Daily Archives: November 13, 2022

Bed Bug Hiding Places

Bed bugs can live in almost any crevice or protected location. They will usually stay close to their food source (blood) but can rapidly spread through a multiple residence building, hotel or other accommodations. The most common place to find them is the bed. Bed bugs often hide within seams, tufts, and crevices of the mattress, box spring, bed frame and headboard.

Bed bugs will hide behind pictures, tapestries or anything else mounted on the wall. Anything with seams, cracks or crevices present are prime nesting areas.

Picture frames are classic hiding locations as are heating and air ducts. Also be sure to check inside clocks, phones, televisions and smoke detectors. The bottom line is that you need to treat any location if you as much as suspect activity.
Many families try unworkable home remedies for Bed Bugs or more extreme measures '“ such as throwing out their Bed Bug-infested mattresses and bedding, and sometimes ripping out carpet and replacing furniture to rid Bed Bugs from their home! While this course of action can often be understandable responses this isn't an efficient Bed Bugs remedy or cure for Bed Bugs because they will go into the walls, under the baseboards or any other hiding place. If a person manages to slide a credit card into a crack or crevice, a bed bug is likely to find a home and hidden place to breed.

Some Bed bug symptoms are not obvious to the untrained eye. A thorough inspection requires dismantling the bed and standing the components on edge. Things to look for are the bugs themselves, and the light-brown, molted skins of the nymphs. Dark spots of dried bed bug excrement are often present along mattress seams or wherever the bugs have resided. Oftentimes the gauze fabric underlying the box spring must be removed to gain access for inspection and possible treatment. Successful treatment of mattresses and box springs is difficult, however, and infested components may need to be discarded. Cracks and crevices of bed frames should be examined, especially if the frame is wood. (Bed bugs have an affinity for wood and fabric more so than metal or plastic). Headboards secured to walls should also be removed and inspected. In hotels and motels, the area behind the headboard is often the first place that the bugs become established. Bed bugs also hide among items stored under beds.

Nightstands and dressers should be emptied and examined inside and out, then tipped over to inspect the woodwork underneath. Oftentimes the bugs will be hiding in cracks, corners, and recesses.

Upholstered chairs and sofas should be checked, especially seams, tufts, skirts, and crevices beneath cushions. Sofas can be major bed bug hotspots when used for sleeping.

Other common places to find bed bugs include: along and under the edge of wall-to-wall carpeting (especially behind beds and furniture); cracks in wood molding; ceiling-wall junctures; behind wall-mounts, picture frames, switch plates and outlets; under loose wallpaper; amongst clothing stored in closets; and inside clocks, phones, televisions and smoke detectors.

The challenge is to find and treat all places where bugs and eggs may be present. Bed bugs tend to congregate in certain areas, but it is common to find an individual or some eggs scattered here and there. Persistence and a bright flashlight are requisites for success. Professional Inspectors sometimes also inject a pyrethrum-based, "flushing agent" into crevices to help reveal where bugs may be hiding. A thorough treatment of a home, hotel, or apartment may take several hours or days. Nymphs and adults generally feed at night and hide in crevices during the day. Occasionally people pick up bed bugs in theaters or on buses and trains. They also can bring them into their home on clothing, bedding, luggage, or firewood.

Picture frames are also classic and common hiding locations as are heating and air ducts. Also be sure to check inside clocks, phones, televisions and smoke detectors. The bottom line is that you need to treat any location if you as much as suspect activity.  Many people have the misconception thatgetting rid of bed bugsis done through traditional pest controls which uses harsh pesticides. The truth of the matter is that bed bugs have grown immune to the pesticides exterminators are using. That is why there has been such an enormous increase in bed bug infestations throughout the US.

While this course of action can often be understandable responses this isn't an efficient Bed Bugs remedy or cure for Bed Bugs because they will go into the walls, under the baseboards or any other Bed Bug hiding places. If a person manages to slide a credit card into a crack or crevice, a bed bug is likely to find a home and hidden place to breed for Bed Bug hiding places. Many families try unworkable home remedies for Bed Bugs or more extreme measures to get rid of Bed Bug hiding places '“ such as throwing out their Bed Bug-infested mattresses and bedding, and sometimes ripping out carpet and replacing furniture to rid Bed Bugs from their home!