All The Ways Bed Bugs Can Find Their Way Into Ventura County Homes

Bed bugs aren't your normal bugs. Most insect pests live in your yard and get into your home through the itty bitty cracks they find in your exterior. Not bed bugs. They are almost exclusively indoor pests. You won't find them in your yard. They get into your home by hitchhiking. Since these pests are so mysterious, sometimes people think they have them when they really don't. Today, we're going to give you everything you need to unravel the mystery. Join us as we look at how to recognize the early signs of bed bugs, how to identify bed bugs to make sure you really have them, and all the ways bed bugs get into your home. If you stick with us all the way to the end, we'll also tell you how to get rid of bed bugs. In some cases, you can do it yourself. We'll tell you what you can do and ways you can know for sure when it is time to get local pest control for bed bugs. If you already know you need professional assistance, jump to our contact page for bed bug pest control in Ventura County. We can help you sort things out.

Identifying the Symptoms of a Bed Bug Infestation

We're often asked, "How do I know if I have bed bugs?" The reason for the question is that the symptoms of a bed bug infestation can look like other things. In some cases, pest control is called for issues that have nothing to do with bed bugs. Let's take a quick look at some of the ways you might think you have bed bugs, when you don't. 

Rashes: You wake up with a bumpy rash on your skin. Do you have bed bug bites or is it just a rash? There are two ways bed bugs hitchhike into your home. They will enter your home as living, crawling bed bugs, or they will enter your home inside eggs. Bed bug eggs don't need the momma bed bug to tend to them. They hatch on their own. When several eggs hatch into immature nymphs, you'll get lots of minor bites all at once. You may know that bed bug bites are associated with a significant rash and that many tiny, minor bites are sometimes bed bug bites. There is a way you can tell the difference. It has to do with understanding how bed bugs bite.

• Each bed bug will bite more than once. Often, they'll acquire three small meals, one after the other. They'll draw a blood meal, move forward, draw another, and move forward to draw the last.
• Bed bugs feed in a group. While not every bed bug will come out of hiding, the ones that do will feed together.
• As the bed bugs move like an army across your skin, they'll leave a path of bumps.
• Most often, bed bug bites will appear on areas of the skin that are exposed during the night.
• Most often, bed bug bites will appear near the shoulders and neck. Bed bugs are attracted to carbon dioxide, which is expelled in excess during sleep.

If you have a rash that follows a path and appears in these key areas, you may have bed bugs.

Night Bites: Everyone knows bed bugs bite. It is also common knowledge that bed bugs prefer to bite at night. If you wake up with bites, you definitely have bed bugs, right? Not always. The reason insect bites swell, itch, and develop a rash is due to an allergic reaction. Sometimes, it can take hours for these symptoms to appear. Some people wake up with bites and think that they were bitten during the night, when they were actually bitten the evening before while outside. Morning bite wounds aren't proof-positive of overnight bites.

Other Indoor Pests That Mimic Bed Bug Bites: There are other pests that can cause you to wake up with what look like bed bug bites. Here are just a few to consider.

• Carpet beetle larvae sometimes feed on linen. You may get a bumpy rash when you come in contact with the hairs on these larvae. Often, these are the pests responsible when pest control is called in to address bed bug infestations. Check your sheets for these tiny grubs to find out.
• Chiggers leave lots of rashy bites. When chiggers get on you while outside, you may not realize they bit you. You'll find these bites on areas of your body where your clothing is compressed against your skin, such as your belt line and along bra lines. These pests are rare, but they do live in Ventura County.
• Fleas, spiders, ticks, and other indoor pests can bite you. These pests don't bite multiple times. Each will bite once. So, even when you have several bites, they will create a random pattern on your skin rather than a path.

Now that you know the symptoms of a bed bug infestation, let's discuss how to you can tell for sure that you have bed bugs. You can't go by bumpy rashes and bug bites alone.