The 6 Early Signs of Bed Bugs: How to Spot an Infestation Before It Spreads

Last Updated on 03/07/2025 by Tony Abrahams

Think you might have bed bugs? These pests leave behind 6 early warning signs, if you know what to look for.

Here are the 6 early signs of bed bugs:

• Red, itchy bites, often in lines or clusters, typically on arms, legs, hands, or neck
• Blood stains on your sheets or pillowcases from crushed bugs
• Tiny dark spots (bed bug faeces) on sheets, mattress seams, or furniture
• Shed skins or shell casings from growing nymphs
• Tiny white eggs, about the size of a grain of salt, hidden in cracks or fabric seams
• Live bed bugs, usually hiding in mattress seams, bed frames, headboards, or baseboards

Spotting even one of these signs should raise a red flag. The sooner you identify them, the easier and cheaper it is to stop them from spreading. In this guide, we’ll break down each symptom in detail, so you can act fast, treat effectively, and reclaim your peace of mind.

What Is an Early Sign of Bed Bugs on Your Skin?

No 1 of the 6 early signs of bed bugs are bites on skin

You’ve heard the phrase “don’t let the bed bugs bite,” but the truth is, if they do, your skin might be the first place to sound the alarm. Because bed bugs are tiny and great at hiding, most people only realise there’s a problem after waking up with red, itchy bites — especially in areas like the arms, hands, neck, and upper body.

The bites can vary from mild to severely irritating, depending on your skin’s sensitivity. Some people just get a little itch. Others? Full-blown discomfort that messes with their sleep. Interestingly, bed bug bites often appear in random clusters or zigzag lines — a clue they were feeding while you slept.

Not everyone reacts the same way. About 30% of people don’t show any visible reaction at all, which makes early detection tricky. But for those who do, the bites usually look like small red bumps, and they tend to show up in exposed areas — not so much around the ankles or legs unless you sleep without covers.

It’s important to rule out other causes like dirty sheets, allergies, or mozzie bites. But if you’re seeing those telltale patterns and waking up itchy in new spots, bed bugs could be the culprit. And beyond the bites themselves, the stress, anxiety, and insomnia they cause can be just as telling — and just as miserable.

What Are The Early Bed Bug Signs On  Your Sheets?

There are both visual and smell-based cues that you can keep your eye (and nose) out for when it comes to bed bugs in your sheets. Bed bugs feed at night, so unless you act out a full investigation in the early days, there are going to be three main things that clue you up about their presence on your bed: blood stains, fecal stains, and an odour.

Blood Stains: No 2 of the 6 early signs of bed bugs is blood on sheets

Bed bugs are like vampires – they feed on human blood, and they’re very greedy. Once a bed bug has fed on you, it will become engorged with blood, swelling up into a round, football-shaped creature, and when they’re in this state, there’s a good chance they’re going to leave stains on your sheets.

This is caused by you moving and shifting in your sleep onto them and crushing them, either whilst or just after they’ve finished feeding. While this sadly won’t always kill them, it can still squeeze the blood out of them and leave little dark red spots on your sheets. Stains like these can also be left behind by their saliva after a feeding.

If you notice these, then make sure to check your body for any new scratches, cuts, or wounds. If you can’t find any, then there’s a good chance that you’re looking at early bed bug stains on sheets.

Fecal Stains: No 3 of the 6 early signs of bed bugs are poo stains

Along with the liberty of occupying your bed space and feasting on your blood, bed bugs will further their disrespect by pooing on your sheets! After they’ve eaten and digested your blood, the colour of the blood will shift from a red to a dark brown or even black, which you will then see on your bedsheets and in the bed bug’s hiding spots once they excrete it out.

These stains slightly resemble the kinds that you might see from a magic marker, especially if streaked by movement or water. The size is similar to the tip of such markers, so if you suspect that you might be under invasion, look for the poo! These marks can also show up on the mattress, your pyjamas, headboards, walls, curtains, and anywhere else that you might find bedbugs.

Odours:

Along with the smells from your own blood and the fecal matter of the bed bugs, these uninvited guests also spread odours in different ways. Bed bugs give off pheromones if they feel that they’re under threat of attack, and they have a unique odour that is often compared to raspberries, coriander, or a generally unpleasant musk.

While you’re unlikely to smell these pheromones on their own, the smell of them will mix and mingle with those of the feces, shell casings, and dead bed bugs, making for a truly nasty-smelling experience. If you can’t detect it early, the smell will worsen until it becomes a truly offensive sensation.

Early Signs of Bed Bugs on Your Mattress

Your mattress isn’t just where you sleep — it’s often ground zero for a bed bug infestation. Along with blood spots, droppings, and that distinct musty odour, there are specific signs you’re more likely to find by taking a closer look.

If you suspect something’s not right, strip off all bedding and inspect every inch of your mattress — especially the seams, corners, and labels. This is where bed bugs love to hide. A thorough check may reveal live bugs, shed skins (exoskeletons), tiny white eggs, or dark stains from their droppings. These are some of the clearest signs that bed bugs have moved in and made themselves at home.

What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?

No 4 of the 6 early signs of bed bugs are live or dead insects

You may be wondering; can you see bed bugs with the naked eye? The answer is yes, but you have to be looking pretty closely. Bed bugs are around 4-5mm in length, making them very hard to spot, but if you do notice the little crawlers, you need to know their defining physical attributes to guarantee their species.

They’re defined by their reddish-brown colour, along with their ovular shape and antenna. Getting familiar with their anatomy is a good practice for clocking an infestation.

Early Signs of Bed Bugs in Your Bed

Along with investigating the mattress (where any of the previous or following signs can show up), you should investigate the further avenues of your bed, from the frame to the springs, as well as your clothes, walls, and other pieces of furniture in your room. These are the spots that you’re likely to find where the bed bugs have really set up camp.

In addition, to live bed bugs and odours, you might also find shell casings and eggs in these areas.

Shell Casings: No 5 of the 6 early signs of bed bugs are shells

Bed bugs shed their shells regularly, so if there are casings around your mattress or bed, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ve been there for that long. The way to identify the casings is similar to the way you’d identify the bugs themselves in terms of shape, albeit being empty, translucent shells with a yellower colour.

Bed Bug Eggs: No 6 of the 6 early signs of bed bugs are eggs

Pregnant female bedbugs will lay around 1-7 eggs in a day, meaning that there could be plenty of eggs for you to spot early on. However, bed bug eggs are very small, being only around 1mm in length and white, so it can be hard to spot them. Look for little pellets that resemble tiny grains of rice, with hinged caps where the bugs will emerge. If you find those, you could have found the hive.

Final Thoughts: 6 Early Signs Of Bed Bugs

It’s important that you deal with bed bugs early on, as the longer they’re allowed to thrive, the closer to a lost cause you may find the situation to be. To avoid having to hire an expensive, potentially ineffective exterminator, you should follow up a successful investigation with our non-toxic bed bug products and treatments, along with some physical guards for your furniture and beds moving forward.

Now sleep tight, and… you know the rest.

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Sources: 6 Early Signs Of Bed Bugs

Department of Health WA , Oxford Academic (Perspectives on Biology and Management), National Library of Medicine (Clinical Relevance and Control Options)