1. Inspection of Household Items to Find Bug Bugs – Cornell IPM Help Center

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This document is not final and is subject to change.

Everything you own can be inspected.

Thorough inspection of your furniture and belongings is the first and most important step. Bed bugs are not everywhere, but if you find them in your home, they could be anywhere. Bed bugs can move around on their own or they can be moved by people and their belongings. If not treated, over time they will spread out. If you find bed bugs in your home or workspace, you should thoroughly inspect as many items as you can for bugs. Bed bugs are visible at all life stages, however a magnifying glass can make it easier to spot them. They tend to stay close to your sleeping and sitting areas, whether that is a bed, a couch, or a chair.

**Fig. 1. Adult and first instar nymph bed bugs next to sesame and poppy seeds.**

How to Inspect for Bed Bugs

A. Identify

It is important to know what bed bugs look like at all stages. Adults are easiest to find because they are the largest (a bit larger than a sesame seed) and dark reddish-brown. Nymphs vary in size; the smallest (youngest) are the size of a poppy seed (Fig. 1). Nymphs are lighter in color, but most have a dark spot in the belly, indicating they have had a blood meal (Fig. 2). Eggs are tiny, bean-shaped, white, and about the length of a comma. At that size, they are rarely the first evidence to be found because they are so small. A key indicator of bed bug activity is the presence of fecal stains and shed skins (Fig. 3). Many things can cause black specs on a mattress/box spring/head board, so dampen the stain with a moist paper towel. If the smear turns a rusty brown color, it could be bed bug feces.

B. Inspect

If you suspect bed bug activity, begin your inspection at the most likely site of infestation - the bed or sleeping area. The box spring, headboard, and mattress are the top three hiding spots for bed bugs.

Box Spring: Inspection of the box spring can be difficult when it cannot be easily moved off the frame, but the network of wood and springs inside is the perfect bed bug hiding place. If the box spring can be moved, prop it against a wall and remove the thin cloth on the underside (the dust cover). Using a bright flashlight inspect the seams and outer covering for live bugs and signs of bed bug activity. Bed bugs can also hide under staples. Another option to this difficult inspection is to completely encase the box spring in a bed bug-proof cover. See the “Isolation” section for more information. You will need two people.
Headboard and Bed Frame: Whether constructed of wood, metal, or plastic, headboards and bed frames provide plenty of hiding spots. Adults and nymphs will hide in gaps the thickness of a credit card. To inspect these areas and flush bed bugs out, use a “crevice tool”, such as a thin spatula, screwdriver tip, or part of a business/credit card (Fig. 4). Use a bright flashlight to inspect all screw holes (Fig. 5), and slide the crevice device through the length of all gaps, corners, and cracks to flush out bed bugs (Fig. 6).
Mattress: Examine the entire surface of the mattress—top, sides, and bottom. Pay special attention to the seams, piping, and pillow top around the edge. Lift the pillow top edge up and look at both sides of the seam (Fig. 7). Don’t forget to look beneath the mattress labels or tags. If you can safely move or slide the mattress off the box spring or bed frame, lean it against a wall to enable inspection of the underside. You may wish to have a vacuum on hand to catch and remove any fleeing bed bugs. See “Vacuuming” for details on how to vacuum without infesting your machine.
Bed Linens: Look at your linens (sheets, pillow covers, blankets), especially the seams. Take pillowcases off the pillows and inspect both items. Focus on seams and folds. See techniques listed below for “Isolation” and “Heat Treatment” if pillowcases are infested with bugs. Pillows can be treated in the dryer.

C. Lint Rollers

Lint rollers, especially the extra sticky type, can be used to inspect items and remove bed bugs. For example, when returning from travel, use a lint roller on your suitcase to inspect for and remove bugs that are hiding in seams. Social workers, visiting nurses or people who work in the homes of other people can use lint rollers on clothing, backpacks or bags and other gear that might have picked up bed bugs. Figure 8 shows how lint rollers can be used on mattress seams. Roll the sticky surface over areas in question. Look closely for trapped bed bugs. Peel off and fold the sticky layer over itself to encase bed bugs, and throw it away.

Consider This:

Pest management professionals have little time to spend on inspection, and usually do not inspect belongings other than furniture. Once bed bugs are found, treatment of the home will begin, but professional treatment does not work well for smaller household items. Pest managers often recommend that customers self-treat or throw away belongings because many things are difficult to treat. Inspection helps you determine which items do and do not need treatment. This can save money and the heartbreak of throwing
away important or irreplaceable things. Inspection can help you prevent the spread of bed bugs into other rooms, homes or the workplace. Details on how to remove or kill bed bugs on a list of personal belongings are in the sections that follow.
After inspection, if an item is free of bed bugs or correctly treated, it is very important to keep that item away from bed bugs. Place clean items in sealed plastic bags or bins until the whole bed bug infestation is eliminated. See the “Isolation” section for more details.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Inspection:

Advantages: Inspection is the very first and most important step in bed bug control, and allows you and your pest manager to avoid wasting time on unnecessary treatments. Inspection also helps narrow down the location and extent of the infestation. Inspection helps you save your belongings, rather than discarding valuable items and replacing expensive things. Inspection and isolation of belongings in airtight bags or containers is a very low cost method of bed bug control. See the “Isolation” section for additional information.
Disadvantages: Inspection takes time. Bed bugs are flat and fit into narrow spaces, so thorough inspection of hiding spots is needed, which can be time-consuming. Inspection, itself, does not kill bed bugs; so other controls must also be used.

**Fig. 2. A dark spot in the belly of this small bed bug indicates it has already fed, but is ready to feed again.** *(A. Allen)*

Fecal stains and shed skin on white mattress — **Fig. 3. Fecal stains and shed skin will usually be found in places where bed bugs are hiding. This is also where bed bug eggs will be deposited.**

Simple inspection tools: magnifier, LED light, screwdriver and card (flat rectangular) — **Fig. 4. Simple inspection tools include a magnifier, LED light, screwdriver and crevice tool.**

**Fig. 5. Bed bugs hide and cluster in a screw hole under a chair.**

A New York City Metro Card being used as a tool, it is inserted and run along a grove in a bed frame to clean it out. — **Fig. 6. Any thin, strong and flexible piece of plastic can work as a crevice tool. A credit card may be too thick for some furniture gaps.**

Hand Inspection of folds on pillow top mattress. — **Fig. 7. Inspection of folds on pillow top mattress.**

Rolling lint roller against the surface of a bed mattress — **Fig. 8. Use a lint roller to inspect a mattress.**

Plastic corner of a bed — **Fig. 9. Bed bugs will often hide under the plastic corner protector of the box spring**

**Fig. 10. Various life stages of bed bugs (left to right) and various stages of feeding (top to bottom) can make correct identification confusing.**

Bed bugs gathering along the crack between two wooden boards. — **Fig. 11. Bed bugs do not have “nests” but will gather in groups in good hiding spots.**

Updated 4/30/2025

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