Bed bugs are perhaps the most notorious pests you can find in your home. These parasitic insects are tiny, great at hiding, and quick to multiply and infect the entirety of your residence.
In order to identify a bed bug infestation as early as possible, you must be able to pinpoint bed bugs at all stages of life.
So, you might be wondering: what do baby bed bugs look like? What do bed bug eggs look like? What do bed bugs look like after feeding?
Keep reading, and we’ll tell you how to identify bed bugs during every part of their life cycle.
Where Will You Find Bed Bugs?
This might come as a surprise, but bed bugs actually like to hide in a multitude of places besides the bedroom. You can potentially discover bed bugs in any room where you spend a lot of time, including your office, living room, or even your kitchen.
Bed bugs prefer warm places, so they are notorious for hiding in furniture and under your carpets and baseboards.
These pests don’t like to roam far, so the more areas in which you find bed bugs, the more advanced the infestation is.
How Do You Look For Bed Bugs?
It’s crucial to check for bed bugs thoroughly. An infestation might be likely if you see blood stains on sheets or pillowcases, rusty spots of bed bug excrement on walls and mattresses, or red, itchy bites on your skin. If you notice any signs of an infestation, it’s time to conduct a thorough inspection of your home.
When searching for bed bugs, you should use something flat (like a credit card) to scrape along surfaces, paying special attention to common areas and rest areas.
What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?
It’s important to note that the appearance of bed bugs varies depending on where they are in their feeding cycle. Right after feeding, a bed bug will be bright red, as their bodies are full of blood.
On the other hand, when a bed bug has not recently fed, their color tends to be grey, transparent, or dark brown.
Adult bed bugs are generally about the size of an apple seed. These pests have flat, oval-shaped bodies, but their bodies inflate once they’ve fed.
What Do Baby Bed Bugs Look Like?
Baby bed bugs are called nymphs. Nymphs are much smaller than adult bed bugs.
Nymphs can be anywhere from one to five millimeters long. Once a bed bug reaches five millimeters in length, it has reached the adult phase of its life cycle.
Bed bug nymphs are often transparent or light brown. After a nymph is older than five days, it will develop a black spot on its back.
Baby bed bugs are one of the preliminary signs that your infestation is at least a few days old. As soon as you see nymphs, you should call an exterminator.
What Do Bedbugs Look Like On a Mattress?
There are a few telltale signs that you have bed bugs infesting your mattress. Even if you cannot see the bugs themselves, you can look for these other signs.
If you see small spots of blood on your mattress, that means something is feeding on you during your sleep. Once you find spots of blood, you should take further steps to find out which pest is responsible. Bed bug bites are often red, itchy, and grouped together.
Bed bugs are likely to burrow into your mattress during the day, so it may be hard for you to find them then. If you want to inspect your mattress for bed bugs, you should do it at night when they are most active.
What Do Dead Bed Bugs Look Like?
Dead bed bugs will be light to medium brown in color. The dead pests will appear to be shriveled up with their legs curled inward.
Dead bed bugs are easier to spot than living ones, as they are full-sized and cannot hide from you.
If you see dead bed bugs in your home, that means you’ve probably had an infestation for at least a week. Call an exterminator as soon as you find dead bed bugs in your home.
What Do Bed Bug Droppings Look Like?
Bed bug droppings are small, pill-shaped, and range in color from dark, reddish-brown to black.
Bed bug droppings are likely to be left behind in your bed, furniture, or other hiding places.
Sometimes bed bugs hide in picture frames, lightbulbs, or around the baseboards of a room. These can be easier places to spot bed bug droppings, as they are smaller and often well-lit.
What Do Bed Bug Eggs Look Like?
Bed bug eggs are extremely small and transparent. These eggs are usually about one millimeter long, and can most commonly be compared to a grain of rice.
If you aren’t looking closely enough, it can be easy for you to mistake bed bug eggs for newborn bed bug nymphs.
However, the main difference between the two is the distinct smoothness present on all sides of bed bug eggs. Bed bug nymphs also have tiny, visible legs.
If you aren’t sure if you have a bed bug nymph or a bed bug egg, trap what you discovered between two pieces of tape so that you can get a better look.
You should always destroy bed bug eggs when you find them with a steamer or vacuum. This will help minimize your infestation until a pest control expert arrives.
Keep Your Home Safe From Pests
You now know the answer to the question, “what do bed bug eggs look like” in addition to the physical characteristics of bed bugs throughout their life cycle. This knowledge will help you spot a bed bug infestation in your home as soon as it begins, reducing the spread of the infestation.
If you see any of these telltale bed bug signs, you should contact pest control experts right away.
The sooner you spot an infestation, the easier it will be to recover from it. Keep your home happy, safe, and pest-free today!