Bed bugs are hard to catch in the act. According to the EPA, an adult is about the size of an apple seed, and it spends daylight hours packed into mattress seams and the joints of a bed frame. Hot Bugz, a Denver company that treats bed bugs with heat, finds that most infestations are caught weeks after they start, often through a clue someone almost ignored. Here are seven of those clues and where Denver-area residents can turn for an inspection.
What are the early signs of bed bugs?
Most early signs are indirect, showing up on your skin or bedding before the bugs do.
Are you waking up with itchy bites in a line or cluster?
Bites grouped in a row or tight cluster on skin left uncovered during sleep are often the first thing people notice. Bites alone can’t confirm bed bugs, and some people never react at all. The CDC notes that marks can take up to 14 days to appear, so a bite today may trace back to a trip two weeks ago.
What do small blood stains on your sheets mean?
Rust-colored spots on pillowcases and sheets usually come from a bed bug crushed after feeding or from a bite that bled slightly. Several stains in the same area of the bed are worth a closer look.
Are tiny black dots on the mattress bed bug droppings?
Bed bug fecal spots are dark, roughly the size of a printed period, and they soak into fabric like a marker dot. Check mattress piping, box spring corners, and screw holes in the frame. A spot that smears reddish brown under a damp cloth points to digested blood.
Have you found pale, empty insect shells?
Young bed bugs, called nymphs, shed their skin five times before reaching adulthood. These cast skins look like translucent tan copies of the bug. Finding several means bed bugs have been feeding in the room for a while.
Could tiny white specks be bed bug eggs?
Bed bug eggs are about 1 millimeter long, pearly white, and usually glued in small groups inside cracks and seams. They are easy to mistake for lint. A flashlight held at a low angle makes them easier to spot.
Why does the bedroom smell musty?
Large infestations can give a room a musty, slightly sweet odor from the bugs’ scent glands. This usually appears only after the population has grown.
Did the bites start after travel or a used furniture purchase?
Bed bugs ride in luggage and secondhand furniture, and adults can survive months without feeding, according to the EPA. If bites began after a trip, a move, or bringing home a free couch, share that timeline with your inspector.
Who can check for bed bugs in the Denver area?
If you are seeing two or more of these signs, a professional inspection is the next step. These five companies serve the Denver metro area:
- Hot Bugz
- A.P. Pest Control
- Katch Pest Control
- EnviroPest
- Bee Smart Pest Control
1. Hot Bugz
Hot Bugz works only on bed bugs, and it treats them with heat instead of pesticides. Owner and founder Sean Smith began using heat against bed bugs in 2008 while doing heat-based drying in flood restoration. According to the company, he has consulted with and built training programs for the Denver Rescue Mission, Rocky Mountain Human Services, and Volunteers of America.
A typical treatment heats the space to between 135°F and 140°F, high enough to kill eggs as well as adults, and takes 5 to 10 hours. Most clients sleep at home that night. The company says it won’t treat without first showing the client live bed bugs, and it helps trace how the bugs arrived to reduce the chance of a repeat. Hot Bugz serves single-family homes, apartment buildings, assisted living facilities, and vacation rentals along the Front Range, and its work carries a six-month guarantee.
2. A.P. Pest Control
A.P. Pest Control is a pest control company with an office in central Denver.
3. Katch Pest Control
Katch Pest Control provides pest control services from its location in Lakewood.
4. EnviroPest
EnviroPest is a pest control provider with an office in Englewood.
5. Bee Smart Pest Control
Bee Smart Pest Control operates from Brighton, north of Denver.
What should you do if you notice these signs?
Early detection keeps treatment simpler and limits how far bed bugs spread. Don’t move bedding or furniture into other rooms, since that can carry bugs with it, and skip foggers, which tend to push bed bugs deeper into walls. Note when the signs started. Then schedule a professional inspection, and ask how each provider confirms the problem is gone.
