Signs of Bed Bugs and What an Inspection Finds

Where to look

1. Mattress seams and tags, especially at the head.
2. Box spring: flip it; corners and the staples under the dust cover.
3. Bed frame and headboard joints and screw holes.
4. Within six feet: nightstand drawer joints, outlet covers, curtain hems, picture frames.
5. Sofas and recliners, if anyone sleeps there.

What you are looking for

Live bugs (apple-seed size, flat, reddish-brown; nymphs smaller and paler); black fecal spotting that bleeds when wet; shed skins; white millimeter eggs glued in cracks. OSU’s 2025 factsheet lists the common hiding spots and signs; its advice on vacuums is specific: “Use HEPA-filtered vacuums to physically remove bed bugs.”

What bites prove

Nothing on their own. Reactions vary from none to welts. Bed bugs are not known to transmit disease; the evidence search is the task.

What our inspection adds

• Findings by room with life stages present — eggs and nymphs mean an established population, adults alone may mean a recent arrival
• Connected units checked in a multi-unit building
• Specimen identification — bat bugs are common in Ohio and look nearly identical
• A written report that is the first page of any who-pays conversation