What Are the Signs of a Bedbug Infestation in Your Home?

Child's legs and feet resting on a white surface, with several reddish-brown spots visible.

If you like to travel in public vehicles or stay in hotels, you may eventually experience a bedbug infestation. These pests may hide in your clothes, and you may accidentally carry them into your home. Once bedbugs find their way into your home, they may lay eggs and multiply.

Bedbugs are tiny and like hiding in small spaces. Therefore, discerning whether your house has a bedbug infestation can be difficult. This article highlights four common signs that indicate a bedbug infestation.

1. Bites

Bedbugs like feeding on blood. Therefore, these pests may bite you at night and leave tiny itchy welts on your skin. Often, people confuse bedbug bites with mosquito bites. However, bedbug bites are flat and occur in clusters as zigzag lines. Most people experience bedbug bites on exposed body parts, including legs, arms, and neck.

Nevertheless, you should not depend on bedbug bites to know if your home has a bedbug infestation or not since people react differently to bedbug bites. Actually, statistics indicate that about 30% of people don't react to bedbug bites.

2. Bloodstains

Most people don't realize when bedbugs bite them since these pests often bite people when they are sound asleep. However, you may notice bloodstains on your bedding in the morning.

Bloodstains normally occur due to direct bedbug bites. Bedbug saliva contains an anticoagulant. When a bedbug bites you, it releases the anticoagulant into your bloodstream, which prevents your blood from clotting. Therefore, blood may flow for some time after the pest bites you and stain your bedding.

You may also notice bloodstains on your bedding if you accidentally sleep on bedbugs and squeeze them. After a bedbug feeds on blood, it becomes swollen, and its body changes from a flat, seed-like shape to round. If you suddenly turn your body while asleep, you may crush the pest.

3. Bug Shells

The presence of bug shells in your home is a clear indication that you have a bedbug infestation. As bedbugs go through the various development stages, they shed their exoskeletons through a process known as molting.

Bedbug shells are hollow and translucent. You can find them on your mattress seams, in cracks, in wooden furniture cervices, and on upholstered furniture. In fact, spotting these shells is quite easy compared to spotting the actual bedbugs since they don't move.

4. Eggs

When a female bed bug develops into an adult, it begins to lay eggs. After some time, the eggs hatch into tiny nymphs. These nymphs slowly develop until they become adults.

Bedbug eggs are oval, white, and about one millimeter long. These eggs also contain a hinged cap which allows freshly hatched bedbugs to emerge. Although you can spot bedbug eggs with naked eyes, you need to be keen since you can easily overlook them.

A bedbug infestation can become a significant issue, especially if you fail to detect the problem early enough. Therefore, if you notice any of the signs discussed above, contact pest control professionals. These experts have the right tools and chemicals to get rid of these pests. If you are looking for pest control services, contact Pass Pest Control.

< Older Post Newer Post >

Hand holding a magnifying glass over a bed, enlarging a bee illustration near a bedroom scene

BED BUGS: What They Are, How to Identify Them and How to Eliminate The

August 19, 2026

Bed bugs are small, parasitic blood feeding insects that can a comfortable home into a very unpleasant residence. Although they are not known to transmit diseases to people, their bites can cause itching and irritation, and an infestation can be difficult to correct without a complete application. However, in larger infestations the problem can cause open wounds due to scratching that can become infected. What are Bed Bugs? Bed bugs are small, dark brown insects that feed on blood. Adult bed bugs are about the size of apple seed where younger bed bugs are about the size of a grape seed and lighter in color. They are compact insects, allowing them to hide in cracks and crevices that are about the width of a dime. Despite their name, bed bugs aren’t limited to beds. They can hide in mattresses, box springs, bed frames, couches, chairs, carpets, cracks and other areas where individuals might rest. How to Identify Them? Bed Bugs can be difficult to spot because they are good at concealing themselves. Most common indications of an infestation are: Blood stains on bedding and mattresss Small dark spots indicating bed bug droppings Small eggs or cast skins Active bedbugs around tufts in the mattress, couches, chairs and cracks and crevices Red bites that occur in lines Where do they originate from? Bed bugs are excellent travelers. Bedbugs have a claw like hook similar to a tick which makes them the ultimate hitchhiker. They can enter a home through luggage, clothing, used furniture, bedding, and other personal belongings. They may also spread between rooms or apartments through cracks and other openings as well as person to person. How do you eliminate bed bugs? A few steps to take reduce your exposure to bed bugs: Inspect used furniture before you place it into the home. Use caution when traveling- inspect head boards, mattresses and all hotel furnishing before removing your items from your suitcase. Carefully check contents of luggage when returning home. Keep rooms organized which will make inspection easier in case of infestation. If you are suspicious of an item treat it for bedbugs before you place it into your home What Do I Do if I Find Bedbugs? Don’t discard of your furniture. Moving the items around can spread the infestation and make the problem worse. Start by carefully inspecting the area where bedbugs were observed. Wash and dry bedding on the highest setting available. Vacuuming is a valuable tool in helping to control infestations but can’t eliminate bedbugs on its own. Bed bugs can conceal themselves in cracks and crevices. Professional pest management may be necessary if the infestations is well established. What to Do? Bed bugs are an unpleasant, but they are a manageable pest problem. Early detection makes treatment easier. If you suspect and problem, inspect carefully, avoid spreading potentially infested belongings and consider contacting a qualified pest control professional for an appropriate treatment plan. If you are experiencing a reoccurring bed bug problem it is likely that you are coming into contact with an infected person or infested item. The key is to act in an organized manner rather than relying on a single treatment for moving to another room. With careful inspection and the correct treatment protocol bed bugs can be eliminated. There are many types of treatments for bedbugs and all of them work to a certain extent depending on the level of infestation and the condition of the home being treated. Heat is a very common way to control bedbugs but it only has about an 80 percent success rate. High clutter and easy avenues to avoid heat impact the ability of heat treatments to be successful. Temperatures have to be maintained at a level of 140 degrees or higher for at least three hours to see optimum results. Uncontrolled heat applications that maintain heat at 150 degrees for higher can result in serious damage to furniture, wiring and belongings. Chemical applications tend to perform very well in small to medium infestations but are challenged by aggressive, more populated bed bug infestations. Cryogenic applications do an excellent job of killing bedbugs on contact but do very little in controlling hidden infestations and leave no chemical residual for long term control. Fumigation is likely the most reliable method. Performed at the proper dosage rate a variety of insects and rodents can be eliminated with fumigation. However, fumigation tends to be more expensive that other applications and leaves no residual as chemical applications will.