Bed bug infestation on house linens Your Reno home may have more overnight guests than you know of. Bed bugs could be hiding in your furniture, under your mattress, or in other locations. If you don't want these pests in your home, you need to be proactive. Follow these tips to keep bed bugs in Reno away from your home.

1. Know What They Look Like

First, you should know about the appearance of bed bugs in Reno. These pests are small, flat, and brown. After a meal, they look reddish-brown and rounder. Although they are visible to the human eye, bed bugs are excellent hiders. They are also unlikely to come out from hiding during the day, so you may not see one if you don't know where to look.

2. Know The Signs Of An Infestation

If you see signs of a bed bug infestation, you should call a professional residential pest control expert as soon as possible. All of the following are signs that you have bed bugs:

When you wake up in the morning, you have bites on exposed skin.
There are small blood stains on your sheets.
You see fecal spots on your bed sheets.
There's a musty smell in your bedroom.
You notice shed skins under your mattress.

3. Understand Their Behavior

Bed bugs are hitchhikers and parasites. They travel on your clothes and in your suitcase, searching for a human host to feed on. Although bed bugs also feed on animals, they're happy to suck the blood of human hosts. In places where there are overnight guests, bed bugs thrive. You might find them in a hotel, airport, or hospital. If a bed bug decides to crawl into your luggage or on your coat, it will follow you home. Once inside a residence, bed bugs hide under mattresses, in furniture, and in baseboards. If you don't know where to look for these pests, you may never see them.

4. Keep Your Luggage Raised

If your luggage is on the floor, bed bugs could crawl into it. One way to prevent them from following you home is to keep your luggage raised off the ground and away from the wall. After you get home from traveling, leave your luggage in the garage. Before bringing any clothing into your home, wash it. This could kill all of the bed bugs before they ever have a chance to invade your home.

5. Check Used Items

If you buy used clothes or furniture, they could come with bed bugs. The next time you shop at the thrift store, check your items for bed bugs. Look in cracks and crevices of furniture, and you may find some pests hiding. Keep an eye out for other signs of bed bugs, like blood spots. If there's any reason to suspect bed bugs, don't make the purchase. It's best to err on the side of caution, or you could find yourself battling bed bugs.

6. Seal Your Home

If you have close neighbors, bed bugs could make their way into your Reno home. To keep pests out, make sure your home has no bed bug entrances. Seal up cracks in your wall, and eliminate gaps under your door.

7. Call The Experts

At the first sign of bed bugs, call the experts at Pestmaster Services. Our team knows where to look for bed bugs. If we find a problem, we'll come up with a plan to eliminate all the pests from your home.

If you wait too long to deal with your pest problem, the issue will get out of control. Call us to say goodbye to bed bugs.