They can live in your furniture, walls, bed, or clothes, they’ll feed on your, your family members, and your pets’ blood, and since they’re primarily active during the night, you won’t even be aware that your bed is infested with bed bugs until you start noticing small, itchy, red bites on your body. If you’re unsure of whether or not you’re facing a bed bug infestation, here are the 5 most common signs and symptoms that’ll tell you if you need to call an exterminator right away:
1. If You Start Noticing Small Bite Marks
One of the first things that you should know about the bite of a bed bug is that you won’t notice it immediately, instead, after a few days. How? Well, these tiny insects first release an anesthetic before feeding on your blood, hence, you won’t feel anything. Nonetheless, it’ll turn swollen and red after a few hours of days. This is the first and most common sign of bed bugs.
2. Red Stains on Your Bedding
If you notice red stains – probably blood – on your bedding, it could be a sign that you’re dealing with an infestation. After all, the bites will itch, which will cause you to scratch them during the night without even knowing, thus, your blood could end up on the sheets and if this is the case, you should call an experienced organization such as Seattle Bed Bug Extermination to the rescue.
3. Dark Spots on Your Mattress, Bedding, And Walls
Besides red spots, you might also see dark spots on the mattress, bedding, and walls. These spots most commonly occur due to the bugs shedding their skin, sticking eggs to your mattress, or they could also occur when an eggshell remains on your bed for a long time. If you have no idea why the dark spots occurred, bed bugs are probably to blame.
4. A Musty And Terrible Odor Spreading Around Your Room
Though small, these insects can multiply quickly, meaning that there might be hundreds or even thousands of them living in your mattress. Since they also have scent glands, there might be a musty and quite unpleasant odor spreading around your room. If you’ve cleaned everything in the area several times and the odor is still present, call an exterminator immediately, you have a serious problem.
5. Bed Bug Bites Are Huge Hazards to Your Health
Last on our list isn’t a sign, it’s a warning. Bed bug bites can be extremely dangerous to your health, especially since you might be allergic to them. The signs that you’re allergic are heavy breathing, irregular heartbeat, a swollen tongue, as well as a fever, and blisters. If this is happening to you, see your physician right away and call an exterminator!
Conclusion
Although most people don’t notice that bed bugs have infested their mattresses until it’s too late, knowing what the infestation looks like is extremely important. Hence, since you now know what you need to look for, don’t lose time. Instead, while keeping all of the signs and symptoms we’ve mentioned above in mind, head to your bedroom, take off your bedding, and then check and see whether or not you’ll need to call an exterminator that’ll help you with the problem you’re experiencing.