Identifying and Fighting Bed Bugs

Short: Bed bugs are small, blood-feeding insects that hide in beds, cracks, and textiles and become active at night. They mostly cause itchy bites but don’t transmit diseases.

In more detail: An infestation spreads quickly and can often only be fully eliminated with professional help.

In detail

• First signs: Small reddish rows of bites on the skin, dark fecal spots on sheets, or a sweetish smell in the bedroom.
• Hiding spots: Bed bugs hide during the day in mattress seams, bed frames, outlets, and wallpaper cracks.
• Spread: Often introduced through travel, used furniture, or second-hand clothing, since the insects cling on well.
• DIY measures: Washing textiles at at least 60°C and thorough vacuuming reduce the infestation but rarely eliminate it fully.
• Professional treatment: Pest controllers use heat treatment or targeted insecticides, often in multiple rounds.
• Travel prevention: Keeping luggage elevated and washing clothes hot immediately after returning lowers the risk of bringing them home.
• No shame involved: An infestation has nothing to do with lack of cleanliness and can in principle affect any household (kleidermotten-und-vorratsschaedlinge, heuschnupfen-und-allergien).