Bed Bugs and How to Spot Them

Eliminating Bed Bugs for Good

Bed bugs can be difficult to find because they hide in cracks and crevices. However, they are easy to spot once you know what you’re looking for! Knowing how to identify bed bugs is the first step in preventing or controlling an infestation.

Did You Find a Bed bug?

Reddish brown/ rusty coloured small blood stains
Small, red, itchy bites on your body
Black spots, the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen (feces)
The tiny pale yellow eggs
Skin that the bed bugs have molted
The bed bugs themselves
A sweet, musty odor coming from your bed or upholstered furniture, reminiscent of coriander, spoiled raspberries, or even play doh

Infestations are due to a lack of hygiene.
- Truth: Bed bugs do not discriminate- they are just as likely to thrive in a perfectly clean home as they are in a dirty one.
Bed bugs can transmit diseases which make you sick.
- Truth: Bed bugs cannot transmit diseases.
Bed bugs can only travel on fabrics.
- Although it’s harder for them to grip onto, bed bugs can still travel along non-upholstered surfaces.
Bed bugs die if you leave them without access to blood for a few days or weeks.
- Truth: Bed bugs can survive for up to 300 days without feeding.
Bed bug infestations can be cured with DIY’s and over the counter insecticides.
- Truth: Bed bug infestations require professional help as the bugs tend to hide in cracks and hard to access places. Many populations have become resistant to insecticides, which is one of the many reasons heat treatments are more effective.

Easily mistaken for other types of bug bites.
Small, red, and itchy. Can appear flat or raised, and often inflamed.
They do not hurt or itch initially, so they can go unnoticed for hours or even days. The lack of feeling the bites immediately after biting allows the bugs to draw blood for up to 10 min per feeding. Sometimes, the bites can even take up to 2 weeks to develop and be visible.
Bites are usually located in areas that are exposed while you’re sleeping- hands, face, neck, legs, arms.
They are usually in a straight row or zigzag pattern.
Some people may have allergic reactions to the bites, and some may have no reaction at all.

About bed bugs (Cimex Lectularius)

Bed bugs are small but mighty! They are parasitic insects that feed on blood, typically at nighttime, hence their name. Because of their habits, bed bugs are often found congregating in beds and furniture.
Bed bugs are most active during the night, as this is when they feed. During the daytime they hide in cracks and crevices to avoid light. They can be found behind picture frames, under furniture, and rugs, in electronics, clothing, closets, etc.
Female bed bugs can lay 2-3 eggs per day, resulting in hundreds of offspring in her lifetime of several months. Once an egg hatches, it requires a blood meal to develop and move on to the next life stage, of which there are 5. The entire five-stage cycle to adulthood is about 37 days and occurs more rapidly at warmer temperatures.
Bed bugs feed as often as once a day to every 7-10 days, and meals take a few minutes to complete. Meals will only happen under certain conditions (warmth, darkness, and the presence of CO2).

Bed Bug Life Stages

Egg

The life cycle of a bed bug begins with an egg, which is about the size of a pinhead or a speck of dust. These eggs are pearl-white in color and are marked by an eye spot if they are more than five days old. The eggs hatch into nymphs in less than a week, depending on the room’s temperature.

Nymph

Newly-hatched nymphs are translucent or whitish-yellow in color. For a nymph to mature into an adult bed bug, it must pass through five stages, shedding its exoskeleton at each point. This process requires a meal of blood to move on to the next level. Under optimal conditions and with a consistent host on hand, a bed bug can fully develop in about a month.

Adult

Once a bed bug reaches full maturity, it must feed regularly to reproduce. Adults are about the size of an apple seed, brown and oval-shaped, and either flat or balloon-like depending on how recently they have fed. An adult female bed bug can lay hundreds of eggs into the seams of your mattresses and box springs during her lifetime.

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