Excellent Spots for Where do Bed Bugs Hide?

SO WHERE DO BED BUGS HIDE?

Detecting where bed bugs hide is the first steps to dealing with bed bugs. Early detection is also crucial so that you can act quickly while bed bug numbers are still low. So where should you check? Bed bugs are capable of hiding everywhere in your house, absolutely no place is safe! From the chart above, it is apparent that the 4 most common places that bed bugs hide are:

1. In the Box Spring—————————-34.6%

2. On the Couch/Chair etc———————22.6%

3. On the Mattress——————————22.4%

4. On the Head Board or Frame—————13.4%

While the sample size taken above is from 13 apartments, it is representative of where bed bugs hide for most people. The box spring, mattress and frame/headboard together account for 70.4% of all bed bug hiding places!

Bed bugs prefer to hide on or near the bed. They usually don’t move more than 10 feet to get to you and even if you have the cleanest house or apartment, they will still hang around in your place. Bed bugs do not discriminate, they just want your blood when you are at your most vulnerable!

Let’s examine these 4 places where bed bugs hide in more detail:

1. The Box Spring

By far the most popular place for where bed bugs hide, bed bugs only need to travel a short distance to suck your blood when you are asleep! The box spring is the worst type of bed for you if you have bed bugs.

Bed bugs hide in the inside of the box springs, the underside, seams and corners and also under the fabric. You will need to either completely get rid of the box spring or encase it with a cover to trap the bed bugs inside. Do this A.S.A.P.!

2. The Couch/Chair

Your couches or chairs are very convenient places for bed bugs to hide! You probably spend up to a few hours a day on your chairs and this gives the bed bugs enough time to crawl unto you, suck your blood and disappear back into the folds and seams of the couch and leave you itching and scratching on your couch while you watch TV or have your dinner or entertain guests.

3. The Mattress

The mattress is also a very likely place for bed bugs to hide! After all, that’s why they’re “bed” bugs. The mattress is a very soft, comfortable and easy place to hide and lay eggs while also providing very easy access to your sleeping and helpless body! It’s the best of all world’s for bed bugs.

You will need to inspect the mattress and especially in the seams and folds. You should especially be looking for signs of bed bugs like their eggs, excrement, small blood stains (YOURS), and dead bed bugs on the sheets and mattress. The best thing for you to do is to treat and either completely get rid of your mattress altogether or to completely encase it and trap the bed bugs inside after treatment.

Additionally: Pillows, bedsheets, blankets, duvets etc are included in this category. You will need to launder them on high heat and dry for at least 30 minutes on high heat. Alternatively, if they are not machine washable, you may have to take them to the dry cleaner.

The problem with taking them to the dry cleaner is that you can actually cause an infestation of the clothes at the dry cleaner which would be horrible. Also, you may feel too embarrassed to tell the dry cleaner that your apartment has bed bugs. In these cases it would probably be best to wash them in the laundry!

4. The Head Board/Frame

Bed bugs can hide in the head board or bed frame. 

You will need to check these places for any bed bugs hiding in the cracks, joints, crevices on or under them. 

You should completely dismantle the frame and headboard to check for bed bugs hiding.

You should arm yourself with a torch and be very patient and thorough so you don’t miss anything and you inspect and treat everywhere! You need to also check any edges, wheels, and legs as bed bugs could be hiding there too. 

For protection in the future, you can place all the bed posts in water containers so any bed bugs that try to crawl unto the bed get drowned in the water!

Other Places Bed Bugs Hide Are

1. Furniture (especially Drawers) - Bed bugs can hide in any or all of the cracks, crevices or corners of your furniture. The bed bugs that hide here are extremely difficult to detect (which is why it is a common hiding place).

Also check
 1)Underneath the furniture,
 2)The legs, and 
3)Any joints of the furniture. 

If it is a couch, check underneath the cushions and in the seams with a torch light.  Look out for dead bed bugs, their eggs and fecal matter.

2. Electric sockets - Bed bugs hide in the screws and between the socket and the wall away from sight. You may not ordinarily think to check here as you may think that the electric current would scare them away. You will need to remove the sockets and check/treat around and inside it.

3. Wall hangings and fixtures - This includes anything hanging on the walls like pictures, lamps (bed bugs love to hide in wall, table top and floor lamps) and any decorations. You need to check/treat the joints, corners, crevices and any cracks in the pictures and decorations.

4. Carpets (especially wall to wall) – It is easy for bed bugs to hide in, under and along the edges of carpets. It is a great place for bed bugs because they can hide in the groves as they are so small and difficult to see in the folds of any carpet. Make sure to check and treat underneath the carpets as well!

5. Curtains – Bed bugs can easily hide in the folds of your curtains. You should inspect curtains and wash, steam clean or dry clean them. You can also spray the curtains with chemical if it will not destroy their fabrics.

6. Floorboards – Floorboards are also an easy place for bed bugs to hide. They can easily fit between the cracks and under the boards. To ensure your place is bed bug free, you will need to check and treat in between and under the floor boards to be sure.