Roaches know how to choose dark, warm, and humid places to hide. Your bed and mattress offer all those and that’s why roaches in your bedroom will hide in them.
A long-term solution for cockroaches in your bed and mattress is regular cleaning. Avoid eating in the bedroom and keep food away from your sleeping area. Wash and change your bed sheets regularly and use natural repellents to keep them away.
On the other hand, cockroaches do not like hiding in bedding like quilts, duvets, bed sheets, or blankets. They will only crawl on them at night but they will go back to their hiding areas. They do that because bedding can be easily moved all the time and they are flat.
Do roaches in bed climb and crawl on you at night?
Yes, roaches will climb and crawl on you at night because that is when they are active. They come out in the dark to look for food when there is no human activity.
Cockroaches will also crawl in your mouth when you sleep if you go to bed after eating without washing and brushing your teeth. If your hands are not clean, they will be attracted to them while trying to find where the sweet smell is coming from.
Roaches in bed can crawl into your ear at night as you sleep. When this happens they will get stuck in there. The harder you try to get it out, the more it will go deeper and cause you so much pain. This can be very dangerous and this is why you should never ignore any roach on your mattress and bed.
Causes: Why would a cockroach be in my bed?
Roaches can live anywhere and if you have them in your bed, they will invade your mattress too. If you have a habit of eating while seated on your bed, then that is the first reason why roaches are in your bed.
If you always eat in your bedroom, there will be food particles dropped on the bed and this is what the roaches will feed on. Remember, roaches do not feed on human blood so they will not bite you. There has to be some source of food that attracts them to your bed.
Cockroaches hiding in your bed will come out and crawl on you at night while looking for food. If your sleeping pajamas are dirty and stained with soup from the diner table, they will come looking for the stew and crawl on you in the process.
How to check for roaches and their eggs in bed with pictures
Cockroaches in bed can be found hiding at the joints and the mattress. They will also lay eggs on the mattress edge and under the bed where the mattress is placed. If the mattress has cracks and holes, that will be their best hiding spot.
Where do cockroaches hide in your bed? Here is a diagram that will help you find where roaches hide in bed:
If there is a serious infestation, you will have to dismantle your bed and take it outside before you start checking and killing the roaches. It may sound like a lot of work but it is the best solution to clear roaches in an infested bed.
How to check for cockroach in mattress with pictures
The mattress is always warm and moist and this is one area that roaches will hide in even if there is no food in the bedroom. They will use this area to lay eggs and once they mature, they will spread to other areas in the house like the kitchen to find food.
Check the mattress edges and turn them over to see if there are any roaches and their eggs. Roaches like hiding under the mattress and at the tight edges where the mattress grips the bed at the sides.
If possible, take the mattress out for aeration and the roaches will flee because they do not like staying in open areas. If the sun is up, then this will be a perfect day to take the mattress outside. Aerating your mattress at least once every two weeks is important in getting rid of any pests that hide in them.
Here is an image that will guide you on where to check for cockroaches in your mattress:
How to avoid cockroaches in bed
After identifying their hiding places, use natural repellents listed below to get rid of them. Avoid the use of pesticides in the bedroom because some of them can harm you when you sleep and inhale them overnight. Here are some simple ways of getting rid of roaches in bed and mattress:
- If you have a serious infestation of roaches in bed, get the mattress and bedding out of the bed
- If you spot a roach, you can directly spray a roach killer like raid directly on it to kill it
- Check for their eggs and ensure you scrap them off before cleaning the area
- Do a general cleaning in the bedroom as well. This is because roaches will keep coming back to your bed if they are still in the bedroom
Rosemary oil for roaches in bed
After that, use natural roach repellent like rosemary to keep roaches away from your bed. Among all essential oils, rosemary is the most toxic to roaches. It will kill them instantly on contact and it will also repel them.
The advantage here is that it is safe to use it for roaches in bed because it is not harmful to you. Here is how to get rid of roaches in bed using rosemary:
Boil 1/2 cup of water (125ml water) and pour it into a clean container. Add 2 teaspoons of rosemary essential oil to it and stir to mix. Pour the mixture into a handheld sprayer bottle then spray it directly on the roaches to kill and repel them from your bed and mattress.
You can also use the same steps with essential oils like lavender, citrus, and eucalyptus. The advantage of using essential oils is that they are cheap and less toxic for you and your pets. However, do not use bleach to kill roaches in bed and mattress because it may cause discoloration.
Cockroach under bed
You can also spay those natural roach repellents under the bed. This will help to get rid of any cockroach hiding under the bed. Cockroach under a bed will definitely crawl and hide in your bed or the mattress because it is the only place that is near and hidden.
Here is a picture that shows places where cockroaches hide under the bed:
When you check under the bed where you mattress rests, you will notice that is is always dark and warm. This is the perfect breeding place for roaches and that is where they lay most of their eggs. You will find them hiding there during the day.
If you keep finding only dead roaches under your bed, it is a clear sign that you have other pests in your bedroom that you need to deal with. Roaches in your bed will also attract other predators who feed on them. With time, you will also have lizards crawling on your bed at night and it will be difficult to control all of them at once.