Bed bugs symptoms come in a variety of ways.
Knowing what these symptoms are and how they appear is helpful when facing this disturbing problem.
Signs and symptoms can show up in one of two categories: 1.
Bites & Related Issues 2.
Evidence or Physical Signs Bites, rashes and other related signs will be discussed in an upcoming article.
Today we will discuss the evidence or physical signs.
The 5 common signs we will discuss today are: 1.
Blood Stains 2.
Skin Castings 3.
Eggs 4.
Fecal Matter 5.
Live Bed Bugs Blood Stains Lets begin with blood stains.
The food of choice for these pests is blood.
It is the first and last meal they ever have.
Bed bugs must have a blood meal after they hatch out from eggs and in between each molting, which occurs 5 times in their lifetime.
It is common to find blood stains when you have an infestation.
They come out to eat in the early dawn hours before you wake up, when you are in a deep sleep.
On occasion you may move unexpectedly and roll over and crush the feeding bugs.
Obviously this leaves behind a blood stain.
Skin Castings As mentioned above these blood-sucking intruders must molt 5 times during their life cycle.
Molting is when the bug grows beyond the size of its exoskeleton and must shed it to continue growing.
The first time this happens is after an egg hatches out and the new nymph has its first blood meal.
This is followed by subsequent moltings and feedings until maturity is reached.
The left over "skin casting" as they are called is a sure sign of bed bugs.
A casting is light and opaque and can be hard to spot without the aid of a good flashlight.
Eggs Eggs can also be hard to spot.
They are only 1/16 in long.
Females lay them in cracks and crevices of the bed frames, bed boards, furniture and other hard to read areas.
They adhere them with a very sticky substance they secrete.
Fecal Matter When they is a significant infestation the bugs will tend to congregate together.
When they do this the fecal matter stains, comprised of digested blood are easy to spot.
More that likely they will be under the mattress, the seams of the box springs or other hiding places bed bugs conceal themselves in.
Live Bed Bugs If you find a live bug, it's clear you have either an ongoing infestation or the beginnings of one.
As a quick review, if you find a live bug it will typically be flat, oval, and thin.
Like any rule there are exceptions of course.
After a large meal they can appear rounder and elongated like a cigar.
After a blood meal they will also appear more reddish in color.
Conclusion If you spot any of these signs, I recommend you do a complete inspection, if you have not done so already and collect samples as you go.
This will assist you in positively identifying any bugs or castings you find.
You can also take pictures as well.
Now you are armed with information regarding the physical bed bugs symptoms and can take appropriate action as needed.