How to check your bed for bed bugs in 10 steps

What to gather before you start

Use a bright torch, a stiff white card, a clear lidded container or sealable bag, and a phone camera. A screwdriver may be useful for a removable headboard or simple bed fitting, but do not dismantle electrical items or furniture you cannot put back safely.

Keep a bin bag available for ordinary rubbish, not for moving potentially affected textiles around the home. Wear gloves if you prefer, then wash your hands after the inspection.

The ten-step inspection

1. Record the starting condition. Photograph the bed and note where people usually sleep.
2. Remove pillows and the duvet slowly. Look at the folds and place them into a clean container or bag if treatment is likely.
3. Check the sheet. Look for blood spots, dark marks or a captured insect; remember that each can have another cause.
4. Follow the mattress piping. Use the torch and white card to examine the seam continuously rather than sampling one corner.
5. Inspect labels, handles and tufts. These create protected edges.
6. Check the underside edge. Get help when lifting a heavy mattress and avoid trapping fingers.
7. Inspect the base or frame. Concentrate on joints, screw holes, slats and fabric staples.
8. Examine the headboard. Look behind it when it can be removed safely; do not tear fixed wall finishes.
9. Move to bedside furniture. Inspect joints and the undersides of drawers closest to the bed.
10. Check the immediate perimeter. Look along skirting, carpet edges, picture backs and loose wallpaper near the sleeping area.

How to judge a finding

A clear live specimen is more useful than a blurry photograph of an isolated mark. Dark spotting concentrated in a protected bed-frame joint is more suggestive than a single mark in the middle of a wall. Repeated evidence in connected hiding places strengthens the picture.

The NHS identifies mattresses, bed frames, clothing, furniture, picture backs and loose wallpaper as possible hiding locations. That is why a check should extend beyond the visible top of the mattress without becoming a destructive search of the whole property.

What not to do during inspection

Do not move to a different bedroom simply to escape suspected activity. Do not carry an uncovered mattress through shared halls. Do not apply household insecticide into sockets, on bedding or to skin. Do not mix products or use more than the label permits.

If you find convincing evidence, pause before deep cleaning. A professional may learn from the distribution of signs. Contact the local council to ask about available services or arrange an assessment with a pest controller.