Where Do Bed Bugs Hide? Hiding Places and How to Inspect
HESHAM MAHMOUD
HESHAM MAHMOUD
10 November 2026

Where do bed bugs hide? Most bed bugs hide close to where people sleep, within about two metres of the bed or sofa someone sleeps on. They come out at night to feed on blood and return to their hiding spot, so they choose the nearest dark crack to the sleeping person.

That is why the most important step in treatment is knowing exactly where they hide, because random spraying across the room does not reach them.

Where bed bugs hide in the bed

  • Mattress seams and edges and the piping around them.
  • The mattress label and the four corners.
  • The bed base (box spring) underneath, especially the thin fabric under it.
  • Bed frame joints and screw holes.
  • The headboard and the gap between it and the wall.

Hiding places in the room

  • Cracks in walls and skirting boards near the bed.
  • Sockets and switches near the bed.
  • Behind pictures and frames and loose wallpaper.
  • Bedside tables and inside drawers.
  • Curtain hems and carpet edges along the wall.
  • Piles of clothes and bags near the bed.

Hiding places outside the bedroom

  • Fabric sofas and chairs, especially under cushions and in the seams.
  • Suitcases after returning from a hotel or shared accommodation.
  • The car at times, if bed bugs travelled with bags or clothes.

How to inspect for bed bugs

  1. Use a strong torch and inspect at night or in a dark room.
  2. Slide a plastic card into seams and cracks to push out hiding bugs.
  3. Look for signs, not just the insect:
  4. Small black dots like pen ink on the mattress and wood (droppings).
  5. Empty skins, light brown in colour.
  6. White eggs about 1 mm long in seams and cracks.
  7. Small blood spots on the sheets.
  8. Start with the bed, then widen the inspection to the room and sofa.

If you are not sure what the insect looks like, see What Bed Bugs Look Like.

After you find the hiding places

  • Treat the spots where you found bed bugs and the cracks around them, not the whole room at random.
  • Use hot steam on the mattress, seams and sofa, as it kills bugs and eggs without insecticide on the sleeping area.
  • Wash sheets and clothes in hot water and tumble dry on high heat.
  • Spray a bed bug insecticide on cracks, the bed frame and skirting boards as per the label.
  • Repeat after 10 to 14 days to catch eggs that have hatched.

Products from Orkida

Bed bug hiding place FAQs

Do bed bugs live in clothes?

They can hide in piled clothes near the bed, but they do not live on the human body. Washing in hot water and drying on high heat kills them.

Do bed bugs live in hair?

No. Bed bugs do not live in hair or on skin; they bite and return to their hiding spot. The insect that lives in hair is lice.

Can you see bed bugs with the naked eye?

Yes. An adult is about the size of an apple seed, and young ones are smaller and paler but visible with a torch.

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