Mouse over the highlighted areas in the image below for tips on inspecting your bedroom.
Headboard: Search the back panel and in any crevices, especially behind the mattress.
Nightstand & baseboard: remove drawers and inspect behind it, under alarm clocks and lamps, and the along the floor behind it.
Mattress seams, box spring, and sheets: This is your primary target. Remove all the sheets and carefully inspect along every seam and under tags.
Under bed: Don’t forget to search under the bed, including in anything stored there.
Furniture near the bed: Look under cushions, in folds, and along seams.
Mirrors and pictures: Look behind wall hangings and inspect for droppings on the wall.
Check the bed
- Remove all the sheets, checking for blood spots. Stand up the mattress. You absolutely must remove the box spring and flip it over.
- Inspect the mattress closely, paying close attention to the seams.
- Inspect inside the box spring and under it (where it meets the bed frame). Shine a flashlight through the bottom of the box spring.
- Check any head and foot boards as well as anything stored under the bed.
A mattress with a serious bed bug infestation
Check the rest of the bedroom
Check inside all drawers, crevices, and narrow spaces. Look under electronics, behind pictures, and in stacks of clothing. Bed bugs are often found hiding in tack strips under wall-to-wall carpeting and behind baseboards. Bed bugs tend to crawl up, so check check drapes and wall decorations.
Check all furniture
Bed bugs hitchhike to the rest of the house! Remove sofa cushion, and check all seams and crevices. Tip back couches and chairs and look underneath, particularly behind skirts.
Carefully inspect furniture seams
Take your time!
It can take 1-2 hours to thoroughly check a space for bed bugs. Be thorough!