Bed bugs bite you and feed on your blood. You may have no reaction to the bites, or you may have small marks or itching. Severe allergic reactions are rare. Bed bugs don't transmit or spread diseases.

Adult bed bugs are brown, 1/4 to 3/8 inch long, and have a flat, oval-shaped body. Young bed bugs (called nymphs) are smaller and lighter in color. Bed bugs hide in a variety of places around the bed. They might also hide in the seams of chairs and couches, between cushions, and in the folds of curtains. They come out to feed about every five to ten days. But they can survive over a year without feeding.

To prevent bed bugs in your home:

• Check secondhand furniture for any signs of bed bugs before bringing it home
• Use a protective cover that encases mattresses and box springs. Check it regularly for holes.
• Reduce clutter in your home so they have fewer places to hide
• Unpack directly into your washing machine after a trip and check your luggage carefully. When staying in hotels, put your suitcases on luggage racks instead of the floor. Check the mattress and headboard for signs of bed bugs.

To get rid of bed bugs:

• Wash and dry bedding and clothing at high temperatures
• Use mattress, box spring, and pillow encasements to trap bed bugs and help detect infestations
• Use pesticides if needed

The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) has long been a pest – feeding on blood, causing itchy bites and generally irritating their human hosts. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) all consider bed bugs a public health pest. However, unlike most public health pests, bed bugs are not known to transmit or spread disease.

They can, however, cause other public health issues, so it’s important to pay close attention to preventing and controlling bed bugs.

Experts believe the recent increase in bed bugs in the United States may be due to more travel, lack of knowledge about preventing infestations, increased resistance of bed bugs to pesticides, and ineffective pest control practices.

The good news is that there are ways to control bed bugs. Getting good, solid information is the first step in both prevention and control. While there is no chemical quick fix, there are effective strategies to control bed bugs involving both non-chemical and chemical methods.

Bed bugs can be hard to find and identify, given their small size and their habit of staying hidden. It helps to know what they look like, since the various life stages have different forms.

Knowing what to look for is the first step in identifying and controlling bed bugs. There are many bugs that look like bed bugs, so an accurate identification is a critical first step to avoid costly treatment for the wrong bug. The types of bugs that look like bed bugs will vary somewhat depending on your region of the country.

Appearance of Bed Bugs (Cimex lectularius L.)

Two adult bed bugs in a petri dish (courtesy of Kim Jung)Adult bed bugs, in general, are:

• about the size of an apple seed (5-7 mm or 3/16 - 1/4 inch long);
• long and brown, with a flat, oval-shaped body (if not fed recently);
• balloon-like, reddish-brown, and more elongated (if fed recently);
• a “true bug” (characteristics of true bugs include a beak with three segments; antenna that have four parts; wings that are not used for flying; and short, golden-colored hairs); and
• smelly, with a “musty-sweetish” odor produced through glands on the lower side of the body.

Young bed bugs (also called nymphs), in general, are:

• smaller, translucent or whitish-yellow in color; and
• if not recently fed, can be nearly invisible to the naked eye because of coloring and size.

Bed bug eggs, in general, are:

• tiny, the size of a pinhead;
• pearl-white in color; and
• marked by an eye spot if more than five days old.

Bed Bug Life Cycle

Life cycle of the bed bug. Photo Courtesy of Stephen Doggett, Department of Medical Entomology, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia

The life cycle of a bed bug is shown in the photograph below. During its lifetime, a bed bug will go through the following stages (Starting from the top left, moving counterclockwise):

• Eggs (1mm).
• 1 stage nymph (1.5 mm).
• 2 stage nymph (2 mm).
• 3 stage nymph (2.5 mm).
• 4 stage nymph (3 mm).
• 5th stage nymph (4.5 mm).
• Unfed adult female.
• Unfed adult male.

If you have a bed bug infestation, it is best to find it early, before the infestation becomes established or spreads. Treating a minor infestation, while an inconvenience, is far less costly and easier than treating the same infestation after it becomes more widespread.

However, low-level infestations are also much more challenging to find and correctly identify. Other insects, such as carpet beetles, can be easily mistaken for bed bugs. If you misidentify a bed bug infestation, it gives the bugs more time to spread to other areas of the house or hitchhike a ride to someone else's house to start a new infestation. Learn about identifying bed bugs.

Bites on the skin are a poor indicator of a bed bug infestation. Bed bug bites can look like bites from other insects (such as mosquitoes or chiggers), rashes (such as eczema or fungal infections), or even hives. Some people do not react to bed bug bites at all.

