How to Check for Bed Bugs and, Better Yet, Get Rid of Them

Contrary to popular belief, bed bugs arent caused by unsanitary conditions. Instead, they travel between homes and hotels in clothing or baggageand can be found in even the cleanest of places.

Heres how to find bed bugs and deal with them if youre unlucky enough to have brought some into your home, according to pest-management specialist Susannah Krysko.

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are typically nocturnal (though theyre active in the day if theres a meal to be had) and highly reclusive. When mature, bed bugs are reddish-brown and the size of a small apple seed. Eggs are whitish and tiny. Hatchlings are clear and the size of a sesame seed. Both eggs and hatchlings are very difficult to see.

Bed bug bites usually are the first sign that you have them. These bites may cause itching and welting like mosquito bites. You dont feel pain when youre being bitten because the bug injects an anesthetic. Sometimes bed bug bites appear in a line on your skin where your body lies along the mattress, but this isnt always the case. The only way to confirm that bites are from bed bugs is to find evidence of the bugstheir shed exoskeletons, eggs, the bugs themselves or trails of droppings they leave behind.

Start at the head of the bed. Inspect the sheets and pillows for lines of droppings, which look like someone has dotted the sheet using a black marker. Inspect the mattress piping and creases, folds and pockets as well as the tags for bugs, droppings, eggs or skins. While not always necessary, a blacklight will cause this biological material to glow in the dark. Pull the mattress aside, and search the box spring, then the headboard, nightstand, hanging pictures and any other hideouts within about five feet of the bed. If you find a bug: Save it on a piece of tape, and take it to a cooperative extension office or exterminator to get a positive identification.

Dont try to do it yourself. The bugs have widespread resistance to the bombs and sprays you can buy at the storeand these methods will only scatter the insects. Instead, call a professional that uses an integrated pest-management approach, meaning that they dont rely on chemicals alone and instead employ a three-pronged approach. These days, in addition to chemicals, professionals have an array of techniques, including desiccant powders, heat, steam and biological treatments. Expect to pay from $500 to more than $1,000. The exterminators will need to apply at least two treatments a few weeks apart, and youll need to be out of the house for a few hours each time.

Before the pesticide treatment: Vacuum thoroughly, and put any clothes or bedding that might contain bed bugs in the dryer for 30 minutes on a high setting.

After the pesticide treatment: Put an encasement over your mattress and box springs (it should be labeled for bed bugs), and place monitoring traps by the feet of your bed to make sure the problem has been resolved.

Interceptor-type traps look like bowls that the bed legs sit in or that are placed next to the bed legs or near a platform bed. You can buy these traps at box stores, home stores and onlinea set of four is about $20 to $30. How they work: As the bed bugs are walking to the bed to get their meal, they climb up into the trap, fall into the smooth plastic cup and are unable to climb back out. This keeps the bugs from biting the host and can indicate whether or not the treatment is working.

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How to Check for Bed Bugs and, Better Yet, Get Rid of Them