Bed Bugs in NZ | How to Check for Them and What to Do

A Tauranga Technician’s Guide to Finding and Dealing With Bed Bugs, Since Feb 2006

The short answer: check the mattress seams and bed frame with a torch. If you find live bugs, wash and hot-dry your bedding, keep sleeping in the same bed, and get professional treatment. Bed bugs are one of the few pests I would not tell you to tackle on your own.

Mobile: 027 490 8309 | Email: breatheeasyservices@icloud.com

🔍 What Bed Bugs Look Like

🛠️ How to Check for Bed Bugs

1. Strip the Bed

and look along the mattress seams, piping and labels with a torch.

2. Look for the Signs, Not Just the Bugs:

small dark spots like a felt-tip pen mark, small blood smears on the sheets, and pale shed skins.

3. Check the Bed Frame and Headboard

especially joints, screw holes and cracks. Run an old card along the gaps.

4. Check Close to the Bed:

bedside drawers, skirting boards, the edge of the carpet and behind pictures.

5. Do Not Rely on Bites

Bites often show up in lines or clusters, but some people do not react at all, and other insects bite too.

🛠️ What You Can Do Yourself

1. Wash Bedding and Clothes on a Hot Wash, Then Tumble Dry on Hot for at Least 30 Minutes

The heat is what kills them.

2. Vacuum the Mattress, Bed Frame and Floor Around the Bed

Seal the vacuum contents in a bag and put it in the outside bin.

3. Keep Sleeping in the Same Bed

If you move to the couch or another room, the bugs follow you and spread through the house.

4. Do Not Move Furniture or Bedding to Other Rooms

5. Do Not Use Fly Spray or Bug Bombs

They do not reach where the bugs hide, and they scatter them into the walls.

6. Cut Down the Clutter Around the Bed

so there are fewer places to hide.

These steps reduce the numbers and stop the spread. They rarely clear an infestation, because the bugs and their eggs hide in places washing and vacuuming cannot reach.

⚠️ How People Pick Them Up

Bed bugs travel in luggage, second-hand furniture and bedding. They have nothing to do with how clean a house is. After a trip, check your bags outside or in the garage and put everything through a hot wash and dry.

🏡 When to Call a Professional

• You have found live bed bugs or clear signs of them.
• The bites keep coming after you have washed and vacuumed.
• It is a rental, motel, holiday home or other accommodation. If you rent, tell your landlord straight away.

Have a look at our bed bug treatment service, or call for a free estimate.

❓ Not Sure What You Have Got?

Our free What’s My Pest picture guide shows the common Bay of Plenty pests, what you can do yourself, and when to call us.

📞 Need a Hand? Let’s Solve It.

• Call us: Phone 075700309 Mobile 0274908309
• Request an Estimate: Fill out our quick [Online Contact Form] and our local team will come back to you with pricing as soon as we can.