Looking for Signs of Bed Bugs

A more accurate way to identify a possible infestation is to look for physical signs of bed bugs. When cleaning, changing bedding, or staying away from home, look for:

• Rusty or reddish stains on bed sheets or mattresses caused by bed bugs being crushed.
• Dark spots (about this size: •), which are bed bug excrement and may bleed on the fabric like a marker would.
• Eggs and eggshells, which are tiny (about 1mm) and pale yellow skins that nymphs shed as they grow larger.
• Live bed bugs.

Where Bed Bugs Hide

When not feeding, bed bugs hide in a variety of places. Around the bed, they can be found near the piping, seams and tags of the mattress and box spring, and in cracks on the bed frame and headboard.

If the room is heavily infested, you may find bed bugs:

• In the seams of chairs and couches, between cushions, in the folds of curtains.
• In drawer joints.
• In electrical receptacles and appliances.
• Under loose wall paper and wall hangings.
• At the junction where the wall and the ceiling meet.
• Even in the head of a screw.

Since bed bugs are only about the width of a credit card, they can squeeze into really small hiding spots. If a crack will hold a credit card, it could hide a bed bug.

Bed Bug Behavior and Habit

Understanding the behavior of bed bugs (how they eat, live, and reproduce) will help you to find an infestation before it becomes established and to monitor for the presence of bed bugs after your home has been treated.

Feeding:

• Appear to prefer to feed on humans, but will feed on other mammals and birds as well.
• Will readily travel 5-20 feet from established hiding places (called harborage) to feed on a host.
• Even though they are primarily active at night, if hungry they will seek hosts in full daylight.
• Feeding can take 3-12 minutes.
• The rusty or tarry spots found on bed sheets or in bug hiding places are because 20% of the time adults and large nymphs will void remains of earlier blood meals while still feeding.

Life stages/mating:

• Bed bugs need at least one blood meal before the individual bug can develop to the next of the six life stages.
  • They can feed more than once.
  • Each stage also requires the molting of skin.
• To continue to mate and produce eggs, both males and females must feed at least once every 14 days.
• Each female may lay 1 to 3 eggs per day and 200-500 eggs per her lifetime (6-12 months but could be longer).
• Egg-to-egg life cycle may take four to five weeks under favorable conditions.

Living conditions:

• Bed bugs can survive and remain active at temperatures as low as 7°C (46°F), but they die when their body temperatures reaches 45°C (113°F).
  • To kill bed bugs with heat, the room must be even hotter to ensure sustained heat reaches the bugs no matter where they are hiding.
• Common bed bugs are found almost anywhere their host can live.
• Tropical bed bugs (Cimex hemipterus) require a higher average temperature than the common bed bug and are found in tropical and subtropical areas.

When a bed bug infestation is discovered there are multiple methods for controlling it. Be aware that it will take time and patience; there is no quick fix for eradication. There are both chemical and non-chemical approaches are available. While using one or the other works, an approach that uses a combination of both can be the most effective. Using this combination of approaches is often referred to as integrated pest management.

Preparing for control is very important whether you are considering hiring a professional or planning to do it yourself.

Controlling bed bugs using integrated pest management means using a variety of methods, including both chemical and non-chemical techniques.

If you would like to use a do-it-yourself approach, be sure to come up with a plan to execute to ensure eradication and safety. All do-it-yourself products, especially foggers, should be researched and employed properly. In addition, you should be careful to only use legal control methods, as others may cause serious harm.

Hiring a pest management professional is a good option in many cases, but you need to be careful in how you select a company.

1. Make sure you really have bed bugs, not fleas, ticks or other insects.

You can compare your insect to the pictures on our Identifying bed bugs Web page or show it to your local extension agent.Exit (Extension agents are trained in pest control issues and know your local area.)

2. Don't panic!

It can be difficult to eliminate bed bugs, but it’s not impossible. Don’t throw out all of your things because most of them can be treated and saved. Throwing stuff out is expensive, may spread the bed bugs to other people's homes and could cause more stress.

3. Think through your treatment options -- Don't immediately reach for the spray can.

Be comprehensive in your approach. Try other things first. Integrated pest management (IPM) techniques may reduce the number of bed bugs and limit your contact with pesticides. If pesticides are needed, always follow label directions or hire a professional.

4. Reduce the number of hiding places -- Clean up the clutter.

A cluttered home provides more places for bed bugs to hide and makes locating and treating them harder. If bed bugs are in your mattress, using special bed bug covers (encasements) on your mattress and box springs makes it harder for bed bugs to get to you while you sleep. Leave the encasements on for a year. Be sure to buy a product that has been tested for bed bugs and is strong enough to last for the full year without tearing.

