A friend of mine told me a horrifying story today about a recent bed bug infestation. His friend had picked up a used mattress from Craigslist. Because they were both heading to Oregon the next day, my friend let him leave the bruised-looking futon in his apartment for the duration of their trip. No problem, right?
The morning after returning, my friend woke up with a series
of livid red welts all across his arms, legs, and back: the tell-tale
“breakfast, lunch, and dinner” bites of the bed bug variety. And they itched like crazy. The mystery mattress had been so infested with the little brown
blood-suckers that even sleeping in the same room as the futon had made a meal of him.
It was no surprise that his first call of the day was to an exterminator.
Three Signs That You
Might Have Bed Bugs
(1) Itchy red welts on your arms, legs, torso, or face. Bed bugs often leave a series of three bite marks in a row. The bites are usually painless, but can be extremely itchy.
(2) Red or dark brown spots on bedding. Bed bugs inject an anti-coagulant when they bite to keep your blood from clotting, which makes it easier for them to feed. However, this can sometimes also cause you to continue bleeding after the bite—spotting pillows, mattresses, or sheets with your blood. Waste produced by bed bugs also tends to be dark brown or reddish, because it is composed of digested blood.
(3) Bed bugs or cast-offs on mattress seams. These guys love to hide in tiny crevasses, so take a look at the seams of your mattress. You should also lift your mattress and check the bed frame for these little brown bugs.
Hiring a Bed Bug
Exterminator
There’s a reason that I’m skipping the “how to get rid of bed bugs” part of this post—they are notoriously difficult to exterminate. While you can wash your sheets, vacuum, spray, and disinfect almost every part of your home, there is a good chance that these little pests will hide in some crevasse or curtain fold and return to feast again. As such, your best recourse is to hire an exterminator.
You should be aware, first of all, that most exterminators are bound by contract liability laws. This means that they are bound to an agreement to exterminate all bed bugs in your residence and (most importantly!) to make sure that they don’t return. If pests return within a year, it is often the result of a less-than-thorough extermination job on the part of the exterminator—and if a third party (like another exterminator) can verify that initial negligence, you can hold up the original exterminator under breach of contract laws.
But make sure to read the contract before you let them throw the big striped tent over your home. You’re only protected from a breach of contract if the exterminator promises to eliminate all pests at the time the contract is signed. Confirm the liability of your exterminator to use safe practices and get the job done, and you’ll probably avoid a miserable reoccurrence of those itchy red bites.
