Bedbugs do not feed on waste food like cockroaches or mice and rats do, they feed on the blood of a warm-blooded host.

How Do You Know You Have Bedbugs?

The signs that you have bed bugs are itchy welts, commonly in groups of three. You will see tiny red or brown marks on your linens where you have rolled over them at night and killed them. If you think you have bed bugs, check the carpet, linens, and the entire bed frame, for bed bugs are never far from their host.

How to Spot Bedbugs

Look for nymphs and shed skin. Remember, though, that you are looking for something that is 1mm total in length and is probably translucent. The bugs go through many different stages before they become adults and are very hard to see before that.

If you cannot find them by visual inspection, you can use the old tape trick to find them. Take a roll of packing tape and tape the bottom of your bedpost and frame rails and all along your baseboards around your bed. You will find nymphs and eggs if you have an infestation.

What To Do If You Find Them

It is not the end of the world if you have bed bugs, but you need to act or IT WILL GET WORSE! Whatever you take out of the bedroom, make sure no one else uses it. Label everything you dump INFESTED. Go straight to good sources on the Internet and do some research.

This is war, and bed bugs are uniquely able to put up with garden-variety bug extermination efforts. Bed bugs have been known to lay dormant for over 500 days, so you need a professional bed bug exterminator.

Take all your linens within a 30ft radius of your bed and immediately wash them on the hottest cycle you have. Then dry them in a dryer on high. Do this twice. Have a carpet service come out and clean the rugs.

Call In The Pros

To properly handle a bedbug infestation, call a professional exterminator that has bed bug experience. Get references and call them. Treatment will be expensive if done right and will take multiple visits. It is worth the investment!

It is difficult to prevent bed bugs, but common awareness is much better than nothing. Be very careful of any used furniture purchases. Bed frames, especially wood ones, should be very carefully treated to avoid infestation. Use a plastic barrier on all beds to prevent them from hiding there.

With a little care, and some aggressive measures, bedbugs don't have to ruin your night. Be vigilant, and act quickly when problems are found.