What Do Bed Bugs Look Like
Regardless of what you've been told, bed bugs don’t just appear from nowhere; these tiny insects have to be brought into your home. Since they're nature's perfect hitchhikers, they're usually brought in via your own luggage, or they travel on clothing and shoes.
No matter the vase, if you wake up with unexplained bites on your body, which range from reddish or purple spots to painful swelling, you might be dealing with a bed bug infestation. Before we jump on the phone and call the extermination services, let's discuss what bed bugs look like and how to spot an infestation.
What Are Bed Bugs?
Bedbugs are small, reddish-brown insects that feed on the blood of animals and humans. These insects often live on furniture and bedding, as it allows them to be in close proximity to humans and feed, usually at night, when their source of food isn't moving too much.
While they don't carry any human diseases, bed bug bites can result in a number of health impacts, including skin rashes, psychological effects, and even allergic symptoms. However, some people don't respond to bed bug bites at all, which can allow an infestation to get started and go unnoticed until the bed bug population grows to a point where they can be seen around your home.
Since bites are an unreliable indicator of an infestation, it's very important to know what bed bugs look like and how to identify other signs that bed bugs leave behind.
What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?
Adult bed bugs can be seen with the naked eye, as they're reddish-brown in color, wingless, and approximately the size of an apple seed. Immature bed bugs are also visible to the naked eye, but they're more difficult to spot due to their size and translucent whitish-yellow color.
While adult bed bugs take a blood meal for nourishment and to lay eggs, immature bed bugs have to eat in order to grow and molt to the next life stage. This is very important when it comes to identifying an infestation.
Bed bugs have five immature stages before they become an adult, and they have to molt (shed their old "skin") five times. In the beginning stages of larger infestations, cast skins are often a telltale sign that an infestation is underway.
The molted skin often looks like a bed bug itself, but it's translucent in color. These are often found alongside mattress seams, headboards, in ceilings and wall junctions, along baseboards, and stuck to personal belongings like clothing and bags.
Next to bed bugs and their molten skin, you may also find fecal spots, or excreted waste bed bugs left behind. These are black in color and are often seen in groups of 10 or more. It's important to note that these fecal spots look similar to those left behind by German cockroaches.
If you're unsure, touch the spot; bed bugs' fecal spots have a smooth feel as they consist of dried liquid food (blood), compared to the granular feel of cockroach feces.
Endnote
While the first clue suggesting a bed bug infestation is the presence of itching bites, bite reactions vary and may not be due to bed bugs at all. It's really important to know where to look for bed bugs, how to identify them, and the telltale signs of their presence these insects leave behind.