To identify bed bug eggs on sheets, look for tiny, pearly white specks in sheet seams. Remove them by washing sheets on high heat and vacuuming. Regular cleaning and mattress encasements help prevent future infestations.
Sleep tight, and don’t let the bed bugs bite.
But, what happens when the bed bugs do bite?
Bed bugs are tiny insect infiltrators that love to inhabit little nooks and crannies, especially in beds and bed sheets, as their name suggests. You can spot bed bugs outright; other signs of infestation include bites, reddish stains, and bed bug eggs on sheets.
At Casper, we help you achieve the best sleep possible — that includes educating you on pests that go bump in the night.
First, learn how to identify bed bugs and bed bug eggs. Then, discover ways to strengthen your bed bug battle strategy and build up your defenses for peaceful, pest-free sleep.
Recognizing Bed Bug Eggs
To defeat your enemy, you must know your enemy — including what they look like, and where you might find them. Catch bed bug eggs before they hatch with these insights.
Physical Characteristics
Bed bug eggs are tiny — about one millimeter in diameter.1 They can easily fit on the tip of a sharpened pencil or sewing needle.
If your eyes are keen enough to spot a bed bug egg, you can further identify it based on these characteristics1:
- Pearly white color
- Small black eye spot (if older than five days)
Bed bug eggs can be even harder to spot when stuck to light-colored sheets or fabric, so you need to know where to look.
Common Locations on Sheets
Bed bugs enjoy small, dark spaces. You’ll most likely find both bugs and their eggs in the folds and seams of your bed sheets.2
You may also find them on or in your3:
- Box spring
- Mattress, especially the mattress seam
- Pillowcase seams (learn more about bed bugs in pillows in our blog)
- Bed frame
- Nearby chairs or other furniture
- Clothing left on the floor
Signs of Bed Bug Infestation
If bed bug eggs are so hard to spot, how else can you catch an infestation? Keep your eyes peeled for these subtle signs.
Visual Indicators
In addition to bed bug eggs, inspect your bed sheets for3:
- Reddish stains (a side-effect of blood-sucking)
- Bed bug excrement, which appears as tiny dark specks
- Shed skins from bed bug nymphs, typically pale yellow in color
And of course, check for bed bugs themselves: reddish-brown, apple-seed-sized insects.1
Bites and Skin Reactions
Bed bugs feed on the nearest living organisms to grow and reproduce. When you snuggle under the bedsheets, that’s you.
These little bloodsuckers can leave small bite marks that appear as itchy welts, often trailing in a line down your face, neck, arms, or hands.4
You can easily confuse bed bug bites for other skin conditions if you don’t know what to look for. Bed bug bites can resemble3:
- Other types of bug bites, such as mosquito or flea bites
- Eczema rashes
- Hives
Some people don’t react to bed bug bites at all. For these reasons, don’t rely on bites as the only sign of bed bug infestation.
Effective Removal Methods
Bed bugs have made their move and taken over your bed sheets — go on the offensive with these bed bug removal strategies.
Washing and Drying Techniques
Bed bugs can’t survive temperatures over 113 degrees Fahrenheit.3 To effectively remove bed bugs from your most infested items, wash and dry them on high heat settings5:
- Wash cycle – At least 140 degrees for 90 minutes
- Dry cycle – High heat for 30 minutes
Remember to transfer your items from the bedroom to the laundry in tightly sealed plastic bags to avoid spreading pests to other areas of your home.
Vacuuming and Steaming
Remove bed bugs from items you can’t toss in the wash with vacuums and heat steamers. Turn steamer settings to high heat, at least 130 degrees Fahrenheit.6 Attach a diffuser to prevent airflow from scattering bed bugs away.
Note that vacuums can physically remove bed bugs from an area, but won’t kill them. Promptly dispose of bug-filled vacuum bags so they can’t find their way back into bed with you.
Using Bed Bug Sprays
Non-chemical bed bug removal methods minimize hazard risks, but they don’t always finish the job. If your first removal attempts fail, you can try using pesticides.
An effective — and safe — bed bug pesticide is one that6:
- Has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Specifically lists bed bugs as the intended use
These factors indicate a product’s general safety, but you must also use it properly. Alert your household before spraying any pesticides, and follow the label’s exact instructions.
If you feel nervous about using bed bug sprays, don’t hesitate to contact a pest control specialist for professional help. For them, bed bugs are familiar foes.
Preventive Measures
You did it: you banished the bed bugs. How do you keep them from infiltrating your home once more? Maintain an impenetrable defense with these simple bed bug prevention techniques.
Regular Cleaning
Perform these cleaning strategies regularly to prevent a bed bug infestation — and to spot one faster:
- Wash and heat dry all bed linens, including sheets, pillowcases, duvets, and blankets
- Promptly wash clothes that touch the floor
- Clean laundry hampers
- Vacuum bedroom floors and baseboards
- Inspect sheets, mattress seams, and box springs for signs of infestation
- After traveling, check clothing and luggage for signs of bed bugs
Mattress Encasements
Bed bugs can’t make your mattress their home if it’s sealed tight. Consider purchasing durable encasements for your mattress, such as mattress protectors, and a mattress foundation.
If you had a recent bed bug infestation, leave encasements on for at least a year to ensure all your unwanted bed partners have died.6 Check encasements regularly for tears and holes — bed bugs can quickly breach a weak barrier. Learn more about how to get bed bugs out of a mattress in our blog.
Reducing Clutter
As you now know, bed bugs love their little hiding places. And despite their name, bed bugs will attempt to make their home in many areas, including in furniture, clothing, boxes, and more.
Reducing clutter will prevent your bedroom from becoming a pest’s playground. Keep these tidying tips in mind:
- Store clothes away from the floor
- Seal bed sheets and blankets in bags for storage
- Promptly remove trash from your spaces
- Store paper and cardboard away from the floor
Sleep Soundly with Casper
With bed bugs defeated, you can rest easy.
Rest even easier on a Casper mattress.
Whether you want to replace bug-infested bedding or invest in a mattress worth protecting, Casper can make your dreams come true.
Browse our full selection online or try them in person at a Casper Sleep Shop near you.
Sources:
- United States Environmental Protection Agency. Bed Bugs Appearance and Life Cycle. https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/bed-bugs-appearance-and-life-cycle
- Sacramento Housing & Redevelopment Agency. Bed Bug Fact Sheet. https://portal.shra.org/landlord2/PDFs/BedBugFactSheet.pdf
- United States Environmental Protection Agency. How to Find Bed Bugs. https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/how-find-bed-bugs
- Mayo Clinic. Bedbugs. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bedbugs/symptoms-causes/syc-20370001
- Anderson Pest Solutions. Does Washing Bedding, Sheets, and Clothing in High Heat Kill Bed Bugs? https://andersonpestsolutions.com/bed-bugs/treatment/does-washing-bedding-and-clothing-in-high-heat-kill-bed-bugs/
- United States Environmental Protection Agency. Do-it-yourself Bed Bug Control. https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/do-it-yourself-bed-bug-control
