How To Inspect A Home For Bed Bugs
Inspecting a home for bed bugs is not a complicated procedure, and can be done by home owners, tenants or by pest management professionals. However, a seasoned pest management professional will have a large advantage over other inspectors. This advantage is due to the knowledge and experience of the professional. Professionals see hundreds of homes, and thousands of bugs. We see bugs up close and personal, in all stages, and in many environments. We understand the biology and the behaviour of bed bugs, which allows us to inspect and assess a home for bed bugs much more quickly than an average person. We know the facts about bed bugs, and we are aware of the myths and misinformation. So, today, I’m going to impart some of that knowledge and share some common tips and strategies for successfully inspecting a home for bed bugs.
First, A Bit About Bed Bugs
Before beginning a detailed inspection for bed bugs, it is important to understand a few things about bed bugs:
Bed bugs don’t live on people or pets. They can occasionally be found on a person’s skin or clothing, or on a pet’s fur, but this would be because you caught the bed bug in transit between its home (harbourage site) and its meal (you, or sometimes, your pet). If you are frequently seeing live bed bugs on people or pets, that would indicate an extremely large population of bugs in the home, as you are catching many bugs in transit, which is normally quite rare. Unlike lice, fleas, or some mites, bed bugs don’t want to live on us. They actually prefer to not crawl on us at all, if possible. Their preferred method of feeding is to crawl along a surface (sheet, mattress, clothing, etc…) and bite and feed off the exposed skin right were it contacts that surface. Our human nervous systems are really good at detecting sensations on the skin. The sensation of something crawling on our skin is also commonly associated with reflex actions to hit, twitch, scratch, and/or move the area where this sensation originates. These reflexes are even active while we sleep. These reflex actions would interrupt the bed bug’s feeding process, and could possibly mean death for the bed bug. So, they have adapted to know that risk, and will avoid contacting our skin except for the actual bite itself. Prior to biting, the bed bug will excrete a numbing agent so that we don’t feel the bite happen (only about 1 in 500 people are reported to be able to actually feel a bed bug biting), and once they attach (bite), they inject a type of anti-coagulant to prevent the blood from immediately clotting at the point of the bite. Because the bed bug doesn’t want to be on our skin, and the amount of anti-coagulant is so small, a feeding may be interrupted by the host inadvertently moving or shifting, or by the bite site drying up (clotting) before the bed bug is full. So the bed bug will have to establish a new feeding site. This is why bed bug bites are often seen as a series, or cluster of bites. Seeing three or four bite marks in a row, a few centimeters apart, is the most common bite pattern. But it all depends on how much a person moves or shifts while being fed upon.
Bed bugs are not social insects, but they do aggregate. The exact reason for this aggregation is still being studied, along with how they find each other in order to aggregate. It is suspected that there may be a pheromone that bed bugs excrete to create pathways as they move around seeking food and shelter. This allows them to find their way back to a safe harbourage site after feeding, and also allows other bed bugs to follow those trails back to a safe harbourage site. While the exact methodology is still being studied, we do know that bed bugs will aggregate in clusters, in areas that are close to a food source (sleeping person). We call these areas of aggregation, harbourage sites. Some people refer to them as nesting sites, or nests, but there is no nesting that goes on. It’s simply a safe spot where several bugs will get together and call home for a while. These harbourage sites will often have bugs of multiple sizes/stages, shed exoskeletons, fecal spotting, and eggs all in the same area. Finding these harbourage sites can help professionals determine how long the bugs have been there, and often how widespread the problem is within a given room, home, or building.
