Yes. Bed bugs are found right across Australia, Sydney included, and Victoria's Department of Health describes them as a relatively common pest nationally. NSW Health explains that they are small, flat insects that feed on human blood while people sleep, and that they are not known to spread disease. The bites usually settle with first aid, but the insects rarely go without a planned treatment, because their eggs survive most sprays.
Which bed bugs live in Sydney?
The Victorian Department of Health bed bug guide says Australia has two species: the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius, found mainly south of the NSW and Queensland border, and the tropical bed bug, Cimex hemipterus, found mainly further north. A bed bug in a Sutherland Shire bedroom is almost certainly the common species.
Adults are flat, oval and light brown, up to about 5 mm long, and turn red and swollen after a feed. Newly hatched nymphs are small, pale and translucent, which is why an early infestation is easy to miss.
The guide links the rise in infestations to insecticide resistance and travel, with bed bugs from high turnover accommodation riding home in luggage, shoes and clothing. A clean home is no protection, because they feed on people, not crumbs.
Where do bed bugs hide?
The Victorian guide lists the seams, beading and folds of mattresses, sleeping bags and sheets as the first places they gather. As numbers grow they move into bed heads, skirting boards, cracks in plaster and bedroom furniture.
Signs of an infestation include:
- black or brown spotting of dried blood and droppings along mattress seams
- small blood spots on sheets from bites that kept bleeding
- white eggs, empty egg cases and shed skins in crevices
- a sweet, musty "buggy" odour when numbers are high
The guide also names places of little movement such as cinemas, so a couch where someone regularly sleeps can harbour them too.
In a Woronora home where guests have used the spare room and the next visitor wakes with bites and dark spotting along the mattress piping, the mattress, bed frame and skirting boards all need checking, so book bed bug control in Woronora before anyone sleeps in that room again.
What do bed bug bites look like?
healthdirect describes bed bug bites as red, itchy spots up to 2 cm across, which can look purple and be harder to see on black or brown skin. The Victorian guide notes that bites sometimes appear in neat rows, unlike the random pattern of mosquito bites, because a disturbed bed bug moves along and bites again.
Some people show no reaction at all, while in others the itch can take up to 9 to 14 days to appear. Bites alone cannot confirm bed bugs. The spotting, eggs or live insects in the bed confirm it.
An Illawong family back from an overseas holiday who start waking with lines of itchy bites on their arms a week later should not wait for the marks to fade, so arrange urgent bed bug control in Illawong and keep the suitcases closed until the bedrooms have been inspected.
How do you treat bed bug bites?
Most bites clear up on their own. healthdirect advises washing the bites with antiseptic soap to lower the chance of infection, using an ice pack to ease swelling, and applying an anti-itch cream such as calamine lotion. Try not to scratch, since NSW Health notes that scratching can lead to a secondary skin infection.
See a doctor if the itch is severe or a bite looks infected, since a steroid cream, antihistamines or antibiotics may be needed. Severe allergic reactions are very rare, but anyone who has trouble breathing after being bitten needs emergency medical help straight away. If new bites keep appearing, the source is still in the room.
Checking luggage and second-hand furniture
Luggage and second-hand furniture are common ways bed bugs reach a home. After a trip, unpack travel bags away from the bedroom and check seams, zips and pockets for live bugs or dark spotting. The Victorian guide notes that washing above 60°C and drying on hot for at least 30 minutes kills every life stage, so wash travel clothes that way. Check second-hand beds and couches before they come inside. These steps lower the risk of bringing bed bugs home, but they do not clear an infestation that has already spread into a bed frame or wall cracks.
A Yowie Bay household that brings home a second-hand bed frame and then finds dark spotting in its joints should leave it outside and book bed bug treatment in Yowie Bay before the frame is carried through the house.
Why do DIY sprays rarely work on bed bugs?
The Victorian guide states that complete eradication is unlikely with a single treatment. Sprays may kill the bugs but are largely ineffective on the eggs, which can incubate for up to 2 weeks in hidden cracks before hatching. Many modern bed bugs are also resistant to commonly used insecticides.
Spraying can make it worse. The guide explains that a fine space spray can trigger alarm pheromones and push bed bugs into new areas. Moving a mattress or sleeping in another bedroom spreads them the same way.
Effective control starts with inspecting every affected and adjoining room. Products registered for bed bugs by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority are applied to mattress beading, furniture joints and floor cracks, and a follow-up visit about a week later deals with newly hatched eggs.
In a Yarrawarrah house where the main bedroom has already been sprayed and bites have now started in a second bedroom, the infestation has most likely spread rather than died, so book bed bug control in Yarrawarrah and leave the furniture where it is until both rooms are inspected.
Before you book
Note where and when the bites happen, which rooms people sleep in, any recent travel, guests or second-hand furniture, and whether you have seen spotting, eggs or live bugs. Photos of the mattress seams help. Send those details when you contact our Sutherland Shire pest control technicians, and you will get clear steps for an inspection of every room where people sleep.