The first sign of bedbugs may be small, itchy bites on your skin, often on your arms or shoulders. Bedbugs tend to leave clusters of bites rather than single bites here and there. But for some people, bedbug bites don't cause any marks or itching.
You'll want to quarantine your suspicious clothes and suitcases. Discard any items that are not valuable or heirlooms. Place any contaminated items in a plastic bag. Use a laundromat that has industrial washers and dryers with high heat settings to kill any bugs that might be in your clothing.
Easily Carried but Not Contagious
Though they aren't actually contagious, these pesky parasites are easily carried on personal and household items. Waiting until the time is right and hiding where they can, bed bugs travel on clothes and belongings to get as close as possible to people where and when they rest.
How soon do symptoms of bed bugs appear after exposure? Bite marks may take as long as 14 days to develop in some people.
Avoid bringing worn items into bedrooms or placing items on furniture. Showering using soap and water is sufficient to remove bed bugs from your person.
Technically, bed bugs are unlikely to live on the clothes you're wearing, but they can quickly take up residence on items in a suitcase, and even what's in your drawers or on your floor.
It's best to keep the infestation localized to as few rooms as possible. This will also make remediation easier. Do continue to sleep in your bedroom after identifying a bed bug infestation. If you move rooms or start sleeping on the couch you run the risk of contaminating these other areas of your home.
Bed bugs are natural hitchhikers, so it's likely that if you encounter an infestation, you could bring bed bugs home with you through your luggage or other belongings. Initially, once you learn you have been exposed to bed bugs you must not panic. Not everybody who encounters bed bugs will necessarily bring them home.
Bed bug bites will turn into small, sometimes itchy, red welts on your skin. Now, many insects can bite you during the night, but one common indicator that a bed bug has bitten you is if there are a series of three or four welts in a row. Different people will also react differently to bed bug bites.
While everyone reacts differently, the most common symptom of bed bug bites is red, itchy bumps appearing in small clusters. Some people refer to this as the “breakfast, lunch, and dinner” pattern, which describes bed bug bites as appearing in small clusters or zigzag lines of 3 to 4 bites.
It is possible to get bed bugs from hugging someone who has them in their house. However, the chances of bringing bed bugs home with you via person-to-person contact are minimal. Instead, most people get bed bugs by carrying them home in a bag or on an infested item.
Everyone is at risk for getting bed bugs when visiting an infected area. However, anyone who travels frequently and shares living and sleeping quarters where other people have previously slept has a higher risk of being bitten and or spreading a bed bug infestation.
Bed bugs tend to hide as close to the bed as possible, so only launder the fabrics in the immediate area – your bedding, and clothing in dressers near the bed. Hanging clothes in closets can usually be left there, but wash anything on the floor.
Although bed bugs are nocturnal and prefer to bite their host when they are asleep, they are not limited to biting their host at night. They've been known to bite people while awake during the day as long as the opportunity presents itself.
However, keeping the lights on will not prevent bed bugs from coming out from inside the mattress or bed and biting you. Although bed bugs don't like the light, they still need to eat. Additionally, light certainly will not kill bed bugs, or irritate them enough to make them leave your home.
Myth: Bedbugs won't come out if the room is brightly lit. Reality: While bedbugs prefer darkness, keeping the light on at night won't deter these pests from biting you. Myth: Pesticide applications alone will easily eliminate bedbug infestations.
They can come from other infested areas or from used furniture. They can hitch a ride in luggage, purses, backpacks, or other items placed on soft or upholstered surfaces. They can travel between rooms in multi-unit buildings, such as apartment complexes and hotels.
They are visible to the naked eye. Adult bed bugs are usually brown in colour. When filled with blood, their colour ranges from red to dark brown. They are oval in shape and about the size of a flattened apple seed, 4 to 7 mm in length.
A cluttered home provides more places for bed bugs to hide and makes locating and treating them harder. If bed bugs are in your mattress, using special bed bug covers (encasements) on your mattress and box springs makes it harder for bed bugs to get to you while you sleep. Leave the encasements on for a year.
Do Bed Bugs Usually Stay In One Room? Since bed bugs do not have wings and do not jump, some people incorrectly assume that they tend to stay in one room and not travel much. However, this is not true. Bed bugs move around quickly and seek any place where they can find their next blood meal (i.e. humans).
Technically, bed bugs can live through a cycle in the washing machine. The truth is that while washing your clothes or linens will kill most of the bed bugs, the heat of drying your items is what will ultimately exterminate any and all remaining bugs. As we mentioned above, bed bugs do not tolerate heat.
You may be thinking, can you get bed bugs from not washing your sheets? No—bed bugs have absolutely nothing to do with cleanliness levels. However, washing your sheets regularly gives you the opportunity to look for and remove any possible bed bug infestations.