The Trick To Getting Rid Of Bed Bugs In Westchester County Homes

Here are the signs of bed bugs and how to identify an infestation:

• You or someone in the house wakes up with itchy, red welts after sleeping.
• There's an odd, musty odor emanating from your bedroom, living room, or other areas of high bed bug activity.
• You're finding tiny bloodstains on your pillows, sheets, or mattress.
• You're seeing dark, rusty spots, discarded exoskeletons, or eggshells around sleeping areas or furniture.
• You're finding dead or live bed bugs around your home.

If you've spotted one or more of these signs, you can check for bed bugs by removing your bedding and looking closely at your mattress, sheets, box spring, and the seams in the wood framing. But bed bugs don't just hide in your sleeping area, these critters can hide inside books, carpets, electrical outlets, and other furniture in your home too.

While the itchy welts they leave behind are often one of the first indicators that you may have bed bugs, it's important to note that not everyone may have a physical reaction to a bed bug bite—but that doesn't mean you aren't getting bitten.

Why You Don't Want Bed Bugs Hanging Around Your House

There are a couple of reasons you don't want bed bugs hanging around your house. Not only is a bed bug's favorite pastime biting you and drinking your blood, but they can also be extremely difficult to get rid of once you have them. Bed bugs are small, usually only growing to be the size of an apple seed, and they multiply quickly. A female bed bug can produce a new egg each day, so it doesn't take long for a couple of bed bugs to spiral into a full-blown infestation.

Something else to be aware of is that bed bugs are capable of surviving without blood for up to 400 days. This means that homeowners often assume they've gotten rid of their bed bugs when in fact, the remaining bed bugs hide and wait for the right time to feed.