Adult bed bugs are 4-5mm long. Prior to feeding they are a flattened oval shape and light brown in color, but become rounder, like a football and darker (rust color) after feeding.

They emerge at night and are attracted to the warmth of our bodies and carbon dioxide in our breath.

They are usually found in bedrooms and in living rooms (couch, arm chairs) but hide in cracks and crevices during the day.

The most common shelters for bed bugs are:

• Mattresses and box springs
• Seams of mattresses
• Crevices in bed frames
• Mattress headboards
• Furniture surrounding beds
• Baseboards
• Clothing Dressers
• Laundry Bins

You can easily spot evidence of bed bug activity by looking for these telltale signs of dark brown, red or even black staining on mattress covers. These signs are from bed bug excrement after they have a blood meal.

Infestation can also be associated with an unpleasant scent secreted by bed bugs.

It is difficult to identify bed bugs from their bite because everyone’s body reacts very differently to the bites.

It is more important to look at the overall pattern and timing of bites and other factors to identify whether bites are caused by bed bugs. Bed bugs usually will follow a vein on your hands, arms, legs, feet, neck and face.

• Bed Bug Bites usually never wake the victim from their sleep and can occur anywhere on the body. The bites usually occur close to blood vessels that are near the skin
• A single bed bug may bite more than once in the same area. However, bites on different parts of the body indicate being bitten by several bed bugs.
• Early in a bed bug infestation, the victim may not feel any itchiness as they’ve yet to become sensitized to the bites.
• Small droplets of blood on the sheets will indicate the presence of bed bugs.