Adult bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed (5-7 mm long). If not recently fed, they have a flat brown body, otherwise well-fed bugs are reddish-brown and more baloon-shaped body.

You can help prevent bed bugs entering your home with a few basic precautions:

Second-hand furniture, bedding or clothing

• Check second hand furniture before bringing it into your house.
• Avoid buying second-hand mattresses.
• Wash second-hand bedding and clothing in hot water straight away.

Travelling

It can be easy to pick up bed bugs in luggage when travelling.

• Check your hotel or motel room for bed bugs.
• When you get home, wash your clothes in water as hot as the material will stand.
• Vacuum inside and outside of your bags.
• Consider an insecticidal spray for your luggage.

NOTE: Bedbugs live solely on blood. It’s not related to the dirtiness of the environment at all - you are as likely to find them in immaculate homes and hotel rooms as in filthy ones.

Bed bugs don’t just live in beds. They can infest other parts of a room as well - wall cavities, under carpets, furniture, event wall sockets and electronic equipment like televisions and stereos!

Too late - already got bed bugs and want them gone?