Bed Bugs

Most of it is not a pest at all. The staining that is comes with other evidence, and a damp white cloth separates the two in about ten seconds.

Amber, hollow and translucent in five sizes. Skins show a population is reproducing, where droppings only show that something visited the room once.

Digested blood, so it bleeds into fabric when damp. That smear test separates a bed bug spot from a speck, and the seam it sits on tells you the rest.

Rule bed bugs in or out in ten minutes, then work through what a bedroom actually holds: wool, dust, damp plaster and a wardrobe nobody empties.

Upholstery holds the same suspects as a mattress plus one more. Four checks separate carpet beetles, fleas, bed bugs and booklice in a sofa.

Six insects trigger most bed bug false alarms. Here is how each one differs, and the physical evidence that confirms or clears a real infestation.

Bed bugs are reddish brown, not black. Here is what black bugs in a bed usually turn out to be, and the three checks that rule bed bugs in or out.