How to tell if you have bedbugs
- Small, flat, reddish-brown insects about the size of an apple seed, mostly in mattress seams, bed joints and headboards.
- Tiny dark spots (droppings) on sheets and seams, and small blood marks.
- Itchy bites in lines or groups, often on arms, neck and legs, noticed in the morning.
- Pale shed skins in seams and cracks.
What works, step by step
These steps follow the US Environmental Protection Agency's bedbug guidance.[1]
- Confirm it is bedbugs before you spend money. Catch one on tape and compare it with pictures, or ask a pest control company.
- Don't panic or throw everything out. Most mattresses and furniture can be treated. Moving infested items around the house or giving them away spreads bedbugs.
- Reduce hiding places. Clear clutter around and under the bed.
- Encase the mattress. A zipped mattress encasement traps any bugs inside and leaves fewer places to hide. The EPA advises leaving it on for a full year.
- Wash and heat-dry bedding and clothes that touch the floor, and clean laundry baskets too.
- Vacuum thoroughly: mattress seams, bed frame, floors and cracks. Seal the vacuum contents in a bag and take it outside.
- Use heat with care. Bedbugs die once their bodies reach 45°C, but the heat has to reach every hiding place. Sunning small items in black plastic bags only works if they get hot enough.
- Call a professional for a serious infestation. Use a licensed pest control company and follow the label on any insecticide.
What doesn't work
- Pouring paraffin, petrol or strong chemicals on a mattress. These are fire and health hazards and don't reach eggs in seams.
- Raising the room temperature or using a heater. It won't get hot enough.
- Throwing the mattress out without treating the room. The bugs stay in the bed frame and walls and move to the new mattress.
Bedbugs and mosquito nets
A 2025 study of 77 people in Matayos, Busia County, found bedbugs were a real barrier to sleeping under mosquito nets: 79% of people who had nets but didn't use them said the nets harbour bedbugs, and bedbug presence was linked to net use (p = 0.001).[2] Treating bedbugs protects your sleep and helps families keep using nets against malaria.
When to replace the mattress
Replace it if it is torn (bugs live inside the tears), old and sagging anyway, or still infested after professional treatment. Treat the room and bed frame first, then put the new mattress straight into an encasement. If you throw out an infested mattress, slash it first so nobody takes it home.
Sources
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Top ten tips to prevent or control bed bugs. Accessed 8 October 2026.
- Chebii K, Injera WE, Juma KK, Odiwuor CA, Ogombo C. Impact of bedbug's infestation on use of mosquito nets in malaria control in Matayos, Busia, Kenya. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, 2025. DOI 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20250605.
Questions
How do I get rid of bedbugs in my mattress?
Vacuum seams and the bed frame, wash and heat-dry bedding, zip the mattress into a bedbug encasement for a year, and call a licensed pest control company for heavy infestations.
At what temperature do bedbugs die?
According to the US EPA, bedbugs die when their body temperature reaches 45°C. The heat must reach every hiding place, so room heaters don't work.
Should I throw away a mattress with bedbugs?
Not always. Treat the room and frame first. Replace it if it is torn, old or still infested after treatment, and slash the old one so nobody takes it.
Do bedbugs live in mosquito nets?
Many people believe so. A 2025 Busia study found 79% of people who didn't use their nets gave bedbugs as the reason. Treating bedbugs helps families keep using nets.