How  to spot bedbugs

Signs of a bedbug infestation can include:

  • small bugs or tiny white eggs in the crevices and joints of your mattress and furniture  use a bright torch to check for these
  • bites  on your skin
  • tiny black spots on your mattress this could be their dried poo
  • mottled bedbug shells  bedbugs shed their skin as they grow
  • blood spots on your sheets  these can occur if you squash a bug after it has fed
  • an unpleasant, musty scent in your bedroom

Bedbugs tend to prefer fabric or wood over plastic and metal, and often hide near to where you sleep for example, under the mattress or along the headboard.

But they can be found away from the bed in other furniture, along the edges of carpets and even behind mirrors or inside smoke alarms.

Content supplied by the NHS Website

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 21 Dec 2018