How Can You Determine if You Have Bed Bugs if They Only Venture Out at Night?

If you’re searching your home for bed bugs during the day, you probably won’t find them just by looking around. Not only do these small insects only venture out at night when we’re asleep, they’re also quite skilled at hiding themselves in the tiniest of cracks and crevices.

However, it’s important to be able to confirm whether or not there are bed bugs in your home, and to catch an infestation early. Here are some things you can do to better be able to spot bed bugs in broad daylight:

• Search Beds and Furniture with a Flashlight: When searching for bed bugs during the day, start at the bed (which is, of course, the #1 most common hiding spot for bed bugs) and be sure to check nearby furniture, walls, and items. Typically, bed bugs have the highest likelihood of being found within 6 feet of the bed, although there are plenty of exceptions.
• Using a flashlight, inspect every gap, crevice, or seam around your bed. Bed bugs try to hide themselves deep inside narrow spaces, so a flashlight will help you see them.
• Physical actions like flipping your sheets and mattress can disturb any bed bugs in hiding, making it easier for you to notice them as they crawl away.
• Pay extra attention to the corners and seams around the edge, which is where bed bugs are most likely to be hiding. Flip your mattress over carefully and check underneath as well.
• Probe Cracks and Crevices with a Card: Bed bugs can hide in cracks and crevices as narrow as 2 millimeters. That’s why you should slide a thin, rigid card through any gaps that you can’t see all the way into, with a flashlight for extra visibility. You can use an old credit card, a playing card, a business card, or even a piece of paper folded over several times. Slowly slide the card through each crack or crevice near your bed. If there are live bed bugs hiding within, you’ll be able to spot them as they try to flee.
• Declutter: Although bed bugs aren’t necessarily attracted by clutter, a messy room makes it harder for you to search for them (especially during the day when bed bugs are in hiding). Boxes, books, clothes, and children’s toys can all become potential harbors for bed bugs. If you’re trying to find bed bugs during the daytime, you’ll need to search through and remove clutter.
• Please note that you shouldn’t take anything out of the room immediately, as you might inadvertently move your bed bugs to a different room to infest. Instead, carefully search through each item one by one before placing them into sealed plastic bags.
• As you declutter the room, keep the lights on and open curtains to let sunlight in to help you see bed bugs scattering about when their hiding spots are disturbed. Bed bugs are photophobic (afraid of light), and if they somehow find themselves in the light, they’ll immediately scurry towards the nearest shadow.

Rely on Alexandria Pest Services for Your Pest Control Needs!

At Alexandria Pest Services, we offer services to help treat bed bug infestations here in Northern Virginia. Our priority is for our customers to be comfortable inside their homes without any unwanted insects or rodents.

If you find that you are having a problem with bed bugs, termites, rodents, or other pests and need an exterminator in Springfield, Burke, Alexandria, or other parts of Northern Virginia, call Alexandria Pest Services at 703-923-0925 to schedule a professional evaluation. We can help you get rid of these invaders in your home or office! Contact us today to learn more.