5. Regularly wash and heat-dry your bed sheets, blankets, bedspreads and any clothing that touches the floor.

This reduces the number of bed bugs. Bed bugs and their eggs can hide in laundry containers/hampers Remember to clean them when you do the laundry.

6. Do-it-yourself freezing may not be a reliable method for bed bug control.

While freezing can kill bed bugs, temperatures must remain very low for a long time. Home freezers may not be cold enough to kill bed bugs; always use a thermometer to accurately check the temperature. Putting things outside in freezing temperatures could kill bed bugs, but there are many factors that can affect the success of this method.

7. Kill bed bugs with heat, but be very careful.

Raising the indoor temperature with the thermostat or space heaters won’t do the job. Special equipment and very high temperatures are necessary for successful heat treatment. Black plastic bags in the sun might work to kill bed bugs in luggage or small items, if the contents become hot enough. Bed bugs die when their body temperatures reaches 45°C (113°F). To kill bed bugs with heat, the room or container must be even hotter to ensure sustained heat reaches the bugs no matter where they are hiding

8. Don't pass your bed bugs on to others.

Bed bugs are good hitchhikers. If you throw out a mattress or furniture that has bed bugs in it, you should slash or in some way destroy it so that no one else takes it and gets bed bugs.

9. Reduce the number of bed bugs to reduce bites.

Thorough vacuuming can get rid of some of your bed bugs. Carefully vacuum rugs, floors, upholstered furniture, bed frames, under beds, around bed legs, and all cracks and crevices around the room. Change the bag after each use so the bed bugs can’t escape. Place the used bag in a tightly sealed plastic bag and in an outside garbage bin.

10. Turn to the professionals, if needed.

Hiring an experienced, responsible pest control professional can increase your chance of success in getting rid of bed bugs. If you hire an expert, be sure it’s a company with a good reputation and request that it use an IPM approach. Contact your state pesticide agency for guidance about hiring professional pest control companies. Also, EPA's Citizen's Guide to Pest Control and Pesticide Safety provides information about IPM approaches, how to choose a pest control company, safe handling of pesticides, and emergency information.

Can you get rid of bed bugs on your own?

Treating bed bugs is complex. Your likelihood of success depends on many factors, including:

• How many bed bugs you have;
• How much clutter is available for hiding places;
• Whether your neighbors have bedbugs; and
• Whether all residents of a house or building will participate.

Getting rid of bed bugs completely can take weeks to months, depending on the nature and extent of the infestation. To be successful, everyone will need to cooperate and do their part.

The following steps will help you begin:

1. Identify the problem
2. Develop a strategy
3. Keep the infestation from expanding
4. Prepare for treatment
5. Kill the bed bugs
6. Evaluate and prevent

You may have to follow these steps more than once to kill all the bugs and their eggs.

Identify the Problem

• Identify the pest:
  • Collect a sample of the pest to show an extension agent Exitor other insect expert.
  • Extension agents can identify the pest at no cost to you. They are trained in pest control and know your local area.
• If an extension agent or other expert says the pest is a bed bug, notify your landlord if you live in an apartment. The units near yours should be inspected.
  • Landlords may have a responsibility Exit to participate in treatment.
  • Check the housing codes and laws in your area.
• Inspect all areas that may have bed bugs, plus surrounding living spaces, to find out the extent of infestation.

Develop a Strategy

• Make a schedule for completing the steps below. Be sure to include any personal plans, such as vacations.
• Keep records through the whole process. Note the dates and exact locations where pests are found. This will help you track progress and better know where to target your work.
• Keep checking for at least a year after you’re done to make sure all the bed bugs are gone.

Keep the Infestation from Spreading

• Remove infested items. Place them in a sealed plastic bag and treat them. Learn more about treatment methods in the sections below.
• Items that cannot be treated should be placed in a sealed plastic bag and left there for up to a year to ensure any active bugs are dead.
• Empty the vacuum after each use. Seal the bag as tightly as possible and immediately throw it out in an outdoor trash container.
• Discard furniture responsibly if you can’t safely eliminate the bed bugs. Destroy it so someone else won't be tempted to bring it into their home. For example:
  • Rip covers and remove stuffing from furniture items.
  • Use spray paint to mark furniture with "Bed Bugs."
• Have infested items picked up as soon as possible by the trash collection agency.
• Don't discard furniture if you can safely eliminate the bed bugs from it.

Prepare for Treatment

Preparing for treatment is very important; it will make it easier to monitor for bed bugs that haven't been eliminated. This preparation should be completed whether you are doing the treatment yourself or hiring a professional.

