Anyone who is inexperienced in dealing with bed bugs will have little idea of just how intense of an inspection is required to locate all of the pockets of a bed bug infestation within your home. Your initial inspection must be thorough and you will need to return again for re-inspection after treatment and search just as thoroughly!
Always Check The Potential Hotspots
Check the bed (mattress, box spring, bedding, etc.) – Are you squeamish? Better wear gloves. Strip back the covers and look for blood spots on the sheets. Stand up the mattress. Remove the box spring and flip it over. There is no way to find bed bugs in a bed unless you do. Inspect both carefully. Check every seam. A prime location for a bed bug is resting upside down on the underside of the box spring where the box rests on the bed frame. Look inside the box spring, too. You may even have to remove the stapled fabric to inspect inside. Also check the head board, if there is one, and look inside anything and everything that is stored under the bed.
- Strip back the covers and look for blood stains and bed bugs in the seams.
- Stand up the box spring and remove stapled fabric to find bugs inside.
- Be sure to check the frame where the corner and edges of the box spring rest.
Bed bugs aren’t limited to beds, and your inspection shouldn’t stop there. Concentrate on furnishings close to the bed. Pull out dresser drawers and check inside and underneath the drawers and in all crevices. Like cockroaches, bed bugs like to squeeze into narrow spaces. Look under televisions, stereos, and other equipment, behind pictures, in the crevice behind the baseboard and even in stacks of clothing. Bed bugs are often found hiding in tack strips under wall-to-wall carpeting and behind baseboards. Be aware that bed bugs tend to crawl upwards. Also check drapes, wall decorations, and cracks in the ceiling-wall junction.
Check the furniture in all rooms – Bed bugs hitchhike on clothing, purses, and the like from the bedroom into other rooms. Many people spend as much time on the couch or in an easy chair as they do in bed, so always check for a secondary bed bug infestation in living room and family room furniture. Remove the cushions. Check seams and crevices. Also, tip back the couch and chair and look underneath, particularly behind skirts and at the seams.
Take Your Time!
A thorough manual bed bug inspection of a one-bedroom apartment unit takes approximately two hours. Make sure you take your time, inspecting every item and area very carefully. If you find bed bugs or evidence of bed bugs, contact Biotherm to find out how our team of bed bug control professionals can help you get rid of those pests!
For more information about our bed bug control offerings inluding heat treatments, canine bed bug inspections, conventional chemical treatments, give us a call today!