How To Prevent Bed Bugs From Getting Into Your Bed And Home

Maybe your like

HealthlineSubscribe

Bites and Stings

How to Keep Bed Bugs Out of Your Bed (and Home)

Medically reviewed by Deborah Weatherspoon, Ph.D., MSN — Written by Scott Frothingham on November 21, 2019

Where do they come from?
Prevention tips
Infestation signs
Takeaways

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus) are insects that feed every 5 to 10 days, primarily on the blood of humans. They’re typically active at night and their bites often result in itchy bumps on your skin.

Although they’re not known to spread disease, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) — consider them to be a public health pest.

Here’s how to keep bed bugs out of your bed and home.

How do you get bed bugs in your home?

Bed bugs will get into your home by traveling in on:

your family’s and visitor’s clothes
luggage
boxes
used furniture
unclean bedding

How do I keep bed bugs out of my home?

The EPA suggests a number of precautions you can take to help prevent bed bugs from infesting your home, including:

Before allowing secondhand furniture into the house, check for signs of bed bugs (bed bugs can live a year or more without food).
Put a protective cover on your mattress and box spring.
Consider getting a mattress cover that has been pretreated with pesticide.
Consider getting a plain, light-colored mattress cover that makes it easier to spot bed bugs.
Be careful and vigilant if using shared laundry facilities.
Vacuum frequently.
Reduce clutter.

Prevention tips when traveling

You don’t want to bring bed bugs home from a trip. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests some precautions to consider when traveling, including:

Avoid putting your luggage on the bed. Consider putting your suitcase on a luggage rack that has been moved away from the wall or in a dry bathtub.
Bring a flashlight and use it to check for signs of bed bugs. Along with the bedding, check the edges and seams of the mattress, box spring, and bed frame.
Check furniture near the bed, such as the nightstands.

If you spot the signs of bed bugs, immediately inform your host or hotel management.

When you come home from traveling

Upon your return:

Keep the clothes you traveled with separate and wash them in hot water immediately.
Vacuum your luggage and then, outside, empty the contents of the vacuum into a plastic bag. Seal the bag tightly and throw it away in an outside garbage bin.

Do you already have bed bugs in your home?

Beyond seeing the bugs themselves, the signs of a bed bug infestation include:

Rusty stains on your bedding, caused by bed bugs being squashed.
Small, dark spots on your bedding. Bed bug poop resembles a small dot made with a pen. It may bleed into the fabric similar to making a marker dot on fabric.
Tiny white eggs or eggshells, about the size of a pinhead (about 1 millimeter).
Small, yellowish-white skins, shed by the young as they grow.

Know what you’re looking for

Adult bed bugs:

are about 3/16 to 1/4 inch long (similar to the size of an apple seed)
often have a musty odor
if they haven’t fed recently, are brown with a flat, oval-shaped body
if they have fed recently, have a reddish-brown color and a rounder, balloon-like body

Young bed bugs (nymphs):

are smaller than the adults
are a translucent yellowish-white color
if they haven’t fed recently, are almost impossible to see with your naked eye

Where to look for them

Bed bugs aren’t large and can fit in small hiding spots. To give you an idea of their size, the EPA indicates that if you can fit a credit card in a crack, there’s room for a bed bug.

Bed bugs will commonly hide around your bed:

on the mattress and box spring in crevices created by seams, tags, and piping
in cracks in the headboard and bed frame

If you have a heavy infestation, they can be found away from the bed:

in the seams and between cushions in chairs and couches
in the folds of curtains
under wall hangings
at the junction of the wall and the ceiling
under loose wallpaper
in drawer joints
in electrical outlets

Bed bugs will travel up to 20 feet from hiding places to feed.

»MORE:Get care for insect bites and stings in as little as 15 minutes with Optum Now Online Care.

Optum Now is operated by RVO Health. By clicking on this link, we may receive a commission. Learn more.

Key takeaways

There are a number of ways to try to prevent bed bugs. These include:

taking precautions when traveling
checking secondhand furniture
using a protective cover on your mattress and box spring
vacuuming frequently

If, even after being careful, you discover bed bugs in your home, act quickly. You want to get rid of the bed bugs in the early stages of infestation. The longer they’re in your home, the more difficult it will be to clear them out.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Bed bugs appearance and life cycle. (2019). https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/bed-bugs-appearance-and-life-cycle
Bennett GW, et al. (2017). A practical guide to bed bug prevention and control for property managers and tenants in multi-family housing units.https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/E-261/E-261.html
Doggett SL, et al. (2012). Bed bugs: Clinical relevance and control options. DOI:https://dx.doi.org/10.1128%2FCMR.05015-11
How to prevent bed bugs from entering your home. (n.d.). https://www.bedbugs.umn.edu/homeowners-and-tenants/prevention
Inspecting your hotel room for bed bugs. (n.d.). https://www.bedbugs.umn.edu/travelers/inspecting-your-hotel-room-for-bed-bugs
Introduction to bed bugs. (2016). https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/introduction-bed-bugs
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2019). Bedbugs. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bedbugs/symptoms-causes/syc-20370001
Polanco AM, et al. (2011). Survivorship during starvation for Cimex lectularius L.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4553461/
Prevent bed bugs: Quick tips. (2019).https://healthfinder.gov/healthtopics/category/everyday-healthy-living/safety/prevent-bed-bugs-quick-tips
Protecting your home from bed bugs. (2019).https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/protecting-your-home-bed-bugs

Share this article

Medically reviewed by Deborah Weatherspoon, Ph.D., MSN — Written by Scott Frothingham on November 21, 2019

How To Prevent Bed Bugs From Getting Into Your Bed And Home

Bites and Stings

How do you get bed bugs in your home?

How do I keep bed bugs out of my home?

Prevention tips when traveling

When you come home from traveling

Do you already have bed bugs in your home?

Know what you’re looking for

Where to look for them

Key takeaways

How we reviewed this article:

related stories

Read this next

Top Ten Tips To Prevent Or Control Bed Bugs | US EPA

Protecting Your Home From Bed Bugs | US EPA

11 Ways To Prevent Bed Bugs - Lawnstarter

The Ultimate Guide To Bed Bugs Prevention In Singapore - Killem Pest

17 Easy Tips To Prevent Bed Bugs | Catseye Pest Control

8 Things You Can Do To Avoid Getting Bed Bugs - Insider

Bedbugs: How Do I Prevent An Infestation?

How To Prevent Bed Bugs | Rentokil Pest Control Singapore

Bed Bug Confidential: An Expert Explains How To Defend Against ...

How To Prevent And Avoid Bed Bugs | Rentokil

Bed Bugs: Tips For Preventing - American Academy Of Dermatology

15 Tips To Avoid Bed Bugs In Hotels - Health

10 Essential Tips To Avoid Bed Bugs When Traveling - Bob Vila

Bed Bug Prevention & Inspection

Contact