Kill the Bed Bugs

• Make sure the methods you select are safe, effective and legal. See What's Legal, What's Not.
• Consider non-chemical methods of killing bed bugs. Some will be more useful than others depending on your situation. These and other methods can be helpful, but they might not get rid of the infestation entirely:
  • Heat treatment: You can use a clothes dryer on high heat. You can also use black plastic bags in a hot, closed car in the sun, but success depends on your climate and other factors. Do-it-yourself heat treatments might not work. Professionals have access to more intensive and proven methods that can even treat whole houses with heat. You may also purchase a portable heat chamber, which is usually quite effective.
  • Cold treatment can be successful in the home environment if the freezer is set to 0 F. You must leave the items in a sealed bag in the freezer at that temperature for four days. Always use a thermometer to check the temperature, since home freezers are not always set to 0.
  • Steam cleaners (wet or dry) can get into cracks and fabrics to treat carpets, baseboards, bed frames, and other furniture. The steam temperature must be at least 130 F but should not have a forceful airflow, or it may cause bed bugs to scatter. Use a diffuser to prevent scattering.
• If needed, hire a pest management professional or use pesticides carefully according to the label directions:
  • Look for EPA-registered pesticides that have bed bugs listed on the label.
  • Use foggers (bug bombs) only with extreme care and only if bed bugs are listed on the label. Improper use can harm your health or cause a fire or explosion. Foggers should not be your only method of bed bug control. The spray will not reach the cracks and crevices where bed bugs hide. See Should I Use a Fogger? for more information.
• Carefully look for any evidence of bed bugs every few days after you complete your initial cleanup and control processes. If you see bed bugs, either the initial cleanup missed some bugs or eggs have hatched. Retreatment may be needed.
• Consider using different types of pesticides if repeated treatments are needed. Desiccants (chemicals that dry things out) can be particularly effective in some situations since they work by drying out the bug (which means the bed bugs can't develop resistance).
  • If using desiccants, be sure to use only products registered by EPA as a pesticide.
  • Do not use pool- or food-grade diatomaceous earth (made from the fossilized remains of tiny, aquatic organisms called diatoms). This type of diatomaceous earth can harm you when you breathe it in. The pesticide version uses a different size of diatoms, which reduces the hazard.
  • Desiccants can be very effective but may take several months to work.

Evaluate and Prevent

• Continue to inspect for bed bugs, at least every 7 days, in case any eggs remain. You can use interceptors, traps or other monitoring methods. Interceptors are placed under the legs of furniture to catch bed bugs and keep them from climbing the legs. Commercial and do-it-yourself interceptors are options.
• Continue to protect your home from bed bugs.

Finding and Using Bed Bug Pesticides

EPA has registered more than 300 products for use against bed bugs. Most of these can be used by consumers, but a few are registered for use only by specially trained professionals. EPA evaluates data on the safety and the effectiveness of the products before approving them.

These 300 registered products fall into seven chemical classes of pesticides that are currently registered and widely used for bed bug control:

• pyrethrins,
• pyrethroids
• desiccants,
• biochemicals,
• pyrroles,
• neonicotinoids, and
• insect growth regulators.

There is also an additional chemical class registered for a very narrow use pattern. Dichlorvos (also known as DDVP, an organophosphate) is registered as a pest strip for treatment of small enclosures.

Each chemical class kills bed bugs using a different mode of action. It can be helpful to use pesticides that differ in their mode of action because it can reduce the likelihood that the bugs will develop resistance. The following paragraphs discuss in more details each of the more commonly used chemical classes for bed bugs.

Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids: Pyrethrins and pyrethroids are the most common compounds used to control bed bugs and other indoor pests. Pyrethrins are botanical insecticides derived from chrysanthemum flowers. Pyrethroids are synthetic chemical insecticides that act like pyrethrins. Both compounds are lethal to bed bugs and can flush bed bugs out of their hiding places and kill them. However, where resistant bed bug strains exist, these treatments may cause them to move to a new hiding place or temporarily flush them out of existing locations.

Some bed bug populations have become resistant to pyrethrins and pyrethroids. Sometimes using a combination product (either multiple pyrethroid or pyrethrin active ingredients, or one that combines different chemical classes into the same product) can improve bed bug control. It can also be helpful to switch to an entirely different chemical class to control resistant bed bug populations.

Some pyrethroid pesticides come in the form of a total release fogger.

Desiccants: Desiccants work by destroying the waxy, protective outer coating on a bed bug. Once this coating is destroyed, the bed bugs will slowly dehydrate and die. Desiccants are a valuable tool in bed bug control. Because desiccants work through a physical mode of action, the bed bugs cannot become resistant to desiccants as they can to pesticides with other modes of action. In addition, they have a long-lasting effect and don't disturb normal bed bug activities.

