These small, brownish insects can become the bane of your existence! They will thrive on your blood as you sleep, essentially stealing essential nutrients from your body. While bed bugs don’t fly, they can move quite quickly across the floor and walls. These insects can lay hundreds of eggs in their life, meaning they will spread fast and can infest a home in a very short amount of time.

Immature bedbugs require up to five full meals of blood in order to mature into adults. I know that it’s a bit of an uncomfortable thought so let’s look at some ways to get rid of these pasts once and for all.

Learn Where They Hide

Bedbugs are able to enter your home in a lot of different ways. Some of the most common hiding places that bedbugs use to gain entry into your home are luggage, clothing, and used furniture. Bedbugs do not create nests like other insects. They group together in a hiding place, waiting for you to go to sleep before making their move. Some of their favorite places to take up residence are inside of a mattress, box springs, or in the frame of your bed. These three locations give them easy access to people at night.

With that being said, bedbugs can move all throughout a room and scatter, tucking themselves into the most secluded of places. This is what makes them so hard to get rid of. They can hide away from attempts at extermination, waiting for the perfect time to return! But once you know where to look, you can treat these hiding places and effectively neutralize them!

Bedbugs are Most Active at Night

Bedbugs mainly bite people while they are sleeping. They will feed for up to 10 minutes at a time and you have no way of knowing until they are long gone. Bedbug bites are painless at first but then they will turn into itchy swells later.

These bites are sometimes confused with flea bites but there are distinct differences. The obvious difference is that you’ll see fleas while awake but bedbugs will stay hidden until you are sleeping.

Signs that Your Home is Infested by Bedbugs

You will wake up covered in tiny red marks then you probably have a bedbug infestation. This will be particularly true if you just got a piece of used furniture. Here are some other signs:

• You’ll find blood stains on your sheets and pillows.
• You will see dark, rust-colored spots on your mattress and/or walls.
• You will find husks in secluded areas.
• If the infestation is severe, you’ll smell a musty odor.

Bedbug Treatments

Getting rid of bedbugs once and for all starts with cleaning up your home – especially rooms that are infected. Here are some tips:

• Wash all bedding items, curtains, and clothing.
• Vacuum your mattress and then put a plastic protector on it.
• Vacuum the surrounding area and try reaching small nooks and crannies. Take vacuum bag outside when finished.
• Repair small cracks to prevent bedbugs from hiding in them.

Consider getting professional help if the infestation is too severe.