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The short answer
To check for bed bugs, strip back the sheets and use a torch on the mattress seams, piping and tags, then the bed frame and headboard. Look for live bugs about the size of an apple seed, dark spots, shed skins and tiny pale eggs. Bites alone can't confirm them.
What are you actually looking for?
An adult bed bug is flat, reddish brown and about the size of an apple seed, roughly 5 to 7 mm. Young ones (nymphs) are smaller and paler, and the newly hatched ones are close to see-through. Eggs are tiny, pale and glued down in cracks.
Most people find the evidence before they find the bug. That's dark spots (bed bug droppings, like someone touched the fabric with a felt pen), small rusty smears where a bug was squashed, and shed skins that look like empty, papery copies of the bug. A sweet, musty smell can show up when numbers are high.
How do you check a bed step by step?
Do this in good light, and use a torch to look into the seams. A plastic card, like a loyalty card, helps you run along crevices and flush anything out.
- Strip the bed and look closely at the sheets and mattress protector. Check the corners for dark spots or rusty marks.
- Run the torch along the mattress seams, the piping around the edge, and under the tags. This is where bugs sit most often.
- Lift the mattress and check the base underneath, then the slats and the joints of the bed frame.
- Check behind and along the headboard. If it's fixed to the wall, look at the gap where it meets the wall.
- Look at bedside tables, the skirting board near the bed, and the edges of the carpet.
- Check upholstered chairs and the couch if anyone naps there, especially the seams and under cushions.
Bed bugs hide in tight cracks, about as thick as a credit card. If you can slide a card into a gap, a bug can fit in it.
How to check a hotel or Airbnb room
Do the check before you unpack. Leave your bags in the bathroom or on a hard tiled floor while you look, and keep them off the bed and the carpet.
Pull back the bedding and look at the mattress seams and the headboard first, then check the luggage rack and any upholstered chair. Bugs can travel along the wall from a neighbouring room, so the wall behind the bed matters. Keep your suitcase closed and off the bed, and use the rack only after you've checked it. If you find anything, ask for a different room that's not next door, above or below, and tell the venue straight away.
Bed bug bites or mosquito bites?
You can't identify bed bugs from bites alone. Reactions vary a lot from person to person, and some people don't react at all. Use the table as a rough guide, then go and look for the bugs.
| Clue | Bed bug bites | Mosquito bites |
|---|---|---|
| Where on the body | Skin that's exposed while you sleep, like arms, neck, face | Anywhere, including through thin clothes |
| Pattern | Lines or small clusters, often in a row | Scattered, usually singles |
| When they appear | Often hours to days later | Usually within minutes |
| When you get them | Overnight, in bed | Mostly dusk and dawn, outdoors |
| Other clues | Dark spots on sheets, shed skins | Buzzing, bites on the ankles after gardening |
What to do after travel
The best time to stop bed bugs is before they come inside. When you get home, unpack in the garage, laundry or on a hard floor rather than in the bedroom. Put all washable clothes straight into a hot wash, then through a hot dryer, since heat is what kills them. Check the suitcase seams and pockets with a torch before it goes back in the cupboard.
If you've picked up second-hand furniture or a mattress, give it the same check before it comes in. Bed bugs are known for travelling in luggage and used furniture, and they're common in places with lots of guests coming and going, like share houses and short-stay rentals. They aren't known to spread disease, but they wreck sleep and the bites itch.
What if you find them?
Don't spray the room with a supermarket can. Spraying can push bugs into other rooms, and it rarely reaches the ones hiding in the frame and walls. Don't throw a mattress out either, as dragging it through the house can spread bugs. Wrap it in plastic if it has to go.
Wash and heat-dry bedding, vacuum the bed and floor edges, and empty the vacuum outside into a sealed bag. Then call a licensed pest controller, because bed bugs need a full treatment plan, and usually a follow-up visit, to break the cycle. Bruin treats bed bugs in homes, units and short-stay rentals across North Brisbane. Our technician will confirm it's bed bugs first, then explain what to do before the visit.
Sources and further reading
- Queensland Health
- Healthdirect Australia, bed bugs
- Australian Environmental Pest Managers Association (AEPMA)
General information for South East Queensland conditions. Every property is different; a licensed inspection is the only way to know what is going on in yours.