Examples of desiccants include:

• Diatomaceous earth.
• Boric acid.

When using desiccants to control bed bugs it is critical to use those that are registered by EPA and labeled for bed bug control. Desiccants that are intended for other uses, such as food-grade or for use in swimming pools, pose an increased inhalation risk to people. Use of desiccants is limited to cracks and crevices use only to reduce inhalation risk.

Biochemicals: Cold pressed neem oil is the only biochemical pesticide registered for use against bed bugs. Cold pressed neem oil is pressed directly from seeds of the Neem tree, a tropical evergreen tree found in Southeast Asia and Africa. The oil contains various compounds that have insecticidal and medicinal properties. It is also used in making products including shampoos, toothpaste, soaps, and cosmetics. Performance trials conducted at the approved label rates show both products control bed bug adults, nymphs, and eggs.

Pyrroles: Chlorfenapyr is the only pyrrole pesticide currently registered for use against bed bugs. The compound is a pro-insecticide, i.e. the biological activity depends on its activation to form another chemical. The new chemical disrupts certain functions in the bed bug's cells, causing its death.

Neonicotinoids: Neonicotinoids are synthetic forms of nicotine and act on the nicotinic receptors of the nervous system by causing nerves to fire continually until they fail. Because neonicotinoids use this different mode of action, bed bugs that are resistant to other pesticides will remain susceptible to the neonicotinoid.

Insect growth regulators: Insect growth regulators are chemicals that mimic juvenile growth hormones in insects. They work by either altering the production of chitin (the compound insects use to make their hard external "shell" or exoskeleton) or by altering an insect's development into adulthood. Some growth regulators force the insect to develop too rapidly, while others stop development.

Many bed bug control techniques present some potential safety issues. Pay attention to these issues when choosing and implementing control methods.

Pesticides

When selecting and using pesticides, read and strictly follow the label directions. The label tells you:

• If the pesticide is approved for use against bed bugs (don't use it if it is not).
• How the product is to be applied and how often you can use it.
  • Never use a pesticide indoors that is intended for outdoor use. It is very dangerous and won’t solve your bed bug problem.
• Where it can be used (e.g., in cracks and crevices, on mattresses, etc.).
• How you should protect yourself against overexposure (e.g., leave the treated area for a certain amount of time, wear gloves when applying, etc.).
• Whether or not EPA has registered the product. Keep in mind that any pesticide product without an EPA registration number on the label has not been reviewed by EPA, so we haven’t determined how well the product works.
• If there are any other potential concerns.

Even if you have used the product before, read the label each time you plan to use the product so you don't forget a step or a protective action. Reading the label also helps ensure you get the most effectiveness from the product.

Heat Treatments and Bed Bugs

Heat treatment can be a very effective means to control bed bugs. Residents can kill bed bugs using heat produced by the clothes dryer or a portable heat chamber. Professionals can also treat your entire residence, but care must be taken to ensure that it is done properly. Some things to look out for include:

• Choose professionals who have strong references and history of successful treatment.
• Properly handle heat-sensitive items so that they do not melt during treatment (these items should be treated using an alternative technique).

• Put practices in place to avoid re-introducing bed bugs, since heat treatments have no residual effects.

For further information on heat treatments see Using Heat to Kill Bed Bugs (PDF).(4 pp, 156.08 K, About PDF) Exit

Using Cold to Control Bed Bugs

Although cold temperatures can kill bed bugs, this technique may require specialized equipment and knowledge. Home freezers do not always get cold enough to kill the bugs. Bed bugs can go dormant and appear dead for days and then become active again once they are warm.

Other techniques, such as the use of carbon dioxide, have their limitations and often are most effective as components of a more comprehensive bed bug control plan. There may also be some safety concerns with these techniques, depending on how they are used. Like registered pesticide applications, these treatments have the potential to damage materials and may pose risks to humans and animals. Treatments as seemingly innocuous as carbon dioxide can be fatal if applied incorrectly.

If the goal is to eliminate bed bugs, the job has to be done correctly. Bed bugs are so small that they can live in a crack the width of a credit card, increasing the control challenge.

