Bed Bug Identification

Blood-sucking insects, bed bugs are primarily nocturnal pests that survive on the blood of sleeping or sedentary people or animals, with people being their preferred hosts. Bed bugs live worldwide, mainly inside our homes and businesses, ensuring they live close to their preferred food sources. In addition to people, these insects will also feed on the blood of pets like dogs and cats and other animals like birds and rodents.

Bed bugs are flat, oval-shaped insects; they are wingless and have short antennae. In addition to spotting these apple seed-shaped insects in your home, other signs of their presence include:

• Discovering spots of dried blood on mattress covers and sheets.
• Finding reddish-black flecks of fecal matter on bedding, in the seams of upholstered furniture, or around cracks and crevices in baseboards, walls, and door frames.
• Unexplained bug bites grouped in a straight line or zig-zag pattern.
• Noticing an unpleasant musty odor.

Bed bugs are not currently a considerable threat when it comes to the spread of diseases or parasites, but that doesn’t mean this will always be the case. Bed bugs do feed on the blood of different hosts, so protecting yourself and your family from these blood-feeding pests is always important.

In addition to potential health risks, bed bugs are a threat because their presence in a home is unsettling and often leads to increased stress and sleepless nights for the entire family.

Bed bugs can become an issue in any of our California homes because this pest’s primary mode of transportation is hitchhiking. You can come into contact with these pests anywhere there are people, bringing them back home with you on your clothing, bags, luggage, or outerwear. Once they get inside, it is easy to overlook them, allowing a large infestation to develop until their presence just can’t be ignored.

Bed bugs are pests found where people spend most of their time! They move from place to place with us, so the more people moving in and out of an area, the more likely bed bugs will also be present. Hotels, motels, airports, hospitals, office buildings, schools, movie theaters, and other public places are where you are most likely to have a run-in with these pests.

Once inside your home, it is important to know where their favorite hiding spots are. Regularly checking your house for bed bugs will help you to discover an infestation sooner rather than later.

• The seams of mattresses and box springs
• Behind curtains and wall hangings
• In the joints of drawers
• In or behind electrical outlets
• In the cracks of floors or behind baseboards
• Under cushions or the seams of upholstered furniture

Professional services are the only surefire way to rid your home of the bed bugs that are feeding on you and your family as you sleep. Bed bugs are tiny pests that excel in hiding throughout the indoor spaces they are invading. Professionals know their hiding spots and will find and treat all the bed bugs living throughout your home, ensuring a reinfestation won’t occur.

At HomeShield Pest Control, we offer kid-friendly, pet-friendly, and eco-friendly residential pest control services, providing our customers with comprehensive solutions to their pest problems. If you live in the Sacramento Valley or Southern California area and would like to learn more about our professional bed bug treatments and working together to rid your home of bed bugs, give us a call today!

Below are some of our most helpful bed bug control and prevention tips to protect your California home from bed bugs.

• Regularly wash and dry all your family’s bedding on high heating cycles.
• Regularly inspect areas where your pets sleep and wash their bedding.
• Vacuum your floors and upholstered furniture on a routine basis.
• Always clean and inspect secondhand items like mattresses, furniture, clothing, or rugs for bed bugs before bringing them inside.
• Be vigilant when traveling; always inspect your hotel room for bed bugs before bringing your luggage inside.
• Be proactive and partner with a pest control company!