Walls
One of the most common places to find bed bugs are in walls. It is widely assumed that bed bugs are only found in and around the bed but actually, these pests are so small they have the ability to hide in places you wouldn’t think of.
According to the Terminix.com, when looking for bed bugs in the wall, you should check every crack and even check your ceiling. Bed bugs are also very likely to be found in drawers, baseboards, and even inside or outside of electrical outlets.
Bed bugs are notorious for travel. They will use the pipes and electrical wires to hitchhike their way into any home and likely into your bedroom. If the infestation becomes too great, then they will migrate through the walls.
Books
Little does anyone know that bed bugs can be found in their books! That’s right. These critters are so small and stealthy that they will make a new hiding place in your home library. How do bed bugs find their way into books? An article in The New York Times written by Catherine Saint Louis, exposes how bed bugs can and will maneuver into your books and possibly make for an itchy night.
It turns out that tiny bedbugs and their eggs can hide in the spines of hardcover books. The bugs crawl out at night to feed, find new home in the headboard, and soon readers are enjoying not only plot twits but post-bite welts.
Library books could be the culprit in this mystery. One person may bring the book home where they may or may not know they have bed bugs and soon enough, one of these pests will find their way into the book without the person noticing. The book will be returned to the library and, once again, checked out by another person, where they will take it home and bring upon a new infestation.
An incident happened to a patron at the Los Angeles Central Library, where she claimed to have a bed bug scare. Louis mentioned that this patron will now buy new books strictly from stories instead of borrowing library books from now on.
Hardwood Floors
If you have hardwood flooring in your home, you may want to use a flashlight to check the cracks or even between floor panels for any signs of bed bugs. Since these pests are extremely small, they will find coverage underneath your flooring. A trick to check for them is to take a bank card and insert it through the cracks and slide it along to see if there may be any hiding underneath.
Furniture
Check for the usual signs of a bed bug infestation in your furniture. Check for blood spots, shed exoskeletons, fecal droppings, and bed bug eggs. Check under all of the couches and inside of the cushions as well as the pillows. For drawers, check inside and outside along the edges. Bed bugs will not live inside of wooded furniture but will remain there until their next blood meal.
There is no evidence that shows bed bugs are more attracted to one type of furniture material over the other. They do not preference wood. As we know, bed bugs will only pursue the places that are easy for them to climb, otherwise they will not crawl on smooth surfaces.
Shoes
If bed bugs can find their way into your wardrobe, they can certainly hide inside of your shoes, too! To get rid of bed bugs in your shoes, you should be using a PackTite, it is a garment steamer. All you have to do is put your shoes into a pillowcase, and put them in the dryer. An alternative is to use a hair dryer. For future reference, do not store things under your bed. Keep any important items away from your bedding or put them in another closet.
Carpet
It is easy to spot these little blood suckers on a light-coloured carpet. How do you get rid of bed bugs in your carpet? By following the steps from Zappbug.com, you will be able to remove the bed bugs and properly clean your carpet.
Car
Bed bugs love to travel just as much as we do. That’s why it is also likely to find them in our cars too. According to Terminix.com, these are some ways to inspect your car for bed bugs:
- Clean all of the clutter from your car
- Look through every small space there is to detect if there is a sign of bed bugs i.e. blood stains, exoskeletons, eggs.
- Place double-sided tape around the edges to see if they will stick on
- Do not forget to give your car a thorough clean including the mats, and seat covers
- Steam your entire car’s interior
Got a bed bugs infestation? Read our complete guide on how to get rid of bed bugs.
