What Do Bed Bugs Look Like

Terminix ® wants to help you figure out what’s bugging you because correctly identifying pests is the first step toward successfully controlling them.

Bedbugs Slideshow: An Informative Look at Bedbugs

As if you needed something else to worry about, bedbugs, those pests from the old bedtime rhyme are making a comeback. More of a nuisance than a health hazard, they’re showing up to suck blood from people in hotels, college dorms, and hospitals. Take an informative look at bedbugs: what they are, where they lurk, and how to spot them before they get you.

Know the Enemy

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Bedbugs are small, flat, wingless insects with six legs that, like mosquitoes, feed on blood from animals or people. They range in color from almost white to brown, but they turn rusty red after feeding. The common bedbug doesn’t grow much longer than 0.2 inches (0.5 centimeters) and can be seen by the naked eye to the astute observer. Bedbugs get their name because they like to hide in bedding and mattresses.

Denied health insurance claims are a major problem for patients in America. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that ACA marketplace plans denied about 17% of in-network claims in 2019.

Am I at Risk for Infestation?

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Bedbugs are most often found in hotels, hostels, shelters, and apartment complexes where lots of people come and go. Because bedbugs hide in small crevices, they can hitch a ride into your home on luggage, pets, furniture, clothing, boxes, and other objects. Bedbugs are found worldwide, but are most common in developing countries. Once rare in North America, they may be on the rise due, in part, to increases in international travel.

Feeding Habits

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These nocturnal creatures can hide in beds, floors, furniture, wood, and paper trash during the day. We humans usually become their dinner during the night, with peak biting activity just before dawn.They can obtain their meal in as little as three minutes, after which they are engorged and drop off the host, then crawl into a hiding place to digest their meal. Bedbugs can live for 10 months, and can go weeks without feeding.

Signs and Symptoms of Bedbug Bites

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Amazingly, these sneaky little bloodsuckers dine on you without waking you. You don’t feel their stealthy bite because they inject a numbing agent into your body, along with an anticoagulant to keep your blood flowing as they suck. The first sign of bedbugs may be itchy, red bites on the skin, usually on the arms or shoulders. Bedbugs tend to leave straight rows of bites.

Treating Bites

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Bedbug bites do not usually require treatment. If a secondary infection occurs (usually from scratching), apply a local antiseptic lotion or antibiotic cream or ointment. Creams with corticosteroids and oral antihistamines are used for the primary, unbearable symptom of itch. In these more severe cases, you may need to see your doctor.

Do Bedbugs Transmit Diseases?

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Bedbugs are more of a nuisance than a health hazard. In a recent study, researchers reviewed 53 recent studies on bedbugs and their health and medical effects. The results showed that although bedbugs have been blamed for the spread of up to 40 different human diseases, there is little evidence to suggest they are carriers of human disease.

Bedbug or Imposter?

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Don’t assume your bites are bedbugs. Bites can be hard to identify, even for doctors. Rule out mosquitoes, fleas, mites, and biting gnats by conducting a visual inspection. It’s best to collect and identify bedbugs to confirm bites. Look for the bugs themselves or their bloodstains, especially along the seams of mattresses. Further, look for dark spots of insect waste where bedbugs might crawl into hiding places on furniture, walls, and floors.

Bite Back Against Bedbugs

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Professional exterminators should get involved right off the bat—tell your landlord, super, hospital administrator, hotel owner, or you call a professional right up front. The exterminator will locate the bed bugs (which may be found in more than one location) and exterminate as needed. YOU will have to do a lot of laundry.

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New York City Department of Heath and Mental Hygiene.
Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet.
University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Lancaster County.
Washington Post.

What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?

Compare the bugs you’ve found with these pictures to decide if you’re really dealing with bed bugs. Bed bugs leave 5 signs you can use to identify them even without a live bug.

Table of Contents

• Pictures of Bed Bugs
• Pictures of Baby Bed Bugs
• Pictures of Bed Bugs Symptoms
• Bed Bug Hiding Places

We also host a gallery of pictures of bed bug bites.

Tap or click on any image to full screen photos. You can also navigate using arrow keys.

Pictures of Bed Bugs

Pictures of Baby Bed Bugs

Pictures of Bed Bugs Symptoms

Bed Bug Hiding Places

Thanks for Reading
If you’re dealing with an infestation now, our guide will help you get rid of bed bugsstep by step.

What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?

Unless you’re into entomology, you’re probably visiting this page to find out whether bed bugs have invaded your space.

Terminix ® wants to help you figure out what’s bugging you because correctly identifying pests is the first step toward successfully controlling them.

With bed bugs especially, time is of the essence. Left untreated, bed bugs can spread from infested mattresses, bedding and suitcases to all over your home, and then hitch a ride to the homes of your friends and loved ones. The faster you can identify them and effectively deal with them, the better.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

Bed bugs can easily be confused with other small brown bugs. So exactly what do bed bugs look like? In general, an adult bed bug is reddish-brown with a long, oval-shaped body that’s about the size and shape of an apple seed. Bed bugs may be flat or they may look like tiny brown balloons, depending on whether they’ve fed recently. They, like fleas and ticks, need blood to survive.

To compare bed bugs with bed bug lookalikes, check out this detailed visual guide from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. It may help you determine whether you’re experiencing a bed bug infestation or something different altogether.

You Can’t Tell A Bug From Its Bite

Some people have no reaction to bed bug bites. Others may experience itching or rashes. Unfortunately, you can’t identify the bug by the appearance of the bite. Bed bug bites can resemble bites from chiggers, fleas and other insects. They can also be confused with skin conditions, such as hives, eczema or even fungal infections.

How To Check For Bed Bugs

They’re tiny. They’re reclusive. They’re nocturnal.

In other words, don’t count on finding the bugs themselves. It’s not likely that you’ll see a bed bug. Instead, focus on looking for the physical signs that bed bugs leave behind, such as rusty or reddish stains on bed sheets or mattresses and bed bug feces — dark stains about the size of a pencil point.

Related > A Case of Mistaken Identity: What is a Bat Bug?

Bed bugs prefer to stay hidden. Carefully inspect all seams, piping, zippers and tags on mattresses, pillows and upholstered cushions. Carefully go through hiding places in suitcases. Check cracks and seams on bed frames and headboards/footboards. Examine drawer joints, especially in bedside tables. Bed bugs have even been known to hang out in electrical outlets, behind loose wallpaper and in the head of screws.

If you think you have a bed bug problem, contact a bed bug professional at Terminix to help you identify and control infestations in your home.

Not sure what your home needs? Let us help.