Bed bugs spread throughout a home in 4 different ways: Accidental transference, seeking a new food source, seeking a mate, and because of traumatic insemination. Once a bed bug has found a food source (sleeping person), and a safe place to hide (harbourage site), that bug will have no real reason to leave. It will continue to make the journey to feed about once or twice per week, and keep coming back to the same harbourage site for safety in between each feed. This can go on for months with the bed bug never traveling further than the same few feet a couple times each week. This is why it can be difficult to find and eliminate small infestations, and why new infestations can take a long time to be noticed. The first way that bed bugs can spread out within a home is through accidental transference. Accidental transference, would be a bed bug that has an established food source, and an established harbourage site, getting interrupted mid journey, and displaced or moved to another part of the home. An example of this would be a person getting up to use the washroom in the middle of the night, not realizing that a bed bug is crawling on their night clothes. They go down the hallway to the washroom, passing other bedrooms, and the bug falls off in the hallway. That bug will now hide, and after hiding, will try to find its way back to a food source. Because bed bugs can only sense body heat and carbon dioxide within a few feet, it is likely that bug will find its way into a different bedroom long before getting back to the one it came from, and will establish a new source of food and find a new harbourage site. The second way that bed bugs will spread out within a home is by seeking a new food source. Seeking a new food source, only happens when a bed bug comes out to feed, and finds that its usual food source is not there. This happens when a room is not occupied regularly, or when a person who has noticed bites, suddenly stops sleeping in their bed and moves to the living room sofa. (If they take blankets with them from their bed, they may also transfer the problem to the sofa through accidental transference.) When the food source is gone the bug(s) may explore the whole bed area, and then give up and return to the harbourage site. But, after the bug(s) are hungry enough, and the food source has not returned, the bugs will begin to leave the area in search of a new food source. Because the bed bugs cannot sense their environments beyond a few feet, this journey can take the bugs to a number of areas in the house while they search. But, they move at about 1 meter per minute, and will often only take a few days to reach a new food source in a different area of the home. The third way the bed bugs can spread out is through seeking a mate. If a male bed bug gets the notion (catches the scent) of a female bed bug, in addition to coming out to feed, the male bed bug will also begin to explore the area seeking the female bed bug. This journey usually doesn’t go as far, but will often spread the bugs around to different areas of the same room, usually still within 1 to 2 meters of the food source. The last way that bed bugs will spread out around a home, is because of traumatic insemination. Traumatic insemination, is a term that refers to the way that bed bugs mate. The female bed bug has no external reproductive organs. The males will penetrate the female body almost anywhere, and inject sperm into her abdominal cavity. This is a very disturbing, dis-pleasurable and traumatic experience for the female, but one which she endures for the purpose of breeding. Because the males will continue to attack her in this way, once she feels that she has enough sperm, she will leave the area. It is still being studied, but it is believed that the female does not leave any pheromone trail when she leaves, because the males never follow her and are often a bit lost and confused after she leaves (unless there are other females still around). The female then seeks out a new harbourage site, still close to a food source, and this is where she will lay her eggs starting a whole new batch of bugs to begin the cycle all over again.
Bed bugs get stressed. Bed bugs can be put into a stressed state in a number of ways. A pesticide or heat treatment that doesn’t reach the bed bug enough to kill it, can often send it into a stressed state. Not having a food source available for a few weeks can trigger a stressed state. Cold temperatures (4 degrees, down to minus 15 degrees Celsius ) can send bed bugs into a stressed state. Physical interference (chasing bugs with a vacuum, or being flung from a bed sheet being yanked off a bed) can also send bed bugs into a stressed state. This stressed state is an ultimate level of fight or flight. When stressed, a bed bug will find a hiding spot, not a harbourage site, but a very safe hiding spot that can be anywhere, and maybe nowhere near a food source. The stressed bed bug will then go into a sort of hibernation state that will allow the bed bug to stay alive without feeding for a prolonged period of time. This state can last for a couple of weeks, or even a few months. In Canada, bed bugs are known to survive without food for up to 3 or 4 months. In southern parts of the US, they have been known to survive a full year without feeding. For this reason, inspections and treatments should be conducted very carefully. You want to find and eliminate the bugs. but not stress out any bugs that might get missed, or they will stay hidden and come out weeks or months later. This is one of the main reasons that bed bug treatments can seem ineffective. Especially heat treatments, as the process of a heat treatment will almost always cause bugs on the fringes to get stressed out. So unless the heat kills every single bug right away, you’re likely to have a resurgence a few weeks to a couple of months later. This is also why its important to have a good warranty period on any treatment that you have done. This also means that you have to be very careful when applying any of your own chemicals, or when you are preparing for an inspection or treatment. Sometimes, the rushed act of quickly removing sheets and moving furniture around can send bed bugs into a stressed state. This can cause bugs to go into deep hiding before any treatment even begins, setting the treatment up for inevitable failure.
