This is a tough one. It can be hard to tell if you've got them or not, because they
are pretty small They only come out for very short periods, and because they are
pretty good at hiding. Calling a professional can save you from more than just a
few sleepless nights.
First off, you should look for some key signs:
1) Waste - Bed bugs create a lot of waste, and that is harder to hide than they are.
It can consist of dark spots on your mattress (which can be blood, feces, etc.) or
of shed skins, eggs, dead bed bugs, etc. You may find it inside your mattress, in
the box springs, or in the linens. It looks like this:
2) Bites - You should be seeing little red bites on you without really knowing why.
People rarely catch bed bugs in the act - they come out when you are asleep, and
only bite for a short period. Also, like many bugs, you cannot feel the bite until
a few minutes after it happens. The bites are very hard to identify - most doctors
actually can't tell you for sure what they're from just by looking at them.
3) Hiding places - Look in all the key spots where they could hide. This means the
mattress and around it, folds in the linens, curtains, and nearby furniture. Look
for the waste or dark spots. You probably won't see live ones, but they look like
little mini-cockroaches.
4) Catch them in the act - Keep a flashlight by your bed, and turn it on about an
hour before dawn and watch the sheets closely for movement. Bed bugs usually bite
around then, but if you get up or move too much they will go back into hiding. This
can be hard to do - if you've only got a few of them, they only need to come out
once a week or so anyway, so you might get unlucky and not see any, even though you
have them.
5) Carpet tape - This is a great way to do it. Get some double-sided carpet tape
(it's tape designed to keep rugs stuck to the floor) and lay out strips around your
bed, and on the sides of the mattress but where you won't run into it when you sleep.
Leave it out for a few days. If you've got bedbugs, it's likely that at least a couple
of them will get stuck on it
