Bed bugs readily hide in small crevices. They may accompany (as stowaways) luggage, furniture, clothing, pillows, boxes, and other such objects when these are moved between apartments, homes, and hotels. Used furniture, particularly bed frames and mattresses, is of greatest risk of harboring bed bugs and their eggs. Thus, one should carefully scrutinize and consider the history of any used furniture.

Because they readily survive for many months without feeding, bed bugs may already be present in apparently “vacant” and “clean” apartments. Bed bugs can wander between adjoining apartments through voids in walls and holes through which wires and pipes pass.

Bed bugs should be suspected if residents complain of bites that occurred while sleeping. The bedroom and other sleeping areas should be carefully examined for bed bug and signs of bed bug activity. Folds and creases, seams and tufts of mattresses and box springs, in particular, may harbor bed bugs or their eggs. They may be also found within pleats of curtains, beneath loose areas of wallpaper near the bed, in corners of desks and drawers, within spaces of wicker furniture, behind cove molding, and in laundry or other items on the floor or around the room.

Sometimes, characteristic dark brown reddish fecal spots of bed bugs are apparent on the bed linens, mattress, or walls near the bed. A peculiar coriander-like odor may be detected in some heavily infested residences. Adhesive-based traps used for sampling insects or rodents are not particularly effective for trapping bed bugs.

Because several different kinds of insects resemble bed bugs, specimens should be carefully compared with good reference images to confirm their identity. Any questions regarding the identity of your samples will be submitted and identified by an entomologist.

Once their identity is confirmed, a careful plan should be devised to eliminate the bed bugs in a manner that promotes success while limiting unnecessary costs and exposure to insecticides. Don’t discard furniture and don’t treat until and unless you have a plan.

First, you should reduce clutter to limit hiding places for bed bugs. Next, you’ll want to thoroughly clean the infested rooms as well as others in the residence. To do this, scrub infested surfaces with a stiff brush to dislodge eggs, and use a powerful vacuum to remove bed bugs from cracks and crevices.

Additionally, dismantling bed frames will expose additional bug hiding sites. Remove drawers from desks and dressers and turn furniture over, if possible, to inspect and clean all hiding spots.

Mattresses and box springs can be permanently encased within special mattress bags. Once they are installed, inspect the bags to ensure they are undamaged; if any holes or tears are found, seal these completely with permanent tape. Any bugs trapped within sealed bags will eventually die.

To prevent bed bugs from crawling onto a bed, pull the bed frame away from the wall, tuck sheets and blankets so they won’t contact the floor, and place the frame legs into suitable cans or cups of mineral oil.

Finally, caulk and seal all holes where pipes and wire penetrate walls and floor, and fill cracks around baseboards and cove molding to further reduce harborages.

First of all, don’t panic. Although bed bugs can be annoying, they can be battled safely and successfully by your pest control specialist.

Do not apply pesticides unless you fully understand what you are applying and the risks involved. You are legally liable if you misapply a pesticide, or apply it without a license.

Generally, landlords, owners and building mangers cannot legally apply pesticide. They should, instead, hire a licensed pest control operator to confirm the infestation and to develop an integrated pest management plan.

Do not dispose of furniture that is useful. Infested furniture can be cleaned and treated. Placing infested furniture (particularly mattresses) into common areas or on the street may spread bed bugs to the homes of other people.

To reduce opportunities of infested furniture re-entering their building, building mangers should ensure that any disposed furniture is locked within a dumpster or immediately carted away to a landfill or waste facility.

Specimens suspected of being bed bugs should be collected into small break-resistant containers (Such as a plastic pill bottle or zipper-lock plastic bag). They may also be secured to a sheet of white paper using clear packaging tape.

Have the specimen identified by a pest control company. That way, a successful control plan is accomplished. Hatchling bed bugs are about the size of a poppy seed, and adults are about 3/16 of an inch in length. They are oval in shape, and are very flat unless filled with blood.

Travelers increasingly encounter bed bugs during their stays away from home. If signs of bed bugs were observed or suspected, you should assume you may have unwittingly transported bed bugs or their eggs in your luggage and other personal effects.

Clothing should be laundered in a manner to kill bugs and their eggs before or as soon as these items are brought back into the home. Suitcases should be carefully inspected, scrubbed with a stiff brush, and thoroughly vacuumed. Leaving such luggage for several hours in a closed vehicle in full summer sun may render the items bug free.