Bed bugs may lurk in your mattress.
You are probably familiar with the bedtime warning "Don't let the bed bugs bite." Although this warning is usually in jest, bed bugs are no laughing matter. To truly prevent the bed bugs from biting you, you should check to see if bed bugs are in your home. Know what to look for and where to look, and you can detect a bed bug infestation and deal with it accordingly. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Check yourself for bite marks. Bed bug bites usually become red and somewhat swollen, much like mosquito bites. They can also itch. Other bugs can bite you, so bites alone are not definitive evidence of a bed bug infestation.
2. Know what bed bugs look like. They are brownish-red insects about the size of an apple seed when full grown and are similar in appearance to cockroaches, only smaller. Males are darker in color and females are somewhat translucent, but both genders will appear more red after feeding on blood. These insects also shed their skins periodically, so be on the lookout for shed skin as well.
3. Inspect the seams of your mattress, under the box springs and (if you have carpeting) where the carpet meets the wall for evidence of live bed bugs, droppings or shed skin. Also look behind and under furniture. Bed bugs like wood and fabric, so also check inside lamp shades and behind picture frames.
Tags: bugs bite, Know what, shed skin, your mattress