Yeah, you read that right! Bed bugs don’t just love to make a home out of your bed; they can actually be hidden anywhere around your house! And if you think that there may be some bed bugs around your bed, yet you cannot find any in the mattress, we’re here to deliver the bad news that they may just have migrated to some other part of your room, or even in other parts of the house beside the bedroom!
Generally, these pesky insects love soft spots like fluffy blankets with a lot of folds and cushiony places where they can hide. And people have been going on by this indication that that’s the number one spot where you can find them!
However, they also love places that are generally hidden from light and are known to gather in cracks in the grout, in your dresser’s drawers, and even under your box spring! To make things simple, as long as there’s a hidden space where they can hide, they will try to get to it.
Bed bugs love to hitch a ride on any personal belongings you may have around the house, and they end up just moving around like that. It’s even more important that you check any place you travel to for these little bugs, as you can easily pick some up from a hotel room or any other place you’re staying in, and take them home with you!
Here we have gathered the most common places besides the bed where you can find these annoying little bugs, so you can know where to check if you find yourself with an infestation! Have you ever had a bed bug infestation in your house?
Surprise Bed Bugs: in Photo Frames
Yep, it may sound like a surprising place, but you will be surprised just how many normal places are actually prime places for these insects to make their hideout! Yes, photo frames are actually a prime spot for bed bugs to either hide inside or even just sit on them in the back. It sounds pretty gross, but a photo or painting frames aren’t actually the only spots for these insects to hide!
They also target other small surfaces, and they can even end up nesting in your kids’ toys. Or, if you have any furry friends in the house, they can infest their beds or their toys as well. There’s truly no place that is safe from these pesky bed bugs, and you should definitely look at anything that is framed if the situation seems serious, so you don’t miss any lingering insect eggs.
Bookshelves
Who doesn’t love to give a few pages of the newest book of your choosing a read before bed? We love books, and there are several bookshelves in our house. However, what most people don’t know is that books are actually a favorite place for bed bugs to hide, and, more importantly, when it comes to the spine of these books, they love to lay their eggs there.
It sounds gross, but if you happen to see these pesky insects around your house and you think you have done a deep clean, you should turn your attention to the book on your nightstand and to any bookshelves you may have around your house. And by that, we mean that you should take out all the books and inspect them page by page.
Bed bugs love the spines of hardcover books, and if you happen to have an older book that’s bound with cloth or sink covers, those may be the first ones you should check.
It sounds like a lot, but you wouldn’t want to end up not getting rid of these parasites and having them ruin your books. You can always take a pipe cleaner or even a toothbrush down the spine to make sure there’s nothing hidden in there.
It sounds like a surprising place, but it’s better to check and be sure than be sorry later!
Closets
The second place in the bed and mattress where bed bugs just love to hide is actually the fabrics. These insects just can’t get enough of soft fabrics where they can sit in darkness and not be seen by daylight. This is why the closet is the second place you should always check after you have seen a bed bug anywhere around your house and if you notice that your bed seems to not be their chosen home.
Outfits, especially since we have a lot of fabrics in our closets, are prime real estate for bed bugs. Not only that, but if chance has it that you brought them inside your spotless home because they got onto your clothes, they may just make their nest in your closet before they even think about crawling all the way to your bed or mattress.
Surprisingly, it seems like people ignore closets when it comes to bed bugs! Not to mention other obvious fabrics that could be amazing places for them to hide, such as curtains, upholstered furniture, drapes, blinds, cushions, and anything else that you have covered in fabric!
The good news if you have bed bugs in your closet is that compared with other areas of your house, it’s the easiest place to get rid of them, despite it being quite time consuming! All you have to do is to wash and dry all your clothes, as the heat will make do with the insects and kill them off. For the items that you cannot dry, just air dry them as usual and then go over the fabric with a stiff brush before you put them back in their place.
And in between rounds of laundry, give your closet a thorough examination and disinfect it, so you don’t return your clothes to an infested place!
Drawers
If you think it all ends after you have thoroughly checked and cleared out the closet, you will be mistaken! After you’ve made sure you’ve gone through all the closets in the house, it’s time to tackle the drawers, chests, and any other places where you may be storing fabrics of any kind. Be it that it’s a linen cupboard or an old chest of drawers in which you keep smaller items such as undergarments! And we’re also including the drawers in your bathroom and kitchen, even the nightstand!
Bed bugs love to hide around fabrics, and since these places are also where you will find all kinds of materials stored, it could be why they are privy to these insects. Yet, this is not the only reason why they may be infested. Since the parasites love to hang around the bed frame, if you have a nightstand, there’s no guarantee that some of them haven’t actually migrated to it and are hidden deep inside the drawer that’s present there.
Not to mention that they could have been hidden in the upper part of the drawer, in a tiny crevice you may not have seen! This is why you should take a toothbrush or anything similar and run it around the corners of the drawer, both inside and outside of the nightstand or cupboard! If you can, it would be great to take out the drawers as well, so you can thoroughly clean and inspect them.
As for the clothes or linens in them, a hot wash will do the trick to get rid of everything. Just make sure you didn’t miss any spots!
Bed Bug Cities in Floorboards, Baseboards, and Even Electrical Outlets!
Yep, even these places aren’t safe from bed bugs! As we have learned from the rest of this article, these tiny insects just love tiny, dark spaces. So, if you have an infestation, you should check under any loose floorboards and definitely any electrical outlets that are slightly detached from the wall. It’s not excessive because any tiny crack is enough space for a bed bug to make their new home, and there’s definitely enough space for them to lay eggs.
It sounds daunting, but if there are a lot of them around your house, they will definitely go to places like this. And your best chance is to try to vacuum them out of their hiding places. Try any places that meet the walls or the flooring, and if there is any crack, time to vacuum it out before you seal it: be it with glue or caulk, either way, it works as long as it’s closed.
You should also check the joints between the ceiling and the wall, along baseboards, around electrical outlets, and under light switch plates! If you have wallpaper and it seems like it’s peeling off, you’ve guessed it! They might end up hiding there too. Unfortunately, any small place is a good contender, so get creative when you think about small places where they may be hidden away! It’s better to check and end up empty-handed than to miss any hiding spot.
Read more about the places in your house that aren’t as clean as you may think they are and why you should be cleaning them more often than you probably do now here!