How Do You Get Bed Bugs?

Bed bugs are expert hitchhikers. You can pick them up from infested hotel rooms, public transportation, movie theaters, or even used furniture. Once inside, they hide in cracks, crevices, mattresses, and box springs, making them difficult to detect and remove without professional bed bug control services. They can be transported from one location to another through various means, such as:

• Travel: Staying in infested accommodations such as hotels, motels, or hostels can lead to bed bugs hitchhiking into your luggage or clothing.
• Secondhand Furniture: Bringing in used furniture, especially mattresses and sofas, without proper inspection can introduce bed bugs into your home.
• Public Transportation: Bed bugs can also be found in public transportation, including buses, trains, and airplanes, where they may latch onto clothing or belongings.
• Visitors: Guests visiting your home could inadvertently bring bed bugs with them if they have an infestation in their own residence.

Signs of Bed Bug Infestation

Common signs of a bed bug infestation include small reddish-brown stains on bedding, itchy welts or bites on your skin, and seeing live bed bugs or their shed skins. You may also notice a musty odor in infested areas. If you spot any of these signs, act fast—bed bugs can spread quickly and are notoriously difficult to eliminate without expert help.

• Visible Bed Bugs: While bed bugs are small (about the size of an apple seed), they can be spotted with the naked eye.
• Blood Stains: Rusty or reddish stains on bedding or furniture may indicate bed bug excrement or crushed bed bugs.
• Bite Marks: Itchy red welts on the skin, often appearing in a linear or clustered pattern, are a common sign of bed bug bites.
• Musty Odor: Bed bugs release pheromones, emitting a musty odor in heavily infested areas.