Facts About Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are not known to transmit any diseases to humans.
Bed bugs are making a comeback in apartment buildings, dorm rooms, hotels, hospitals and homes.
Bed bugs are blood-feeding parasites that bite people at night and hide during the day.
Bed bugs cannot fly so they infest homes by being transported in clothing, backpacks, suitcases, mattresses or other furniture.
Bed bugs are nuisance pests that feed on human blood. Difficult to detect, adults are russet brown and about the size of an apple seed, but nymphs are microscopic and nearly translucent. While bed bugs do not transmit disease, their bites can cause itchy, red welts, psychosomatic stress and severe allergic reactions.

Bed Bugs
Cimex lectularius
Pest Stats

Color:
Unfed adults are mahogany; engorged bed bugs are red-brown. Nymphs are nearly colorless.
Legs:
6
Shape:
Flat, broad oval when unfed; swollen and elongated when fed.
Size:
Adults are 1/4 inch long. Nymphs range from 1.3 mm to 4-5 mm.
Antennae:
Yes
Region:
Found throughout U.S.

Bed Bug Facts & Statistics
The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius Linnaeus 1758) is an ectoparisite insect (a parasite which lives on the outside of the body of the host) of the family Cimicidae. Bed bugs feed only on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded hosts. Although they have a cryptic behavior and can conceal themselves in tight cracks and crevices, bed bugs are often found in bed parts, such as mattresses and box springs, hence the common name.

Habits
Bed bugs like to travel and are good hitchhikers. They will hide in suitcases, boxes and shoes to be near a food supply. They are elusive, nocturnal creatures. They can hide behind baseboards and in cracks, crevices, and folded areas of beds, bedding and adjacent furniture, especially mattresses and box springs. Bed bugs can also hide in electrical switchplates, picture frames, wallpaper and nearly anywhere inside a home, car, bus, or other shelter. Bed bugs usually come out at night for a blood meal. However, they are opportunistic insects and can take a blood meal during the day, especially in heavily-infested areas. Bed bugs usually require 5-10 minutes to engorge with blood. After feeding, they move to secluded places and hide for 5-10 days. During this time in the bed bug life cycle, they do not feed but instead digest their meal, mate, and lay eggs.

Habitat
So where do bed bugs live? Bed Bugs like to hide in small cracks and crevices close to a human environment. They can be found behind baseboards, wallpaper, upholstery, and in furniture crevices. Beg bugs are also known to survive in temporary or alternative habitats, such as backpacks and under the seats in cars, busses and trains.

Threats
Although bed bugs can dine on any warm-blooded animal, they primarily dine on humans. Bed bugs do not transmit diseases, but their bites can become red, itchy welts.

How do I prevent a bedbug infestation?
Prevention is the key to avoiding bedbug infestations in your home. To reduce the chances of an infestation, follow these steps:
Reduce places where bedbugs can hide
Get rid of clutter.
Vacuum often, including under and behind beds.
Repair or remove peeling wallpaper and tighten loose electrical faceplates.
Seal all cracks and crevices on wooden bed frames, between baseboards, and in walls, ceilings, windows, door frames and furniture.
Check any entry points on walls that you share with neighbours, and openings that allow access to the inside of the wall (like areas where pipes, wires and other utility services enter).
Be careful about what you bring into your house or buy
Check every item you bring into your home for the first time, including used books, new furniture, and garage sale or antique store furniture.
Be very cautious with second-hand or refurbished items.
New mattresses are often delivered in the same truck that carries away old mattresses, so be careful to check your new mattress before it enters your home. Insist that your new mattress be sealed before it is delivered.
Never take a mattress or sofa from a curb.
Check items before you put them in your vehicle and check your vehicle after helping a friend move.
When you return from a trip, follow the tips described on the Public Health Agency of Canada website.
Check your home regularly for bedbugs
Regular inspection is important to prevent infestations. To thoroughly inspect your home, you will need a few simple tools:
Flashlight
Something to scrape along mattress seams and other crevices (like an old credit card cut into a long triangle: use it in a sweeping motion in narrow spaces to chase bedbugs out of hiding)
Screwdrivers for removing electrical faceplates and taking furniture apart (always be sure the power is turned off before opening an electrical outlet)
Alcohol, glass-cleaner or baby wipes for checking if stains are bedbug droppings (if spots dissolve into a reddish brown colour when rubbed, the spots could be bedbug droppings)
Cotton swabs for checking stains in crevices
White plastic bags that can be sealed, for your belongings
Check on, under and beside beds, couches and upholstered furniture. Look for black/brown spots (dried blood or feces), white spots (eggs - very hard to see), or live or dead bedbugs.
If you find signs of bedbugs, you should carefully widen the area of your inspection. If you have a pet, check areas where your pet sleeps as well.
Checking a bed for bedbugs
Remove and inspect all bed linens, including pillows. If you see signs of bedbugs, wash the linens using the hot cycle of your machine.
Slowly lift up each corner of the mattress and examine all creases, tufts and buttons, along each side of any piping material sewn onto the edges, along mattress handles and air holes, and under pillow tops.
Slowly lift up each corner and check where the box spring sits on the bed frame.
Look closely at the top surface of the box spring, inside folds of material, along seams and where the fabric is stapled to the box spring. Also check along the edge of the cloth underside. If you see signs of bedbugs, flip the box spring upside-down and remove the cloth underside to look inside the box spring.
Check all surfaces, crevices, screws, staples, tacks, and under wooden plugs that cover screw or nail holes on the bed frame, legs and headboard.
Also go over the wall behind the bed (bedbugs can hide in wallpaper and electrical outlets). Remove electrical, telephone or cable faceplates to check behind them. Always be sure the power is turned off before opening an electrical outlet. Pay extra attention to gaps in the baseboard or rips or bumps in wallpaper.
You should throw your bed out if you find bedbugs inside the box spring or where holes or worn spots in the fabric of the mattress are. These spots can allow bedbugs to lay eggs in places that are not easy to reach for treatment.
If you do throw out your bed or any other infested items, wrap them in plastic and tape off the edges to prevent spreading bedbugs on your way to the trash. Put a sign on the item saying it has a bedbug infestation, so that no one else takes the problem home with them.
Checking furniture for bedbugs
Remove any loose cushions and check the creases, especially the seams and around the zippers of upholstered chairs and couches. Check the seating area and any creases along the sides and back of the chair or couch. Check the legs and where they join the upholstery, and where the fabric is tacked to the frame.
Go over all corners and surfaces of wood furniture like dressers, cabinets, tables, chairs and bookshelves. Remove drawers and look at the inside, the top, sides, back and legs, paying extra attention to any cracks. Use the crevice tool to check any gaps (like between a shelf and bookcase frame, and under metal drawer slides).
Wicker furniture is an ideal hiding spot for bedbugs, so check it carefully.
If you find signs of bedbugs, also check:
Wall baseboards closest to the bed, using the crevice tool to check inside gaps.
Between the folds of curtains, along the curtain hem, inside curtain rods and under the hardware on the wall.
Around window and door casings and frames, along the hinges and in the hole for the door latch.
Under area rugs and the edges of carpets. Fold back the edges of wall-to-wall carpeting and check the carpet tack strips.
If bedbugs are on the walls, they could also be hiding in picture frames, light fixtures, smoke detectors or other wall mounted items. Bedbugs hiding in ceiling lights could mean that they are entering from a room above yours.