Pesticides often are an important part of a control strategy but they must be used properly for the treatment to work. There can be many reasons for failure of a pesticide treatment to completely control the bed bugs, including:

• Not finding all the bed bugs.
• Inadequately preparing area (failure to remove clutter, seal cracks and crevices, etc.).
• Overlooking treatment of any of the known resting areas (bed bugs may rest or hide in hampers, bed frames, even furniture).
• Failing to treat nearby areas where bed bugs may have migrated (adjacent rooms or other apartments in multi-dwelling housing).
• Disregarding recommended label rates (applying pesticides at too low a rate may not kill bugs and may speed up development of resistance to that chemical).
• Not following up on treatment in an appropriate timeframe (many pesticides will not kill eggs, so treatment must be repeated after the eggs hatch, or the infestation will not be controlled).
• Not allowing enough time for a pesticide to work (some pesticides, such as drying agents or growth regulators, may be effective but take some time to kill the population).
• Bed bugs becoming resistant to a specific type of pesticide.
  • As insects, such as bed bugs, are exposed to a pesticide over time, the most susceptible ones are killed first, leaving only the less susceptible ones to breed. This can result in a rapid decline in relative effectiveness of the pesticide.

Pesticide Resistance as a Cause of Treatment Failure

While there is evidence of resistance in some populations to certain types of pesticides, pesticide resistance can only be verified in laboratory tests. Researchers are currently trying to determine the scope of the resistance problem, which will vary from community to community. This research will support the development and use of effective control strategies.

Because of the potential for resistance, homeowners and others trying to control bed bug infestations must always use pesticides appropriately and according to the label. It is also important to:

• be vigilant in surveillance, identification, and monitoring efforts;
• hire trained, experienced, and reputable pest management professionals; and
• use a comprehensive approach.

For example, you may wish to:

• choose different types of pesticides from the list of currently labeled ones for sequential treatments; or
• use pesticides for which insect resistance has not yet been reported, such as diatomaceous earth, in combination with other control techniques.

Remember, as illustrated in the list above, resistance is only one of many possible causes of a treatment failure. All possibilities must be explored in any situation.

Bed bugs are great hitchhikers. They can move from an infested site to a new home by traveling on furniture, bedding, luggage, boxes, and clothing.

Although they typically feed on blood every five to ten days, bed bugs can be quite resilient; they are capable of surviving several months to a year without feeding.

A few simple precautions can help prevent bed bug infestation in your home:

• Check secondhand furniture, beds, and couches for any signs of bed bug infestation before bringing them home.
• Use a protective cover that encases mattresses and box springs to eliminate many hiding spots. The light color of the encasement makes bed bugs easier to see. Be sure to purchase a high quality encasement that will resist tearing and check the encasement regularly for holes or a cover that has been pre-treated with pesticide to control bed bugs.
• Reduce clutter in your home to reduce hiding places for bed bugs.
• Vacuum frequently to remove any successful hitchhikers.
• Be vigilant when using shared laundry facilities. Transport items to be washed in plastic bags (if you have an active infestation, use a new bag for the journey home). Remove from dryer directly into bag and fold at home. (A dryer on high heat can kill bed bugs.)
• If you live in a multi-family home, try to isolate your unit by:
  • Installing door sweeps on the bottom of doors to discourage movement into hallways.
  • Sealing cracks and crevices around baseboards, light sockets, etc., to discourage movement through wall voids.
• Consider purchasing a portable heating chamber to treat any items that you believe may have bed bugs.
  • Be sure to read and carefully follow the directions if you use one of these units and be aware that they are not regulated by EPA or other federal agencies.

Any landlord for an apartment or other facility is likely to have to deal with bed bugs at some point. Here are some tips and resources for you to get ready or to take action if you already have bed bug issues.

Be Prepared

• Find out what laws or regulations apply to your location. There could be reporting requirements, response requirements, etc.
• Educate yourself and train your staff on how to identify bed bugs and inspect for their presence.
• Make a plan for preventing bed bugs. Include steps such as:
  • Conducting detailed inspections when tenants depart.
  • Providing guidelines for tenants on preventing bed bugs.
  • Instructing staff and tenants on what to do if they find them.
• Educate tenants before there is a problem:
  • Provide a flyer or brochure to current and prospective tenants explaining your policies and guidance on bed bug management. Examples can be found in the EPA's Bed Bug Information Clearinghouse.
  • Emphasize the importance of quick reporting of any bed bug sightings.
  • Don't blame the tenant for the problem, since often there is no fault involved.
    • A culture of blame can cause residents to delay reporting (which leads to more extensive infestations, which are far more expensive to control).
• Hire professionals who have documented experience in bed bug management and who use a comprehensive strategy (not just spraying pesticides).
• Develop a plan, in advance, for treating a bed bug infestation. Your plan should:
  • Be multi-faceted and use integrated pest management techniques.
  • Make residents aware of basic prevention and management techniques.
  • Encourage residents to prepare for treatment.
  • Include physical means of removal, such as careful vacuuming of the affected area (and disposing of the vacuum bag to an outside disposal area).
    • Bringing in a qualified pest management professional to assist.
    • See the resources listed below for assistance in developing your plans for preventing and managing bed bugs.