Bed bugs don’t jump or fly. They can climb most furniture, walls and curtains. But they cannot climb slippery surfaces like smooth plastic, enamel, or metal. They can crawl up walls and across ceilings.
Bed bugs are visible to the naked eye at all stages, including eggs. They can be difficult to see against some backgrounds, but all stages are large enough to be seen without the aid of any sort of magnification.
Bed bugs are excellent at hiding. Bed bugs navigate their environment by sensing light, and sound vibration. If you move a mattress, or sheet and expose a bed bug or harbourage site, they will evacuate that spot fairly quickly. Their first response will be to hide. If they are already in the shadow of a crack or seam, they may just stay still, hoping not to be seen. If they are out in the open, in an exposed area, then they will immediately begin to seek a hiding spot. After hiding, the next time it is both dark and quiet, they will move and begin to seek out a new, safe harbourage site, and possibly a new food source. Because of this hiding behaviour, along with the possibility of sending bugs into a stressed state, you have to be careful when inspecting or preparing a room, or home prior to a bed bug treatment. If you prepare too early, and change around their environment, there is a good chance you will send a number of bugs into hiding, or even spread the problem around. Preparations should be completed immediately prior to treatment. However, with the amount of preparation that some companies ask for, it can take days to complete it all. At Lavellan, we are very aware of this, and we don’t require any preparation to be done prior to beginning treatment. We come in as-is, allowing us to treat as we go through each step. This prevents bugs from being stressed out, doesn’t allow them time to hide or change their positions, and prevents bugs from being inadvertently hidden or spread around.
Inspecting For Bed Bugs
To properly inspect for bed bugs you will need:
A powerful flashlight - We use 1000 lumen flashlights and head lamps. 600 lumen, or more, is recommended. We also recommend the use of a head lamp as this allows you to have both hands free for moving items and using tools. Contrary to what you see on TV, it is never good practice to hold a flashlight - or any tool - with your mouth.
A scraper, or putty knife - This is a handy tool that can be used to lift vent covers, or fit between wood joints, or to spread openings to gain visibility.
An inspection mirror - We use a telescoping mechanic’s inspection mirror. You can pick one up at most auto-supply stores for under $10.
A screwdriver or power driver - Having multiple bits available for different types of screw heads.
In addition to these tools, it is also a good idea to have a plan in place for what to do if you actually find bed bugs or harbourage sites. once you have found it, it will be exposed, and if you leave it, the problem will move, hide or spread out. So it is a good idea to have a plan in place to immediately take care of any bug problem you find while inspecting. Non-chemical methods would include using a vacuum, or hand steamer, or even a glue-board or sticky trap. You can use the scraper to push bugs, shed skins, and even eggs on to the glue board. This would also allow you to keep specimens to show to landlords, or pest management professionals, should the need arise. You can also use a chemical option, though it is not recommended as it has a much higher potential to make the problem worse, or spread the problem around. Any spray chemical that lists bed bugs on the label, and is registered for use in Canada, will work to kill bed bugs on direct contact. Don’t use dusts or baits for this purpose as they don’t kill immediately, and will do little good in this situation. Always follow the instructions on the product label, and we strongly recommend using gloves, eye protection, and a mask whenever using chemicals, even if it doesn’t say so on the label. When it comes to using chemicals, more is not always better. If it says to spray the surface from 10-12 inches away, there is a reason for that. Spraying the chemical from 3 inches away, could cause back-splash, could change the droplet size hitting the surface, or could cause unintended aerosolisation of the chemical.
Step One
Begin the inspection with the bed. This will be the most likely area that bed bugs will want to be close to. Bed bugs are typically found in harbourage sites within 1 to 2 meters of a bed or sleeping area.
