How to Tell If You Have Bed Bugs (London Ontario Checklist)

If you woke up with unexplained welts and you're now wondering whether your mattress is infested, stop second-guessing and start looking. This checklist walks you through exactly where bed bugs hide and what evidence they leave behind.

The Short Version

Bed bugs are small (1–7 mm), flat, reddish-brown, and oval-shaped. They feed at night and hide near their food source — you. The most reliable signs aren't the bugs themselves but the evidence they leave: blood spots, shed skins, dark fecal staining, and a specific musty odour in heavy infestations.

Room-by-Room Inspection Checklist

Bedroom — Mattress and Box Spring

Pull the fitted sheet completely off. Work methodically.

• Mattress seams: Run your fingers along every seam, especially the corners. Look for dark reddish-brown staining (digested blood), tiny white eggs, translucent shed skins, or live bugs.
• Box spring: Flip the box spring upright. The fabric underliner on the bottom is a primary harborage site. Check the wooden frame inside, the staple lines along the fabric, and any tears.
• Mattress label and handles: These folds are favourite hiding spots.
• Between the mattress and box spring: Even a thin gap here can shelter dozens.

Bed Frame and Headboard

• Inspect every crack, joint, and screw hole in the bed frame. Wood frames with exposed joints harbour far more bugs than metal frames.
• Headboards attached to walls are especially prone to infestation — pull them away from the wall if you can.
• Check the screw holes and any decorative channeling on upholstered headboards.

Nearby Furniture

Bed bugs don't stay on the bed once a population grows.

• Nightstands: open every drawer, check the underside, look at the back where it meets the wall.
• Upholstered chairs or sofas near the bed: check seam lines, under cushions, and where the fabric meets the frame.
• Baseboards directly behind the bed: press along the gap where the baseboard meets the wall.

Walls and Electrical Outlets

In moderate to heavy infestations, bed bugs spread outward.

• Remove outlet and switch plate covers near the bed. Bed bugs live inside wall voids and use electrical boxes as transit routes between rooms.
• Check behind picture frames and mirrors on walls adjacent to the sleeping area.
• Look at the gap where crown moulding meets the ceiling if the room is heavily infested.

Clothing and Closets

Bed bugs don't live in fabric the way lice do, but they will shelter in clothing left on the floor or stored in bags near the bed.

• Check luggage stored under the bed or in the closet — especially if you've travelled recently. Zippers and handles are common spots.
• Inspect folded clothing stacked near the sleeping area.

What You're Looking For

| Evidence | What it means |

|---|---|

| Small dark spots on sheets or mattress | Fecal staining — highly indicative |

| Rust-coloured smears on fabric | Crushed bugs or dried blood spots |

| Translucent shed skins | Active population — bugs moult 5 times before adulthood |

| Tiny white eggs (1 mm, pearlescent) | Active breeding — most chemical treatments don't kill eggs |

| Live bugs (reddish-brown, flat) | Confirmed infestation |

| Sweet, musty odour | Only present in larger infestations |

Bites Alone Don't Confirm Bed Bugs

Bite patterns are unreliable. About 30% of people have no visible reaction to bed bug bites. Other insects — fleas, mosquitoes, spider mites — produce similar marks. Physical evidence in the sleeping environment is the only reliable confirmation.

What to Do If You Find Evidence

Do not immediately bag everything and start washing — if you scatter bugs through the home before a professional assesses the extent of the infestation, treatment becomes significantly more complex and expensive.

1. Photograph what you found — location, type of evidence, quantity. This helps with professional assessment.

2. Don't move infested items to other rooms.

3. Book a professional inspection. A licensed exterminator confirms the extent of the infestation and designs a treatment plan accordingly.

In London Ontario's older neighbourhoods — Wortley Village, Old East Village, parts of Old North — bed bug calls tend to spike after summer moves when second-hand furniture changes hands. If you moved recently or brought in used furniture, that's often where the introduction happened.

Book a bed bug inspection or read about our bed bug treatment process.