Have you noticed bed bug bites on your baby? Around one in five UK homes has had bed bugs at some point. They’re itchy and irritating for adults, but for a baby, and for the parents watching them scratch, they can be genuinely distressing.
This guide explains what bed bug bites look like on babies and where the bugs themselves are most likely to be hiding in your child’s room.
What the bites look like
Bed bug bites look much the same whether they’re on an adult, a child or a baby. The bug itself isn’t dangerous, but the bites cause real discomfort, and a baby feels that more keenly than the rest of us.
Look for small, red, itchy bumps on your baby’s skin. At a glance they can be mistaken for mosquito bites. The difference is the pattern: bed bug bites usually appear in a small cluster or a line, rather than as a single isolated spot. They also tend to show up on exposed skin, so check the arms, legs and face. If you spot fresh bites each morning, bed bugs in the room are the likely culprit.
How to spot the bugs themselves
Bed bugs are tiny, with heads smaller than a pinhead, but they aren’t invisible. A full-grown bed bug is about a quarter of an inch long, reddish-brown and oval, roughly the size and shape of an apple pip.
Their favourite hiding place is the seams of a mattress. Run a bank card or something similar along the seams to ease them open and have a look inside. There are other tell-tale signs worth checking too:
- Small blood spots on the sheets, left when a feeding bug is crushed.
- Dark brown flecks on the bedding, which is bed bug waste.
- Dead bugs across the mattress, bedding or nearby furniture, even though live ones are harder to catch in the act.
If you find bed bugs, or anyone in the family is being bitten, call our team. We’ll send a bed bug specialist out to your home and clear the infestation as quickly as we can. We’re open every day except Christmas Day, from early until late.