If you think you have bed bugs, the fastest way to know is to check the seams of your mattress and the joints of your bed frame for live bugs, shed skins, and small dark spots. Bed bugs hide close to where people sleep, so that is where the signs show up first. Here is what to look for, where they hide, and when it is worth calling a bed bug treatment pro in Sacramento.

What bed bugs and their signs look like

Adult bed bugs are flat, oval, and about the size of an apple seed, reddish-brown, turning darker and rounder after feeding. You are more likely to see the signs than the bugs themselves: small itchy bites in a line or cluster, tiny rust or blood-colored spots on the sheets, dark specks along the mattress seams, and pale shed skins near the bed. A musty smell shows up in a heavier infestation.

Where bed bugs hide

Bed bugs stay within a few feet of where you sleep. Start with the mattress seams and tags, then the bed frame and headboard joints, then the cracks in nearby baseboards and furniture. They travel into a home on luggage, used furniture, and bags rather than through the yard, which is why they turn up in clean, tidy homes as often as anywhere else.

How to check for bed bugs

• Strip the bed and look along the mattress seams and under the tags with a flashlight.
• Check the bed frame joints, the headboard, and where it meets the wall.
• Run a card along the baseboards and cracks nearest the bed to flush any out.
• Look for the signs, not only live bugs: dark spots, shed skins, and blood spots on the sheets.

DIY versus professional bed bug treatment

Store sprays knock down the bed bugs you can see and miss the eggs and the ones deep in the seams, so the infestation comes back a couple of weeks later. Clearing bed bugs means treating the harborage points and following up to catch what hatches, which is what a professional bed bug treatment is built around.

What to do if you think you have bed bugs

Do not move mattresses or furniture into other rooms, since that spreads them, and keep sleeping in the room rather than moving to the couch, which only carries the bed bugs further. Bag and wash the bedding on hot, then book an inspection so the treatment targets the right spots. You can contact Summit Pest Control or call the office below.

The office line is (916) 818-3863, Monday to Saturday, 7am to 6pm.