You may find that you have some bed bug bites on your arms and it is annoying since they are itchy. If so, you have to get rid of the bed bugs, but is it possible to find bed bugs during the day? Let’s read the explanation about finding bed bugs during the day below.
Finding Bed Bugs During the Day
It is important for you to know that during the day, bed bugs hide. So, you will not be able to see bed bugs crawling on the bed or couch during the day. As explained on the How to Murder Pests site, during the day, bed bugs hide in the tight gaps on places near their host’s location. So, their hiding places can be the cracks and gaps on the bed frames, box spring, mattress seams and the furniture near the bed. That’s the reason why you are not able to find bed bugs anywhere when you are waking up in the morning, even though you find the red spots on your skin.
According to the How to Murder Pests site, here are three steps to find bed bugs during the day.
- First, you have to prepare the tools and brighten the room. During the day, bed bugs are hidden and their size is small. So, you will need tools to find them and you also have to brighten the room. If your room is dark, it will be hard for you to find them. So, you are able to start finding them by brightening up the room and then remove curtains and drapes and turn on the lights. To find bed bugs during the day, you need tools like a magnifying glass, a torch, a credit card or a headlamp. It is recommended for you to use a headlamp because it is easy to focus on a certain area while keeping both of your hands-free to use.
- You have to aim for hiding places for bed bugs. It is important for you to note that bed bugs do not hide beyond 6-8 feet from where you sleep. So, besides hiding in the bed, there is the possibility that they hide in places like dresser drawers, soft upholstered furniture like accent chairs and couches, on the edges and inside covers of electrical switches, carpets and rugs, small gaps and cracks on furniture and wooden floor, behind photo frames and wall décor and headboards and footboards.
- Now, you have to look for bed bug tracks in their hiding places. It is important for you to know that the signs are subtle. Let’s say that the infestation level is low. If so, it will be difficult to find these signs. However, if the infestation level is heavy, the signs of bed bugs in your home will be seen. The bed bug tracks that you will see in their daytime hiding places are bed bug shells, live bed bugs, bed bug eggs, baby bed bugs or nymphs. You may also find signs of bed bugs like fecal spots of bed bugs and blood stains on the bed mattress, bedsheets, pillows and pillow covers. However, it is important for you to note that as explained earlier, during the day, bed bugs will not roam around freely on your bed. They will hide during the day and they wait for you to sleep. You have to look for bed bugs in the places where they are able to hide during the day. As you know that bed bugs bite marks on the body. The marks look like zigzag itchy red welts on the skin and it indicates bed bugs in your home. Since they are small, you may need a magnifying glass to find and see them. You may also find their nymphs where they turn into small red dots after the blood meal. So, you have to keep on the lookout for these baby beds in hiding places. How about bed bug eggs? These can be difficult to find, but they are white specks of dirt and they are sticky as well.
What To Do After Finding Hiding Bed Bugs During the Day?
It is difficult to eliminate bed bugs. So, it is better for you to call a bed bug exterminator for a basic inspection of your home. It is done to determine how severe the bed bug infestation is. However, as explained on the How To Murder Pests site, you are able to use some stop-gap arrangements to get rid of these hiding bed bugs that you find. And here is more explanation about what to do after you find hiding bed bugs during the day according to the How To Murder Pests site.
You are able to use a bed bug spray on them, so that at least, it will kill them on contact. However, before you apply the spay, it is important for you to note that sprays and bug bombs can have a reverse effect on parasitic bugs like bed bugs and fleas. Even though they can kill bed bugs, but they can make these bugs hide deeper and elsewhere in your home. It is not recommended for you to use bug bombs because bug bombs are dangerous and they cannot help much in getting rid of bed bugs in your home. There is a more effective way, namely using the steam cleaner.
You are able to use the steam cleaner in the places where you find hiding bed bugs because bed bugs are not able to withstand the heat from the steam cleaner. The heat from the steam cleaner will kill the adult bed bugs and their nymphs and bed bug eggs will also be destroyed with it. You need to know that bed bugs are not able to withstand heat as much as they can withstand cold. It means that if you put the bed bugs in a plastic bag and then you put the plastic in a freezer for 48 hours, you will find that the bed bugs inside the bag die.
Another thing that you can use to kill bed bugs is rubbing alcohol. You are able to spray rubbing alcohol (Isopropyl Alcohol) on the places where bed bugs hide. The bed bugs will be killed by rubbing alcohol on contact. However, if you decide to use alcohol on a mattress, you need to know that it will leave stains and an alcohol smell on it.
So, the best way is to use a steam cleaner on the soft furnishings and bed mattress.