If you are concerned that you may have a bed bug problem in your apartment or house, here are three signs that can confirm whether or not your suspicion is correct:

signs

Bites on Your Body

If you start to notice small red spots on your body, they may be bites from bed bugs. However, because they look similar to other types of bug bites, it is difficult to confirm with absolute certainty that these types of spots are caused by bed bug bites. Therefore, if you do notice bites on your body, you will want to use the other signs on this list to confirm whether or not you have a bed bug problem.

Waste

If you notice dark spots on your sheets, or a pile of waste in your box springs, mattress or sheets, it may be the result of bed bugs.

Sweet, Musty Smell

If you notice a sweet, musty smell in your apartment or house, it may indicate that you have a severe bed bug problem.

While all three of those signs can be noticed without actively looking, here are three more ways that you can actively find out if you have bed bugs in your apartment or house:

Check Your Bed, Curtains and Furniture

Because bed bugs are most commonly found in or around beds, you can check your mattress, headboard, sheets and box springs for actual bed bugs, or signs of bed bug waste. Additionally, depending on your specific bed bug problem, you may be able to spot them on your curtains, or within the seams of your furniture. If you are concerned about encountering bed bugs when you travel, this tip is the most effective way to quickly determine whether or not a hotel room has a

Use Carpet Tape

If you do have bed bugs, you can most likely catch some by using double-sided carpet tape. If you want to use carpet tape to determine whether or not there are bed bugs in your apartment or home, you can purchase it online, and then place strips on your mattress, as well as on the floor next to your bed.

Call a Professional

If you are unable to find any signs of bed bugs in your apartment or home, but still believe that you have a bed bug issue, you can call an exterminator or pest control specialist for a professional evaluation. Many professionals use a certified bed bug detection dog to evaluate an apartment or home for bed bugs. Because of their advanced sense of smell, a trained bed bug detection dog has a 97% success rate of identifying a bed bug problem, while a professional inspection by a human can have as low as a 17% success rate.