Where Do Bed Bugs Hide? A Room-by-Room Checklist

Quick answer: Bed bugs hide in tight cracks close to where people sleep. About 85% are in or right next to the bed: mattress seams and tags, the box spring, the bed frame and the headboard. Most of the rest are in couches, nightstands and along the edges of the room, usually within about 8 feet of the bed.^1,2,3

Knowing where bed bugs hide is the key to finding them early and treating every spot. This checklist goes from the bed outward, room by room, and covers the surprising places people miss. For what the signs look like, see signs of bed bugs.

How Close to the Bed Do Bed Bugs Hide?

Very close. The CDC says bed bugs tend to stay within 8 feet of where people sleep, though they can crawl more than 100 feet in a night.² University field studies that counted bugs in infested apartments found:

Sources:^4,7

Don't skip the couch: in a Rutgers study, traps were placed under both beds and sofas in 184 infested apartments. In 15% of them, bugs were caught only under sofas, not under beds.⁹ As an infestation grows, bugs spread to nearby furniture and the edges of the room, so check out to about 20 feet from where people sleep or sit.^3,10

Where Do Bed Bugs Hide in Your Bed?

• Mattress: seams, piping, tufts, buttons and under tags, especially at the head end.^5,11,3
• Box spring: one of the biggest hiding spots. Check the upper seams, the corners, where it sits on the frame, and under the thin fabric dust cover on the bottom.^3,10,11
• Bed frame: joints, cracks, screw holes and support boards.^3,5,11
• Headboard: behind it and in screw holes. In hotels, behind the headboard is often where bed bugs first settle.^11,3
• Under the bed: boxes and other items stored there.³
• Sheets and bedding: folds, plus reddish smears or dark spots on sheets.^2,3
• Nightstands and dressers: drawer joints and the undersides; empty them and tip them over to check.^3,5

Bed bugs prefer wood, paper and fabric over metal and plastic.^1,3,12

Where Do Bed Bugs Hide During the Day?

During the day, bed bugs pack together in dark cracks near the bed. Clustering helps them hold in moisture, and chemical signals help them find their way back to the group.^13,6,14

• They're most active at night, usually between midnight and 5 a.m.¹³
• A meal takes about 3 to 10 minutes; then they crawl back to hiding to digest.^3,1,13
• They typically feed every few days, not every night.^13,1
• Hungry bed bugs will bite in the daytime too, especially if you sleep during the day, and leaving the lights on won't stop them.^1,3,15

Where Bed Bugs Hide, Room by Room

Bedroom (beyond the bed)

• Baseboards, carpet edges behind the bed, cracks in molding and where walls meet the ceiling.^3,11,5
• Behind pictures and mirrors, in outlets and switch plates, and under loose wallpaper.^3,5
• Curtain folds and pleats, and window and door frames.^5,11,12
• Closets, especially clothing and clutter.^3,11
• Books, stuffed animals and other items near the bed.^11,3

Living room: couches and recliners

Couches and recliners are major hiding spots, especially if someone sleeps on them.^3,4 Check seams, skirts, tufts, zippers and trim, between and under cushions, and the frame under the fabric dust cover on the bottom.^3,5,16,10

Kitchens, bathrooms, garages and basements

Bed bugs rarely settle where nobody sits or sleeps, but they aren't impossible there. One study found bed bugs inside a coffee maker and under a deodorant dispenser. Another said small numbers might also be in kitchens or bathrooms.^4,7 In heavy infestations, some bugs hide farther from the bed, sometimes several yards away.^13,1

Inside walls

Bed bugs can move between rooms and apartments through cracks and openings in walls, floors and ceilings.^3,17

Surprising Places Bed Bugs Hide

Hotels and Apartments

In a hotel, pull back the sheets and check the mattress seams at the head of the bed and the headboard, use the luggage rack after checking it, and keep bags off the bed and floor.^19,3 See our bed bug travel tips.

In an apartment, bed bugs may also be in the units on either side, above, below and across the hall, so tell your landlord so those units can be inspected.^3,22 In a Purdue study of a high-rise, 53% of units next to an infested apartment were also infested.¹⁸ See where bed bugs come from for how they spread.

How to Check a Hiding Spot

1. Gather simple tools: a bright flashlight, a magnifying glass, and a thin card or putty knife to probe cracks. A black light isn't needed.^22,10,23
2. Work slowly from the bed outward: mattress, box spring, frame and headboard, nightstands, upholstered furniture, curtains, then the room's edges.^23,5,3
3. Look for the signs of a hiding spot: dark fecal spots, pale shed skins, tiny white eggs and live bugs.^11,5
4. Put interceptor traps under bed and sofa legs. In a Purdue study, interceptors caught about 6 times more bugs than visual inspection.⁸ One option is ClimbUp interceptors (we earn a small commission). See our guide to bed bug traps.
5. Don't spray or use a bug bomb first. Bug bombs often miss the cracks where bed bugs hide, and experts advise against using them.^24,3
6. Save a specimen in a sealed container of rubbing alcohol for identification.²⁵ Cornell University's insect lab identifies mailed samples and photos for a fee. For mailed bed bugs, it asks you to freeze them overnight first.²⁶

Bed bugs at every stage are small enough to fit in a card-thin crack: adults are about 5 to 7 mm long (the size of an apple seed), young nymphs are 1.5 to 4.5 mm, and eggs are about 1 mm.²⁷ See bed bug pictures and bugs that look like bed bugs.

How to Give Bed Bugs Fewer Places to Hide

• Encase the mattress and box spring in covers made for bed bugs; bugs trapped inside eventually die.^3,28,22 One option is these mattress and box spring encasements (we earn a small commission).
• Pull the bed a few inches from the wall and keep bedskirts and blankets off the floor.^3,28
• Cut clutter, especially around and under beds.³
• Seal cracks with caulk and fix loose wallpaper.^28,3
• Vacuum seams and cracks, then seal the bag and throw it out outdoors.^28,16

Found bed bugs? See how to get rid of bed bugs, natural remedies rated by the evidence and how to choose an exterminator. For free quotes from local bed bug exterminators, call 1-877-673-2704 (we may be paid when you call), or ask an exterminator online (we may be paid when you use this link).

This page earns commissions from some product links (we may be paid when you buy), which doesn't change our ratings.