7 Unsuspecting Places Bed Bugs Might Be Hiding in Your Home

Bed bugs don’t just live in your bed. If you suspect you have a bed bug infestation, you might be unhappy to find that bed bugs can thrive just about anywhere.

They have a soft spot for fluffy fabrics with lots of folds and cushy places to hide. But they also party in cracks in grout, under your box spring, and in your dresser drawers. In other words, almost nowhere is safe from these sneaky critters.

“Bed bugs can easily hitchhike from place to place via personal belongings, so it is extremely important to check for them in new spaces, especially when traveling,” says Rick Cooper, senior director of technical services with Terminix Commercial.

If you have a bed bug problem but are having trouble hunting the goobers down, check in these surprising places in your home. You may be shocked at what you find.

Bed bugs love hiding in soft places, especially where they can escape the light of day. That makes your outfit-packed closet prime real estate. When bed bugs creep into your formerly tidy abode, after you’ve thoroughly inspected your bed, the closet is the first place you should check.

“Textiles, upholstered furniture, clothes, curtains and drapes, blinds and again, cushions, are most often than not areas people forget to check when tackling bed bugs,” says Harriet Jones, the maintenance supervisor at Go Cleaners London.

Luckily, it’s also one of the places that’s easiest to purge of critters. To evict the bed bugs from your closet, all you’ll need to do is wash and dry all of your clothes. For the items that can’t go in the dryer, go over them with a stiff brush and examine them completely before putting them back in the closet. After you’re done with your clothes, do the same thing for the linen closet or wherever you store your sheets.

After you’ve gone over your closets, check your dresser drawers and anywhere else you store fabrics. Yes, even in the bathroom and kitchen!

“Besides the usual bed bug hiding places like in the crevices of your mattress or on the box springs of your bed, bed bugs are also often found on the frame and headboard of your bed, in your nightstands or even in your dresser, especially if they have drawers,” explains Kristiana Kripena, a pest-control expert from InsectCop.net.

Wash and dry all of these fabrics, too. For drawers, there’s an extra step. Using a toothbrush or something similar, go over the corners of the drawer as well as the top inside and beneath the drawer. Pay special attention to the little places you usually wouldn’t be able to see. Consider removing the drawers to clean them if you can. Bed bugs can hide in small, out of the way cracks, so leave no space untouched.

Bed bugs hide in less obvious places, too, such as, “on furniture like couches and chairs, on the baseboards and on walls and ceilings of your home, on the toys of your kids or pets, on your curtains, and there have been cases that bed bugs have been found even on paintings and on and in (yes, IN!) framed artwork or photo frames,” Kripena says.

“As bed bug populations expand, the likelihood that they will be found hiding along or behind baseboards, electrical outlets, and areas further away from sleeping and resting areas increases,” says Cooper.

You already know bed bugs love their tiny hiding places. Try to think of other areas in your home with cracks and crevices. Just like with drawers, floorboards and baseboards may have tons of hidden spots for these little guys to hide. When you do spot a crack, vacuum it out. Seal bigger ones with caulk or glue, depending on the surface, and you’ll prevent any more bugs from making their homes in that place.

“Always make sure to double-check the following areas: along baseboards, joints where the walls and ceiling meet, around electrical outlets and under switch plates, behind pictures and mirrors, and even wallpapers,” says Jones.

We love books. More books is always better. Except when it comes to bed bug infestations. “Don’t forget to inspect the book on your nightstand for any infestation — it turns out that bed bugs hide their eggs in spines of hardcover books,” advises Jones. Um…yikes. 

If bed bugs have snuck into your house, before you can declare your pad bug-free, you’ll have to do a deep inspection of your bookshelf. Take out all of the books and give the pages a turn. Antique books with cloth covers are especially susceptible to takeover. Check behind the binding if there’s a visible space already. Stick a toothbrush or pipe cleaner down into that gap if there is one.

Even though bed bugs may be hiding in these surprising places, don’t forget the obvious ones. Remember to give your bed and the space around it some TLC. Wash and dry your sheets on hot. Check inside your pillows and under your box spring. Be thorough! It’s the only way to send your pests packing.