Respond Effectively

• Inspect promptly when bed bugs are reported.
• Involve residents in the process. Their cooperation is vital to success.
• Evaluate adjacent units for possible infestations.
  • Some researchers recommend treating all adjacent units (both sides, above and below) to improve odds of successful control.
• Encourage and help residents to prepare for control. Good preparation will increase the odds of success (and lower costs of treatment).
• Implement your action plan for bed bug management.
• Actively monitor treated units to ensure that all of the bed bugs have been killed.

When traveling:

• Inspect any room where you will be staying for the presence of bed bugs. You generally can do this without any extra tools but a flashlight can be useful.
  • Check the mattress and headboard before sleeping.
  • Inspect luggage racks.
• In hotel rooms, use luggage racks to hold your luggage when packing or unpacking rather than setting your luggage on the bed or floor. Try to keep luggage away from bed.
• Upon returning home, unpack directly into a washing machine and inspect your luggage carefully. Remember that time in a dryer at high temperatures kills the bed bugs (just washing will generally not kill bed bugs).
• Store suitcases away from your bedroom, such as in the basement or garage. Never store suitcases under your bed.

It is very unlikely, though not impossible, that a bed bug infestation will develop in an office, classroom, or other non-residential environment, such as a department store. However, these sites can serve as transfer hubs for bed bugs to hitchhike a ride into your home. Management, staff, students and workers all have roles to play in reducing the spread of bed bugs.

Steps You Can Take

• Reduce clutter. Clutter serves as an ideal habitat for bed bugs whether at home, school or office. By reducing clutter in your workplace or school, you provide fewer places for the bed bugs to hide and fewer opportunities for them to hitchhike to your home.
• Keep your belongings stowed separately from those of other people. If there is a known problem with bed bugs in the office or school, consider storing your belongings in a plastic bin.
• Be vigilant in areas where bed bugs are most likely to be found, which include break rooms, storage areas (coat closets or cubbies), offices or lounges with upholstered furniture, or areas where people may rest.
• Establish a monitoring program so that if a bed bug is found in an area the status of that area will be formally tracked.
  • Multiple sightings in the same area could indicate an infestation or multiple reintroductions from someone’s home.
• Educate the staff so that they know what to do if a bug is found that appears to be a bed bug.
• Discourage panic and the stigma associated with bed bugs. These are counterproductive and can make treatment more difficult.
• Vacuum daily to pick up any stray bugs before they settle in.

If a Bed Bug is Found

• Inform management and facility staff who have the lead in any control efforts.
• Only treat if a true infestation is found with breeding bed bugs. Remember, a single bed bug is not an infestation.
  • Hire a pest professional that uses integrated pest management techniques.
  • You can minimize exposure of workers or students by applying pesticides on a Friday evening, or other time that building occupants are not present.
• Alert everyone who works in the building. Let staff know how the sighting will be handled. This allows them to take additional precautions to protect their homes as well as limiting rumors and speculation.

• Myth:You can’t see a bed bug.
  Reality: You should be able to see adult bed bugs, nymphs and eggs with your naked eye.
• Myth:Bed bugs live in dirty places.
  Reality: Bed bugs are not attracted to dirt and grime; they are attracted to warmth, blood and carbon dioxide. However, clutter offers more hiding spots.
• Myth:Bed bugs transmit diseases.
  Reality: There have been no cases or studies that indicate bed bugs transmit diseases between humans.
• Myth:Bed bugs are not a public health pest.
  Reality: Bed bugs are a public health pest. We coordinated with CDC and USDA to identify pests of public health importance and issued a Pesticide Registration Notice that listed pests of significant public health importance. Bed bugs are on this list. In 2009, EPA and CDC collaborated on a joint statement to highlight the public health impacts of bed bugs.
• Myth: Bed bugs won’t come out if the room is brightly lit.
  Reality: While bed bugs prefer darkness, keeping the light on at night won’t deter these pests from biting you.
• Myth:Pesticide applications alone will easily eliminate bed bug infestations.
  Reality: Bed bug control can only be maintained through a treatment strategy that includes a variety of techniques plus careful attention to monitoring. Proper use of pesticides may be part of the strategy, but will not by itself eliminate bed bugs. In addition, bed bug populations in different areas of the country have developed resistance to the ways many pesticides work to kill pests. If you're dealing with a resistant population, some products and application methods may not work. It is a good idea to consult a qualified pest management professional if you have bed bugs in your home.
• Myth: EPA has funding available for people who need help with controlling bed bugs.
  Reality: Unfortunately, EPA does not have funding available to help people with controlling bed bugs. Our roles in the bed bug issue are to:
  • evaluate pesticides to ensure that when they are used according to label directions they are effective and will not harm people, non-target species or the environment, and
  • work with other federal agencies to provide reliable information about bed bugs and their control.

