The first sign of bed bugs is generally a line, cluster, or zigzag of itchy bites that look like welts and are commonly mistaken for flea bites. If this happens, your next step is to look for visible signs such as smeared fecal matter in the bed, their exoskeletons, blood stains on your bedclothes and sheets, or tiny reddish-brown flat bugs and their eggs in mattress seams, but don’t neglect other areas of the home either. They can be found in any room of the house in baseboards, suitcases, backpacks, or couches.

The female bed bug will lay hundreds of eggs in her lifetime that hatch in about ten days. Those new bed bugs only take 35 days to mature making them difficult to get rid of. Removal of bed bugs is further complicated by their ability to develop resistances to insecticides.

As a parasite, these bugs hide during the day, but warmth and carbon dioxide from human breath lure them out from their crevices so they can feed in the night while you sleep. Then, after their meal, they return to their crevice to wait for their next feeding which can be days or weeks later.