A bed bug inspection form records where a technician looked for bed bugs, what was found in each room, and what happens next. Bed bugs hide in seams and joints, travel between units, and are easy to miss in a cluttered room, so a good record is specific about which hiding places were checked and which were not. This template walks each room, adds the neighboring units in apartment buildings and hotels, and ends with the prep list, the treatment approach and the follow-up dates. Fill it in here and download a PDF without an account, or speak while you walk, and the document writes itself.
Bites are not evidence
Most bed bug calls start with bites, but bite marks cannot confirm bed bugs. Other insects, allergies and skin conditions look the same, and many people do not react to bed bug bites at all. An inspection confirms activity by finding the insects or what they leave behind: live bugs or nymphs, cast skins, eggs and egg shells, and the dark fecal spots that bleed into fabric like a felt-tip marker.
That is why each room here asks what you actually saw, not what the occupant felt. "Customer reports bites, no evidence found in bedroom" is a useful result. It points to monitors and a follow-up, not straight to treatment.
Where to look in each room
Start at the bed and work outward. Record each hiding place you checked so the report shows what was covered:
- Mattress and box spring — piping, seams, tags, handles and the underside of the box spring fabric.
- Bed frame and headboard — joints, screw holes, and the back of a wall-mounted headboard.
- Furniture near the bed — nightstand drawers and joints, upholstered chairs, sofas and recliners, especially the underside.
- Room edges — the carpet edge along baseboards, outlet and switch covers, picture frames, curtain folds and loose wallpaper.
- Belongings — luggage, backpacks and piles of clothes, which is how bed bugs usually arrive.
Apartments and hotels: check next door
In buildings with shared walls, bed bugs move between units through wall voids, plumbing chases and hallways. Many integrated pest management programs for multi-family housing call for inspecting the units on either side, above and below an infested unit. The form records each neighboring unit, whether it was inspected, and what was found, so the property manager can see where the problem stops.
Some states and cities have their own rules on bed bug disclosure, inspection and who pays for treatment in rented homes. Check your local requirements; this form records the inspection, not who is responsible under the lease.
Recommend an approach, then let the label decide
The form records the treatment approach you recommended — heat, chemical, a combination, or monitoring first — and the rooms or units it covers. It does not prescribe products. Any pesticide used later is applied as its label directs, and each treatment visit gets its own service record.
Preparation makes or breaks a treatment. Record which prep steps were given to the customer, and whether they were explained in person, so a failed treatment can be traced back honestly.
Common questions
How do you inspect a room for bed bugs?
Start at the bed, with a bright flashlight and a thin card or crevice tool. Check the mattress seams and tags, the box spring, the frame joints and the headboard, then furniture near the bed, then the room edges, outlets and wall hangings. Record each place you checked and what you found there.
What are the signs of bed bugs?
Live adults and nymphs, pale cast skins left as nymphs grow, tiny white eggs and egg shells in seams and cracks, and dark fecal spots that soak into fabric. Small blood spots on sheets can support the picture but are not proof on their own.
Should a canine inspection be confirmed?
Many professionals confirm a dog's alert by finding live bugs, eggs or skins at the spot before treating, because alerts can come from old evidence or a scent carried on belongings. Record where the dog alerted and what the visual check found.
Why inspect the neighboring units?
Bed bugs travel through wall voids and shared spaces. Checking the units beside, above and below an infested unit finds spread early, before those residents notice bites, and keeps a treated unit from being reinfested.
Does this form tell me which treatment to use?
No. It records the approach you recommended and why. The choice of product, if any, follows the product label and your company's protocol, and local rules may also apply.