What are bed bugs?

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are small, flat, parasitic insects that feed solely on the blood of people and animals while they sleep. Bed bugs are reddish-brown in color, wingless, range from 1mm to 7mm (roughly the size of Lincoln’s head on a penny), and can live several months without a blood meal.

Where are bed bugs found?

Bed bugs are found across the globe from North and South America, to Africa, Asia and Europe. Although the presence of bed bugs has traditionally been seen as a problem in developing countries, it has recently been spreading rapidly in parts of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other parts of Europe. Bed bugs have been found in five-star hotels and resorts and their presence is not determined by the cleanliness of the living conditions where they are found.

Bed bug infestations usually occur around or near the areas where people sleep. These areas include apartments, shelters, rooming houses, hotels, cruise ships, buses, trains, and dorm rooms. They hide during the day in places such as seams of mattresses, box springs, bed frames, headboards, dresser tables, inside cracks or crevices, behind wallpaper, or any other clutter or objects around a bed. Bed bugs have been shown to be able to travel over 100 feet in a night but tend to live within 8 feet of where people sleep.

Do bed bugs spread disease?

Bed bugs are not known to spread disease. Bed bugs can be an annoyance because their presence may cause itching and loss of sleep. Sometimes the itching can lead to excessive scratching that can sometimes increase the chance of a secondary skin infection.

What health risks do bed bugs pose?

A bed bug bite affects each person differently. Bite responses can range from an absence of any physical signs of the bite, to a small bite mark, to a serious allergic reaction. Bed bugs are not considered to be dangerous; however, an allergic reaction to several bites may need medical attention.

What are the signs and symptoms of a bed bug infestation?

One of the easiest ways to identify a bed bug infestation is by the tell-tale bite marks on the face, neck, arms, hands, or any other body parts while sleeping. However, these bite marks may take as long as 14 days to develop in some people so it is important to look for other clues when determining if bed bugs have infested an area. These signs include:

• the bed bugs’ exoskeletons after molting,
• bed bugs in the fold of mattresses and sheets,
• rusty–colored blood spots due to their blood-filled fecal material that they excrete on the mattress or nearby furniture, and
• a sweet musty odor.

How do I know if I’ve been bitten by a bed bug?

It is hard to tell if you’ve been bitten by a bed bug unless you find bed bugs or signs of infestation. When bed bugs bite, they inject an anesthetic and an anticoagulant that prevents a person from realizing they are being bitten. Most people do not realize they have been bitten until bite marks appear anywhere from one to several days after the initial bite. The bite marks are similar to that of a mosquito or a flea — a slightly swollen and red area that may itch and be irritating. The bite marks may be random or appear in a straight line. Other symptoms of bed bug bites include insomnia, anxiety, and skin problems that arise from profuse scratching of the bites.

Because bed bug bites affect everyone differently, some people may have no reaction and will not develop bite marks or any other visible signs of being bitten. Other people may be allergic to the bed bugs and can react adversely to the bites. These allergic symptoms can include enlarged bite marks, painful swellings at the bite site, and, on rare occasions, anaphylaxis.

How did I get bed bugs?

Bed bugs are experts at hiding. Their slim flat bodies allow them to fit into the smallest of spaces and stay there for long periods of time, even without a blood meal. Bed bugs are usually transported from place to place as people travel. The bed bugs travel in the seams and folds of luggage, overnight bags, folded clothes, bedding, furniture, and anywhere else where they can hide. Most people do not realize they are transporting stow-away bed bugs as they travel from location to location, infecting areas as they travel.

Who is at risk for getting bed bugs?

Everyone is at risk for getting bed bugs when visiting an infected area. However, anyone who travels frequently and shares living and sleeping quarters where other people have previously slept has a higher risk of being bitten and or spreading a bed bug infestation.

How are bed bugs treated and prevented?

Bed bug bites usually do not pose a serious medical threat. The best way to treat a bite is to avoid scratching the area and apply antiseptic creams or lotions and take an antihistamine. Bed bug infestations are commonly treated by insecticide spraying. If you suspect that you have an infestation, contact your landlord or professional pest control company that is experienced with treating bed bugs. The best way to prevent bed bugs is regular inspection for the signs of an infestation.