A bed bug infestation is more than likely something you will never have to deal with, but by informing yourself of what to look for and by taking a few preventative measures you can be sure that you will catch any signs of infestation early and avoid a full scale epidemic. By catching these pests in the early stages you will save yourself from major headaches and expense.

What Are Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are an insect considered by the Environmental Protection Agency, Center For Disease Control and Prevention, and the United States Department of Agriculture, to be a public health pest. While these pests are particularly annoying and do primarily feed on human blood (although they will feed on most mammals) they are thankfully not known to transmit or spread any diseases to their human hosts.

Because bed bugs are so small and difficult to find, it can be a challenge to identify them before a full blown infestation occurs, so you should look for evidence of bed bugs in addition to searching for actual insects. Adult bedbugs are about the size of an apple seed and reddish brown in color. Their bodies are long, flat and oval shaped with wings that are not used for flying, the females tend to have a more round body shape while the males are slightly smaller and end in more of a point. Young bed bugs are smaller and are translucent to yellow-white in color and therefore tend to be much more difficult to see.

Evidence of Bed Bugs

People often associate bed bug infestations with messy unclean environments, and while clutter may offer more hiding places, bed bugs are motivated only by warmth, blood, and carbon dioxide. Because identifying bed bugs can be difficult you should always confer with an expert to make sure you are treating the correct pest the correct way - a misidentified infestation gives the insects more time to breed and spread throughout your home. Here are some things you can look for on your own before consulting an expert:

• Check for bug bites on your skin. While the bed bug bites themselves are not identifiable as different from other bug bites, the random appearance of several bites out of nowhere is a good reason to keep your eyes open.
• Look for small blood stains on sheets from bed bugs being crushed.
• Keep an eye out for clusters of tiny dark spots -- about the size of the tip of a fine pen or marker would make. Theses marks are bed bug excrement and may bleed on sheets the way ink would.
• Eggs, eggshells, and molts. Bed bugs molt and shed their skin approximately five times during their lifetime so be on the lookout for pale yellow eggs and skins that have been shed.

Prevention and Treatment: Bed Bug Mattress Pads

Bed bugs are most common in multi-unit buildings like apartment complexes and hotels, but bed bugs can be brought into any home hitchhiking on clothes, book bags, old furniture, or any type of upholstery.

Bed bugs particularly love to hide in and around your bed because it provides everything they need to survive and thrive: comfortable hiding spots and a convenient food source i.e. you. Making your mattress an impenetrable and unlivable environment for bed bugs can help protect your home from a major infestation and save you anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars!

Caution and vigilance are your greatest weapons in preventing a bed bug infestation. While there is nothing you can do to completely guarantee that your home will never be infested, there are preventative measures and routine checks you can conduct to avoid and limit bed bugs.

• Bed bugs like to burrow into the seams of upholstery and mattresses so be sure to check here for signs of the bugs like their crushed shells or excrement. Any sort of dark splotchy stain is something to be wary of.
• Keep clutter at a minimum as it can provide more hiding places for bed bugs.
• Wash and heat dry your sheets and bedding on a regular basis.

One of the best things you can do is to keep your mattress covered with a specific bed bug mattress pad cover; this is key to prevention, early detection and treatment. Because bed bugs like to hide in the seams of your mattress they can often be hard to spot before they get out of control. A bed bug mattress cover will not only seal your mattress off so that the pests can not infest your mattress, but because it has flat seams, it will allow you to more easily spot any sort of creepy crawly bug that has found its way to your bed.

If you find yourself already infested with bed bugs a mattress cover is an essential part of your treatment plan. In addition to seeking professional extermination services, use a mattress cover immediately to seal in bed bugs and prevent more from burrowing into your mattress. The ones you have sealed in will no longer be able to bite you and feed which means that they will not be able to continue to breed and should die within a year. The ones that are sealed out can be chemically treated by a team of experts.

Bed bug treatments often cost people thousands of dollars between the actual extermination treatments and the cost of disposing of and replacing essential home items. Although a bed bug infestation may seem unlikely it’s important that you take the time to educate yourself and implement preventative measures, like a protective mattress cover. These small actions today will potentially save you thousands in the future!