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How to Check for Bed Bugs at Home, in a Hotel and in Your Luggage
To check for bed bugs, strip the bed and use a torch to look along the mattress seams, the base and the joints of the bed frame and headboard. Look for tiny dark spots, pale shed skins, white eggs and live bugs. Then work outwards to the furniture and walls closest to the bed.
Bed bugs are small and hide well, so a careful check takes time. Doing it early, before an infestation spreads, makes treatment quicker and cheaper. Not sure what the marks look like? See the signs of bed bugs first.
What you need for a bed bug check
- a bright torch (a phone torch works);
- an old bank card or a thin scraper, to slide into seams and cracks;
- a magnifying glass for eggs and young bugs;
- a white sheet to lay items on;
- disposable gloves;
- sealable plastic bags or a jar for anything you catch;
- your phone camera, to photograph what you find.
How to check for bed bugs: step by step
- Strip the bed. Take the bedding off slowly and look for spots and stains as you go. Bag it straight away and wash it at 60°C.
- Check the mattress. Run the torch along the piping and seams on every edge, then around buttons, labels and handles. Slide the card into the seams.
- Check the base. Lift the mattress and check the box spring or base, including the corners and the underside.
- Check the bed frame and headboard. Look into joints, screw holes and cracks, and behind the headboard if you can take it off the wall.
- Check the bedside tables. Empty the drawers and look inside the joints and underneath them.
- Work outwards. Check sofas and chairs, then skirting boards, curtains, picture frames and plug sockets near the bed.
- Record what you find. Photograph spots, skins and eggs, and seal any bug in a bag or jar.
- Keep everything in the room. Don’t move furniture or belongings to other rooms until you know what you’re dealing with.
Where do bed bugs hide?
Bed bugs hide as close as they can to where people sleep, in any gap about as thin as a bank card. Start with the bed and move outwards.
| Place | Where to look | How often bed bugs hide there |
|---|---|---|
| Mattress and base | Seams, piping, tufts, labels, corners and the underside | Very often |
| Bed frame and headboard | Joints, screw holes, cracks and behind the headboard | Very often |
| Bedside tables | Drawer joints, under the drawers, the back panel | Often |
| Sofas and chairs | Seams, under cushions, inside the frame | Often |
| Skirting and carpet edges | Gaps along the skirting, under the edge of the carpet | In bigger infestations |
| Walls and fittings | Behind loose wallpaper, pictures, plug sockets and switch plates | In bigger infestations |
| Clothes, bags and luggage | Seams, pockets and linings | After a trip or a move |
Where do bed bugs go during the day?
During the day, bed bugs pack into the nearest dark gap to the bed: mattress seams, frame joints, the back of the headboard and the inside of bedside drawers.
In heavy infestations they spread to skirting boards, curtains and the corners of the room, which is why a check that stops at the mattress can miss them.
How to check a mattress for bed bugs
Most bed bugs are found in or around the bed, so take your time here.
- Work around all four edges, top and bottom, following the piping and seams with the torch.
- Check around buttons, tufts, air holes, labels and handles.
- Look for clusters of dark spots, pale skins and white eggs, not just live bugs.
- Wipe any dark spot with a damp cotton bud: bed bug droppings smear reddish-brown.
- Turn the mattress over and check the underside where it rests on the base.
If you find them, see bed bugs on a mattress: what to do now.
Checking the box spring or base
Lift the mattress off. If the base has a fabric cover underneath, check the stapled edges and, if you can, open one corner to look at the wooden frame inside. Run the card along the joints and corners, where bugs and eggs collect.
Checking the bed frame and headboard
Wooden frames give bed bugs more places to hide than metal ones. Check every joint where two parts meet, the screw and bolt holes, the slats and the back of the headboard. If the headboard is fixed to the wall, look behind it with the torch.
How to check a sofa and other furniture
Bed bugs often spread to the sofa, especially when someone sleeps or naps on it.
- Take off the cushions and check the seams, zips and piping.
- Look into the gap where the seat meets the back and the arms.
- Tip the sofa or chair onto a white sheet and check the fabric underneath, the frame and the legs.
- Pull out drawers and check the joints, corners and the underside.
- Check screw holes, which are big enough for a bed bug to hide in.
Professional pest control service
Book an expert and get rid of the infestation in your property.
Checking second-hand furniture before it comes home
Check second-hand beds, sofas and chairs before they come indoors, ideally outside or in a hallway. Lay a white sheet underneath, run a card along every seam and joint, and look for spots, skins and eggs. If you find any signs, don’t bring it in. See our guide to checking used furniture for bed bugs.
How to check a hotel room for bed bugs
Check the room before you unpack. It only takes a few minutes.
- Put your case on the luggage rack or in the bathroom, away from the bed and off the floor.
- Pull back the sheets at each corner and check the mattress edges and piping.
- Look at the headboard and, if it lifts off the wall, behind it.
- Check the seams of any sofa or upholstered chair.
- Look inside the bedside drawers.
If you find signs, tell reception and ask for a room away from that one, ideally on a different floor. Keep your case closed and off the floor until you move.
Checking your luggage when you get home
Unpack on a hard floor away from the bedroom, not on the bed or the carpet. Check the seams, pockets and lining of the case with a torch.
Put clothes straight into the wash at 60°C, or keep them bagged until you can, and vacuum the case.
Read more on protecting your luggage from bed bugs.
Bed bug traps and interceptors: do they help?
Interceptors are small cups that go under the bed legs and catch bugs as they climb up or down. They’re useful for confirming bed bugs and for checking whether a treatment has worked, but they won’t clear an infestation, because most bugs stay in the bed itself. Shop-bought sticky traps and “detectors” catch few bed bugs, so don’t rely on an empty trap to rule them out.
How to check whether a bed bug treatment has worked
Check the bed every week or two for a few weeks after the final visit. Use clean, pale bedding so fresh marks stand out, and look in the same places as before: the mattress seams, the base, the frame joints and the headboard.
- Fresh dark spots on clean bedding, or new shed skins, mean bugs are still active.
- Interceptors under the bed legs that stay empty are a good sign.
- Old stains from before the treatment don’t count.
If fresh signs turn up after the final visit, contact the company that treated your home.
When to get a professional bed bug survey
Book a survey if you’ve found signs but can’t find a bug, if you live in a flat or shared house, or if you’ve already tried treating the problem yourself. A technician checks the bed, the furniture and the rooms around it, confirms the infestation and plans the treatment. We also offer non-toxic bed bug steam treatment. Book a pest inspection, see our bed bug treatment options, or call us on 020 3746 2723.
If bed bugs are confirmed, our bed bugs guide explains what to do first. Renting? Read who is responsible for pest control when renting.
