Five Signs Your San Jose Home May Have A Bed Bug Problem

Bed bugs are somewhat unique among pests. They don't live in your yard and get into your home through cracks in your exterior. These insects are carried in. They can come from a hotel or motel you stayed at during a vacation. They can come from your work. They can come from the school your child attends. This list goes on and on. That is why it is so important to recognize the signs of a bed bug infestation. If you catch these insects early, you can stop them before they take root in your home and drive you to invest in a costly bed bug treatment for your entire home.

1. Bites

The first sign you're likely to get is the appearance of bites on your skin. These bites can be slight at first, so be on the lookout for tiny, raised bumps with an associated rash. It can take several weeks for these bite wounds to start being welts.

Bed bugs bites follow a pattern. This is because each individual bed bug feeds more than once—often, three times. Entomologists jokingly refer to these bites as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If more than one-bed bug bites you, the bites can appear to look like a path across your skin.

Characteristics Of Bed Bug Bites

• Itchy, raised, wounds
• Associated rash
• Concentrated area of bites
• Bites in a line or zig-zag
• Bites that follow a path across the skin

2. Stains

Bed bugs leave their excrement everywhere they explore. If you're being bitten by bed bugs at night, you could find black stains on your bedding, sheets, or pillowcases. These black stains may also be accompanied by brown or tan blood stains. Bed bugs often excrete excess blood.

3. Skins

Bed bugs pass through five nymphal instars on their way to becoming adults. As they grow, they must shed their skins. These skins are called cuticles. You can find these cuticles in breeding sites or in tight spaces bed bugs hide. A helpful tool for uncovering this material is your debit card. Swipe it along mattress or box spring seams to bring these skins to the surface. They will be a pale or tan color.

4. Eggs

If you use your debit card to swipe tight seams in your mattress, box spring, furniture, bags, luggage, or some other item, you may also uncover bed bugs eggs. These eggs are pale white and about 1mm long.

5. Bugs

It can be very difficult to find bed bugs. These insects have a strong aversion to light and they prefer to hide in extremely tight spaces. If you're lucky enough to actually uncover bed bugs, you might not know you've found bed bugs. Why? Because you might think all bed bugs look like adult bed bugs. An adult is a rusty brown color with a flat oval shape, horizontal seams on the abdomen, and black coloration within the abdomen. A nymph can be as small as 1mm long, pale in color, and while it has all the features of an adult, it can be too small to distinguish them.

Characteristics Of A Bed Bug

• Six legs, two antennae, three body parts
• 1mm to 4.5mm
• Pale, tan, or rusty brown.
• Oval-shaped when it has not had a blood meal
• Bloated if it has had a blood meal
• Black coloration in the abdomen
• Red coloration in the abdomen if it has recently fed
• Crease lines running horizontally on the abdomen

What To Do About Bed Bugs

If you find bed bugs in your Bay Area home, or you uncovered evidence of bed bug activity, contact Bay Pest for immediate assistance. Bed bugs are extremely difficult to exterminate. Our team uses advanced methods that can target bed bugs and eliminate them. If the infestation is widespread, we can provide full home treatments, such as fumigation services.

Bed bug warning signs can be hard to find. If you need assistance with a bed bug inspection, we can help with this as well. Our team of licensed pest control professionals use industry-leading methods to locate sources of infestation. Contact us today. We're standing by to help you get rid of those bugs.