Waking up with itchy, red welts is a nightmare scenario for any homeowner. In a beautiful, historic city like Bath, where we have a high turnover of visitors and many older, terraced properties, bed bugs find it very easy to move from place to place. At Bath Pest Controllers, we have seen a sharp rise in these pests over the last few years. They are no longer a sign of a “dirty” room; they are world-class hitchhikers that can settle in the cleanest of homes.
If you suspect you have an issue, you need to act immediately. Bed bugs do not go away on their own, and they reproduce at an alarming rate. We have put together this guide to show you how to check for bed bugs, where they hide, and the truth about bed bugs bed treatment options.
How Do Bed Bugs Start?
The first thing people ask us when we arrive for an inspection is, “how do bed bugs start in the first place?” It is a common misconception that they crawl in from the garden like ants or spiders.
Bed bugs are almost always brought into a home by people. They don’t have wings, so they can’t fly, and they aren’t great long-distance runners. Instead, they hide in the seams of luggage, the folds of clothing, or the crevices of second-hand furniture.
Common ways they enter your house include:
Travel: Staying in a hotel or Airbnb that has an active infestation.
Public Transport: They can crawl onto bags or coats on buses and trains.
Second-hand items: Buying a used mattress, sofa, or even a picture frame from a charity shop or online marketplace.
Shared Walls: In flats or terraced houses in Bath, they can move through wall voids or along pipework from a neighbouring property.
Once a single pregnant female gets into your bedroom, she can lay hundreds of eggs over her lifetime. Within a few weeks, you have a full-scale problem on your hands.
How to Find Bed Bugs: The Inspection Process
Knowing how to find bed bugs is half the battle. They are nocturnal and very good at hiding in tiny cracks. If you wait until you actually see a bug crawling across your pillow in broad daylight, the infestation is already quite heavy.
When we perform a professional check, we look for physical evidence rather than the bugs themselves. Here is our process for how to check for bed bugs in your house:
Look for Blood Spots: Small, rusty-coloured smears on your sheets or pillowcases. This happens when you accidentally squash a bug after it has fed.
Check for Fecal Matter: These look like tiny black dots (like someone has touched the fabric with a felt-tip pen). It is actually digested blood.
Find Shed Skins: As bed bugs grow, they shed their skin five times. These “casings” are translucent, yellowish-brown, and look like a hollowed-out version of the bug.
The Smell: In heavy infestations, there is a sweet, sickly, musty odour, often compared to coriander or rotten raspberries.
If you want a deeper look at the specific indicators, we have a detailed post on 10 clear signs of bed bugs you should never ignore that can help you confirm your suspicions.
How to Check Your Bed for Bed Bugs
Your bed is the “primary feeding station,” so it is the most likely place to find them. If you are wondering how to check your bed for bed bugs, you need a flashlight and a thin card (like a credit card).
Start by stripping the bedding. Check the pillowcases and the folds of the fitted sheet. Pay close attention to the corners. Most people stop there, but the bugs are often deeper down.
Bed Bugs on Mattress
Checking for bed bugs on mattress surfaces requires looking at every single seam. Bed bugs love the piping around the edge of a mattress. Run your credit card along the seam to “rake” out any eggs or bugs.
Flip the mattress over and check the underside.
Look at the labels and any handles on the side of the mattress.
Check the tufts or buttons on the mattress surface.
The Bed Frame and Headboard
This is where 70% of bed bugs hide. If you have a wooden or upholstered headboard, this is their favourite spot.
Wooden Frames: Look at the joints where the slats meet the frame.
Upholstered Frames: Use your flashlight to look into the deep folds of the fabric.
Headboards: If the headboard is fixed to the wall, we often have to remove it. They love the dark space between the headboard and the wallpaper.
How to Check for Bed Bugs on Furniture
Don’t stop at the bed. We often find bed bugs on furniture several feet away from where people sleep.
When you are learning how to check for bed bugs on furniture, focus on:
Nightstands: Pull out the drawers and look at the tracks. Turn the drawers over and check the undersides.
Sofas and Armchairs: If you often nap on the sofa, they will be there. Check under the cushions and along the zippers.
