Bed bug infestations are easier to clear when caught early — but easy to miss for the first few weeks. Here are the seven signs to look for, in roughly the order most people notice them.
1. Bites in clusters or lines
Bed bugs typically feed in a line of three or four bites — sometimes called 'breakfast, lunch and dinner'. The bites are usually on exposed skin: arms, ankles, neck. Not everyone reacts visibly, so an absence of bites doesn't mean an absence of bugs.
2. Small dark spots on the sheets
These are bed bug droppings — digested blood. They look like fine biro dots and smudge if rubbed with a damp cloth.
3. Tiny pale shell fragments
Bed bugs moult five times as they grow. The discarded skins are pale, translucent and almost weightless. You'll find them in seams of mattresses, behind headboards and along skirting boards.
4. A faint sweet or musty smell
A heavy infestation produces a distinctive smell that's often described as sweet, coriander-like or musty. If you can smell it, the infestation is well established.
5. Blood smears on bedding
Small bloodstains on the sheet or pillowcase, usually where you've rolled over a fed bug in your sleep.
6. Live bugs in seams and joins
Adults are 4–5mm long, mahogany brown and flat. Look along the welt seams of the mattress, the joints of the bed frame and behind the headboard.
7. Eggs in clusters
Eggs are 1mm long, white and slightly translucent. Usually laid in tight clusters in dark cracks.
What to do tonight
Don't move bedding to another room — you'll spread the infestation. Don't start spraying supermarket insecticides — you'll scatter the bugs deeper into the property and make professional treatment harder. Bag any obviously infested clothing into sealed bin liners and book a professional inspection. We can usually attend within 48–72 hours and confirm or rule out an infestation.