How to inspect your bed for bed bugs.

Gather simple tools

Use a flashlight, a thin card for checking seams, disposable gloves, clear tape or a sealed container for a specimen, and a camera. Avoid spraying before inspecting; products can scatter insects and obscure evidence.

Start with bedding

Remove sheets slowly without carrying them through the home. Look for live insects, dark spotting, pale eggs, or shed skins. Bag items before moving them for laundering.

Inspect the mattress and foundation

Check piping, labels, tufts, handles, corners, seams, box-spring fabric, staples, and frame joints. Use help when lifting heavy components and avoid tearing protective covers.

Expand to nearby hiding places

Review the headboard, nightstands, upholstered furniture, baseboards, picture frames, wall-floor edges, and items close to where people rest. Bed bugs can hide beyond the bed.

Preserve evidence

Capture a clear photo or specimen safely. Note the exact location. Do not discard furniture or change sleeping rooms before getting guidance.

What bed bug evidence can look like

Adults are small, flat, and reddish brown, while younger stages can be much paler. Eggs are tiny and light colored. Dark spotting may appear in seams or sheltered edges, but stains, lint, carpet beetle skins, and other insects can be mistaken for bed bugs. Use several signs together and seek identification rather than deciding from a bite or one blurry photo.

Inspect without spreading belongings

Work slowly from the bed outward and keep checked items separate from unchecked items. Do not carry an uncovered mattress, headboard, or bag through the home. If laundering is recommended, bag fabrics before moving them and use settings suitable for the material. In apartments or attached housing, report confirmed evidence according to the property’s process because adjoining spaces may need coordinated assessment.