How to check for bed bugs, room by room

Most people go looking for bed bugs at two in the morning, half awake, with a phone torch, after a fresh set of bites. That is the worst way to do it. Pick a time in daylight, give it half an hour, and work through the room in the same order every time. This is the order a pest controller uses.

What you need

• A bright torch. A phone torch will do, but a proper one is better.
• An old bank card or a stiff piece of card, to run along seams and push into gaps.
• A roll of clear sticky tape, to lift anything you find.
• A sealable clear bag, for bedding and for anything you want to show someone.
• A magnifying glass if you have one. Eggs and young bugs are tiny.

Do not spray anything before you look. Sprays drive bed bugs deeper into gaps and wipe out the evidence you are trying to find.

Start with the bed

Bed bugs live where people sleep, because they feed at night and hide close by during the day. Nine times out of ten, the bed is where the evidence is.

The bedding

Take the sheets, pillowcases and duvet cover off slowly and look at them in good light before they go in the wash. You are looking for small rusty or red smears (a bug squashed after feeding) and tiny black dots. Bag the bedding straight away rather than carrying it through the house loose, and wash it at 60°C.

The mattress

Stand the mattress on its side if you can. Work round every seam, the piping along the edges, the corners, any labels and any handles. Run the card along the seams to open them up. The signs, in order of how often you will see them:

1. Dark spots. Clusters of small black or dark brown dots, a bit like marks from a felt-tip pen. This is digested blood. On fabric it soaks in slightly and smudges if you wipe it with a damp cloth.
2. Shed skins. Pale, papery, empty shells in the shape of the bug. Young bed bugs shed their skin five times as they grow.
3. Eggs. Pearly white, about 1mm long, often stuck in seams and gaps. There is more on these in our guide to bed bug eggs.
4. Live bugs. Flat, oval, reddish-brown and about 5mm long when adult. Young ones are smaller and paler, almost see-through until they feed.

The base, headboard and frame

Divan bases are a favourite hiding place. Lift the mattress off, check the top of the base, then tip the base and look at the fabric underneath, especially round the staples and the corners. On a wooden or metal frame, check every joint, screw hole and slat end. On a headboard, check where it is fixed to the wall or the frame, and behind it.

Then work outwards

If the bed is badly affected, bed bugs spread into the rest of the room. Check, in this order:

• Bedside tables and drawers, especially the joints and the runners.
• Skirting boards near the bed. Push the card into the gap along the top.
• Plug sockets and light switches near the bed. Look round the edges; do not take covers off.
• Curtains, at the top where they gather and round the hooks.
• Picture frames, loose wallpaper and the edges of carpet near the bed.
• The sofa or chair anyone sleeps or naps in. Lift the cushions and check the seams, the crease at the back and the underside.

Older Sheffield terraces and semis often have gaps under the skirting and between floorboards. If you find spots on the skirting, mention it when you speak to a firm, because those gaps change how the job is done.

What counts as proof

Be honest with yourself about what you have found.

• Proof: a live bed bug, an egg cluster, shed skins, or a cluster of dark spots in a seam or joint.
• Worth a second look: a single dark speck, one smear, or bites with nothing else found.
• Not proof on its own: bites. The NHS lists bites as a sign, but fleas, mites and skin reactions can look the same. Bites on the ankles in a house with a cat or dog point more to fleas.

If you find something and are not sure, press clear tape over it, stick the tape to white paper, and keep it. A pest controller can usually tell at a glance.

If you find nothing but you are still being bitten

Try interceptor cups under the bed legs for a week or two, and check again. Bed bugs in the early stages can be very hard to see, and some people react to bites while others in the same bed do not. Bites that become hot, puffy or infected are worth showing to a pharmacist or GP.

If you do find them

• Keep sleeping in your own bed. Moving to the sofa or a spare room spreads them.
• Wash and hot-dry everything from that room you can, and bag the rest in the room.
• Leave shop sprays alone.
• Get a professional in. Sheffield City Council treats bed bugs for a fee, or a private firm can come out, usually within days. Our inspection page sets out what a professional check involves and what it costs.

If you would like us to find a local firm for you, the form at the bottom of this page takes about two minutes.