Bed Bugs

Size: vary from 1/4 to 3/8 inch.

Color: reddish brown.

Unique Characteristics: Adult bed bugs are wingless insects that are flat from top to bottom. At the beginning of an infestation, bed bugs are likely to be found only in the tufts, seams, and folds of mattresses and bed covers. In areas of heavy infestation, bed bugs can be found in crevices in the bedsteads.

Bed bugs can be brought into the home from many places such as bus seats, hotel furniture, movie theater recliners etc. They do not randomly appear, but rather are carried into the residence from elsewhere.

They feed principally on human blood by piercing the skin with a long beak and sucking blood into their stomachs. They feed mostly at night, but will feed during the day if hungry and the light is dim.

The life cycle stages of a bed bug are egg, nymph, and adult. The females lay about 200 eggs - usually at the rate of three or four a day, in cracks and crevices in the floor or bed. Newly hatched bugs begin feeding immediately. They shed their skin five times before becoming adults.

Control: depending on the severity, either pesticide application or heat treatment.

Find our Bed Bug control Preparation Guide here.