If you see small flakes all over your bed or clothing, you have a home bed bug
Yellow flakes are actually moltings from juvenile bed bugs that have become adults–not dandruff from a previous guest. Bed bug eggs look like uncooked grains of white rice. They're somewhat sticky and are typically found in small clumps.
If you don't know what you're looking for, you might overlook them or mistake them for something else. Bed bug eggs resemble grains of rice, but much smaller. Most are pearly white-gray in color with an elongated oval shape that's only about 1 millimeter long.
The molted skins of the bed bug look very similar to the bed bug itself. They are the same shape and generally translucent in color. However, you will notice that they look like an empty bed bug shell. They will be different sizes depending on the life stage of the bed bug that molted.
Dust Mites
They thrive in warm and humid environments and are usually present in mattresses, upholstered furniture, carpets, and curtains. As scavengers, they don't directly feed on humans as bedbugs do. Instead, they feed on dead skin, pet dander, pollen, and bacteria.
Bed Bug Molted Skins or Shells
If you see small flakes all over your bed or clothing, you have a home bed bug infestation.
Every hour we shed approximately 1,500,000 dead skin flakes. An average night of sleep can yield over 12,000,000 dead skin flakes, and it all ends up in YOUR MATTRESS EACH DAY! Dust mites eat your dead skin cells (called “dander”) which is why they absolutely thrive in your bed.
Shed skin
After shedding, they leave their skin behind. Shed bed bug skin is a translucent tan colour. It will be very small and may be hard to spot. Shed skin becomes dry and flaky quickly, so it'll feel dry and may even crumble if you touch it.
They are visible to the naked eye. Adult bed bugs are usually brown in colour. When filled with blood, their colour ranges from red to dark brown. They are oval in shape and about the size of a flattened apple seed, 4 to 7 mm in length.
Black Spots
These types of stains also come from blood or bed bug excrement but can appear darker if the blood or fecal matter is less fresh. Since bed bugs feed on blood, they often excrete this digested blood, and it can show up as a smattering of small dark spots on your sheets as time passes.
Bed bug poop appears as clusters of tiny spots on your bed. The droppings consist of digested blood, so they will no longer be red once they dry. The spots will be darker, rust colored or black, and are about the size of a dot from a marker.
Bed bug waste is often confused with dirt because of its dark flaky appearance. Bed bug droppings are tiny, raised, brown or black smears. A sure way to test if the “dirt” you discover is bed bug fecal matter is to dab it with a wet paper towel. If the color turns from black to red, you've got bed bug poop.
The color of bed bug eggs ranges from pearly white to pale yellow. Unhatched eggs are somewhat translucent, while hatched eggs are hollow and almost entirely transparent. Freshly laid bed bug eggs sometimes have a shiny appearance, due to the sticky, glue-like liquid that female bed bugs use to cover their eggs.
The mites are usually a little less than a half-millimetre long (so they are visible to the naked eye if you look closely) and grayish-white. They tend to be quite active and crawl around (but they don't jump like fleas), which gives them the appearance of walking dandruff.
Consistency – Does your spot smear when you wipe it with a wet cloth or Q-tip? Moreover, bed bug droppings do not flake off. To clarify they are a liquid black poop. The bed bug droppings are NOT something you can pick up and collect into a bag.
Myth: Bed bugs live in dirty places. Reality: Bed bugs are not attracted to dirt and grime; they are attracted to warmth, blood and carbon dioxide. However, clutter offers more hiding spots.
So if you are asking does dry cleaning kill bed bugs? the answer is yes! As long as the dry cleaner is using Perchloroethylene as part of the process. Place the plastic bag you used to carry the infested clothes in another bag and seal tightly before disposing of.
Bed bugs are solely attracted to anywhere blood can be easily accessed, so no matter the cleanliness of your bed, you'll still be at risk. This myth may stem from the fact that bed bugs are harder to identify in a dirty bed, so by the time an infestation is discovered, it has become extensive.
Mattresses and pillows make potential habitats for bed bugs. Pillows may also be host to bed bug eggs, making them a potential point of bed bug infestations. A possible sign that bed bugs have infested pillows may be the appearance of bites.
The Presence of Eggs
Eggs are one of the earliest signs of bed bugs that you can look for. Bed bugs lay their eggs in small clusters, and each egg is about the size of a dust mite. You're most likely to find them in the seams of your mattress or on your bed frame.
Wash everything on a high temperature or sanitary cycle for at least 30 minutes. Placing everything in the dryer on the hottest setting for 30 minutes will also kill bed bugs and larvae. Immediately after you're finished putting clothing in the washer, tie up and throw out the empty garbage bag in an outdoor trash bin.
If there is a bedbug problem, you will see a mass of small black bugs ranging from eggs (1mm) to adults (5mm, size of an appleseed). While most are black, some are pearl white, and the size of a pinhead. Bedbugs do not always mass together. Sometimes they are more spread out across the entire mattress or bed spread.
Identify the infestation:
First and foremost, make sure you're dealing with bed bugs. Look for tiny, flat, reddish-brown insects, their eggs, or dark fecal spots on your pillows, sheets, and mattress.