Wardrobes: Look in the corners and where the shelves meet the walls.
Electrical Outlets: This sounds strange, but bed bugs love the warmth and darkness behind the plastic plates of light switches and sockets.
What Kills Bed Bugs Instantly?
When people realise they have a problem, they often panic and search for what kills bed bugs instantly. While there are things that can kill a bug on contact, they rarely solve the infestation.
Isopropyl Alcohol: This kills them on contact by drying them out. However, we strongly advise against this. It is highly flammable and creates a massive fire risk in a bedroom.
Steam: High-pressure steam (above 60°C) is excellent. It kills adults, larvae, and—most importantly—the eggs.
Direct Heat: Temperatures over 50°C for a sustained period will kill all stages of bed bugs.
The problem with “instant” fixes is that they only kill the bugs you see. They don’t reach the bugs hidden deep inside your walls or under your floorboards. This is why DIY sprays often fail; they just scatter the bugs into other rooms.
Professional Bed Bugs Bed Treatment
Because these pests are so resistant to standard shop-bought chemicals, a professional bed bugs bed treatment is usually necessary. We use a multi-pronged approach to ensure no bug is left behind.
Heat Treatment
This is the gold standard. We use specialized heaters to raise the temperature of the entire room to a level that is lethal to bed bugs but safe for your belongings. This penetrates into the mattress, the furniture, and even the wall cavities. It is a “one and done” solution in many cases.
Chemical Residuals
We also use professional-grade insecticides that stay active for several weeks. When a bug emerges from its hiding spot to feed, it walks over the treated surface and dies. We make sure these products are safe for use in sleeping areas once they have dried.
Vacuuming and Steaming
As part of our bed bugs extermination service, we often use industrial-strength vacuums and steamers to physically remove as many bugs as possible before applying other treatments. This reduces the population immediately.
Travel Tips: How to Check Hotel for Bed Bugs
Since many infestations in Bath start with a trip away, you should know how to check hotel for bed bugs the moment you walk into your room.
The Luggage Rack: Never put your suitcase directly on the bed or the carpet. Put it on the metal luggage rack, but move it away from the wall first.
The Bed Check: Pull back the sheets at the head of the bed. Look for those tell-tale black dots on the mattress protector.
The Headboard: If you can, shine your phone light behind the headboard.
The Wardrobe: Check the corners before hanging your clothes.
If you find anything, ask for a different room—and make sure it isn’t directly above, below, or next to the infested one, as they can travel through the walls.
Why We Take Bed Bugs Seriously
At Bath Pest Controllers, we don’t just treat the room; we provide peace of mind. Bed bugs cause a massive amount of stress and can lead to sleep deprivation and anxiety. We work quickly to resolve the issue so you can get back to your normal life.
We have years of experience dealing with the specific challenges of Bath’s architecture. From the thick stone walls of Georgian buildings to the wooden beams of older cottages, we know where these pests hide. If you are struggling with other pests, such as ants in the kitchen or rodents, you can find plenty of advice on our blog to keep your home protected.
If you have seen signs of an infestation, please don’t wait. The sooner you call us, the easier (and cheaper) the treatment will be. You can contact us today for a discreet and professional assessment.
With professional installation, stainless steel mesh proofing can last 10 years or more without needing replacement.
Not necessarily. An individual bed bug usually only feeds once every 5 to 10 days. However, if you have a large infestation, different bugs will be on different feeding schedules, which can make it feel like you are being bitten every night.
Yes, but you have to use heat. A standard cold wash won't do much. You need to wash clothes and bedding at 60°C or put them in a tumble dryer on a hot setting for at least 30 minutes to kill the eggs and the bugs.
No. Bed bugs can only crawl. They are relatively slow, but they are very persistent. They don't have the hind legs needed for jumping like fleas, and they lack wings entirely.
Bed bugs are photophobic, meaning they dislike light. They spend the daylight hours hidden deep in crevices. They are also attracted to the carbon dioxide and body heat we produce while sleeping, which is why they wait until you are still and the room is dark to emerge.