Lift the corners and the sides of the top blanket, comforter, duvet, etc… Examine the seams of the cover as you go around the bed and pile the inspected sides and corners on to the center of the bed.
Repeat this process for each layer of bedding including the fitted sheet, and any mattress covers. All of the bedding should now be piled in the center of the bed.
Remove pillow cases from each pillow, examining corners and seams as you go.
Place bedding into bags, boxes or bins and place into washer/dryer, or seal in bags to be washed later, as there may be individual bugs or eggs that were missed, it is recommended that all bedding be washed and dried at a high-heat dryer setting whenever possible.
Once bedding has been inspected and removed, you can begin inspecting the mattress. go all the way around the bed, lifting and examining under each seam, flap, or fold in the mattress.
Lift mattress off the box spring or bed frame, and stand it up against a wall or piece of heavy furniture. Examine the bottom of the mattress. Again, lifting and examining under each seam, or fold.
If There is a box spring, then repeat the same process for the mattress, on the box spring. Make sure to check under and behind any corner guards that may be on the box spring. Once it has been lifted off the bed frame, or floor, it can be stood up against the mattress in order to examine the bottom. Be sure to carefully examine around all edges of the protective cover that is stapled to the bottom of most box springs. If this cover has rips or tears in it, then it is recommended to simply remove the cover for easier inspection and cleaning.
Once the mattress and box spring have been thoroughly inspected, you can move on to the bed frame and head board if there is one. Inspect all joints, screw holes, cracks and crevices. For a thorough inspection, you may need to take some pieces apart. For heavy bed frames, or larger pieces, you can use the inspection mirror to examine the bottom sides and edges. It is important to examine every bit of the bed frame from all sides and angles, as bed bugs are excellent at hiding, and will often prefer the under side of things.
Step Two
The next step is to examine furniture or objects that are very close, or touching the bed. Night stands, side tables, book shelves, etc…
Carefully examine around the outside edges, back sides, and undersides of all furniture immediately next to the bed.
Carefully empty any drawers, toy boxes, chests, cabinets , or book shelves in the furniture immediately next to the bed. Examine each item as it is removed and place into a clean box/bin for temporary holding until the inspection is complete.
Once emptied, examine the interior parts of the furniture. Again, pay special attention to the undersides of each piece.
Step Three
The next step is the curtains or blinds. If there is a window within 1 meter of the bed, then the window coverings should be examined next. Remove curtains, and examine the seams and edges. For blinds, remove and examine, if easy to do so, otherwise, carefully examine each slat and touch-point in its place.
Step Four
After the furniture and window coverings, the next areas to inspect are the structural areas that immediately surrounding the bed. This includes baseboards, window frames, air vent covers, electrical plate covers, switch covers, radiators, or light fixtures.
Using the inspection mirror, flashlight and putty knife, examine all cracks or gaps around the baseboards and window frames. Check curtain rods, and rod or window blind fixtures.
Remove electrical and and switch plate covers and examine behind these. NOTE: DO NOT stick anything into the electrical housing voids behind the electrical outlet, or switch plate covers, or the outlets them selves. These areas carry live electrical current and cause serious bodily harm or even death.
Remove vent or radiator covers and examine inside.
Remove covers from light fixtures and lamps and examine inside. Lift lamps and examine under the bases.
This four step examination process can be followed for each bed, or sleeping area in the home, Including any sofas where people might occasionally sleep or spend significant time on while in night clothes or where bedding from beds may be shared (i.e. kids bringing the blanket from their bed out to the sofa with them to watch TV with.
Individual bed bugs may be found anywhere in the home, but they will only lay eggs and set up harbourage sites near a food source (sleeping person, or sometimes pet) any individual bed bug in the home will be slowly making its way to one of these sleeping areas, so that’s where the focus of the inspections should be.
If you find bed bugs, or evidence of bed bugs at any point during the inspection, we recommend that you schedule a treatment of your home by a pest management professional. You can see more information about bed bugs and our treatment methods by clicking here.