How Do Bed Bugs Stain Sheets?
WouterThere are many ways to tell whether you have bedbugs. One of the most common ways is to find blood stains on your bedding. This can be caused by leakage of blood from the bite wounds of bed bugs or by their own blood dripping on your sheets. Fresh blood stains are red or brown and are typically concentrated near areas of infestation. They may also be mixed with insect casings and black feces.
The lifespan of bedbugs is about sixty days, so they can produce up to 26 stains per nymph. A bedbug’s life cycle varies, and each stage will leave behind a different type of stains. The more blood stains you notice, the more likely you have an infestation.
Besides the stains on your sheets, you can also look for fecal matter in your bedding. Generally, these are brown or black, but if they are red, it’s probably due to bedbugs. You can also find these stains on the edges of your bed, box springs, or mattresses. If you’re lucky, you might be able to find live bugs in the fecal matter. If you find them, you’ll notice that their feces leaves behind a distinctive odor.
Another method for cleaning up the stains is using a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water. This mixture should be applied to the affected area and left to soak for a few minutes. It’s best to test this solution on a small patch before applying it to your sheets and bed.
