not all people react the same to bed bug bites. Some have no symptoms at all, while others find raised red welts on their skin. To identify bed bug bites, look for bites on your skin that run in a straight line or zig-zag pattern. They show up like this because of bed bugs’ peculiar eating habits.

Blood Stains

Bed bugs have a habit of overeating, which leads to a process called “dribbling” after they finish a meal. More specifically, bed bugs leak blood out of their mouthparts because they are unable to hold it all inside. This blood is left to dry on bed coverings and is a good way to know bed bugs are around.

Bed Bug Fecal Matter

As bed bugs crawl off of beds to hide around homes, they leave fecal droppings as they travel. These small, reddish-black specks are found around sleeping areas, along baseboards, near outlets, and around crevices throughout the home.

A Musty Odor In The Air 

The more severe a bed bug infestation becomes, the more likely your nose will be to start smelling these pests. The odor these pests create is similar to that of coriander or moldy shoes. 

How To Handle A Bed Bug Infestation

Now that you know how to identify bed bugs, let’s talk about what you should do if you find these pests inside your home. Our recommendation is to let the professionals at Albemarle Termite & Pest Control help. Properly eliminating bed bugs is an extremely difficult task and requires expensive equipment to get the job done right, all things we have. 

If you are tired of losing sleep, we are here to help you reclaim your bedroom from pests. Call us today for any questions you have about bed bug control, or schedule your home for a thorough pest inspection.