How Do I Know If I Have A Bed Bug Infestation In My Baton Rouge Home?

Sleeping at night with no worries is something that everyone should have, but sometimes little thoughts creep into our heads that bother us. However, something worse than intrusive thoughts is bed bugs creeping into your bed and sucking your blood while you sleep. While they may not be the most dangerous bug, bed bugs are certainly one of the most bothersome.

Bed Bugs Are Tricky

Bed bugs are incredibly small and share many characteristics with other insects, making them hard to identify. Many homeowners with bed bugs problems go about trying to prevent them in all the wrong ways because they misidentified them as cockroaches, fleas, mites, or even ticks.

One of the essential steps in taking care of your Baton Rouge home and protecting it from bed bugs is knowing exactly what you are up against. Something that makes these parasites even harder to identify is that they look incredibly different when they have just finished feeding versus when they have empty stomachs. When they are babies, they also look very different, making the confusion in identifying them very common.

What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?

Shaped like an apple seed, adult bed bugs are approximately 1/4 of an inch long and are a reddish-brown color. The main problem with identifying bed bugs in Baton Rouge comes from the fact that their eggs and babies are much smaller than the adults. The eggs are about the same color as mahogany, but they are smaller than 1/20 of an inch long, and when they hatch, the nymphs can range from 1/20 of an inch to a little less than 1/4 of an inch in length.

It is this broad range of sizes, colors, and shapes that makes finding and identifying these pests so difficult. Bed bugs can hide in plain sight, but they can sometimes look like dust or crumbs. Another thing that makes it harder to find bed bugs is that they are often in your home's unseen parts such as in your mattress, behind your headboard, or in the cracks of your furniture. More often than not, before you find the bed bugs in your home, you will come across the signs that they are there.

Finding Signs Of Bed Bugs

One of the most prominent signs of a bed bug infestation in your home will be staining. Before you find the bug or the eggshells, you will probably find stains in your bed from when they were feeding. Their excrement will also leave stains for you to see. Another sign of bed bugs is the red and itchy rashes they can leave on their victims. If enough bed bugs are in your home, you may also begin to notice a musty odor.

The most common places where you can find the bug, droppings, and eggshells are closer than you think. To find them, you need to look:

• Under your sheets
• In the cracks and recesses of your furniture
• Behind couches and other big furniture
• On your clothes and suitcases after traveling
• In the gaps in your floor

You might only think to look for these insects in and around your bed with them being named bed bugs, but be sure to look all around your home. More than the places you sleep, bed bugs can be found everywhere. When you do find signs of a bed bug infestation, be sure to reach out to a pest control expert for professional bed bug control in Baton Rouge as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the problem may get even worse.

Getting Professional Assistance With Bed Bug Removal

If you do find signs of bed bugs, don't hesitate to call the Baton Rouge-area pest control professionals at DAT Exterminating right away. We can inspect your Baton Rouge home with a professional eye, find everywhere that bed bugs are present, and give you back your peace of mind. We use a liquid treatment on all furniture, floors, and bed frames. We will even get inside your walls to get bed bugs where they hide away.

To learn more about our pest control treatments for bed bugs and other common local pests, get in contact with the DAT Exterminating team today. You can count on DAT Exterminating to get it done!