Flea Bites Vs. Bed Bug Bites

This page is a general identification guide between flea and bed bug bites. Although any physical interaction with pests should be handled by a medical professional, the products and methods suggested in this DIY guide will be used to treat your home, mattress, and furniture to get rid of the fleas and bed bugs that are causing the bites. To remove the fleas and bed begs in your home or property, follow this guide and the links attached in this page and we guarantee a significant reduction in their population.

It can be difficult to distinguish bed bug bites from flea bites as both are similar in appearance and irritation. Most individuals will have different reactions while some will not notice they have these bites until they see them appear on their skin.

Regardless of the infestation you are facing, you will need to quickly address these pests through prompt eradication. While these two arthropod pest bites are commonly mistaken for one another there are ways to identify the culprit.

If you are facing any health symptoms, we recommend consulting with your doctor or seek immediate medical attention to address these issues. To treat or identify flea and bed bugs in your home, follow this DIY guide below to learn the differences between these irritating pests and how to completely remove them. For further discussions, please do not hesitate to call, email, or visit one of our stores to speak with a trained professional.

Identification

Before you can proceed with the treatment approach, you will need to know how to identify between fleas and bed bugs. Misidentification can lead to using the wrong products products or unnecessary treatment options, which could be a waste of your time and money. If you have observed one of these pests, immobilize them with a bit of clear tape and look at the following characteristics.

For a physical example, refer to the image above as bed bugs are listed on the left and fleas on the right.

• Bed bugs are ruddy, brown to dark colored, flat bodied pests with six legs and two antennae. If they have fed, bed bugs will appear oval shaped. They range from 5 mm to 7 mm in length.
• Fleas are brownish-black colored, but will have a oval vertical shaped bodies despite if they have eaten or not. Unlike bed bugs, they will not have antennae, but they will have six legs and no wings. Fleas are a bit smaller than ticks from 1.5 mm to 3 mm.
• Bed bugs are not classified as nocturnal pests, but they are mostly seen at night since they like to hide in dark, hard to reach crevices. Despite the time of day, bed bugs will emerge from their hiding place to crawl across your furniture and mattress to feed on your blood.
• Like bed bugs, fleas are mostly active at night and will mostly harbor on pets, pet bedding, and furniture upholstery. While the warm and moist conditions of your pets skin makes an ideal habitat they will jump from their host onto you if conditions are preferable. Whereas bed bugs cannot fly or jump and will travel by crawling across your floor or furniture.

Flea Bites vs Bed Bug Bites

Initially it can be hard to tell the difference between flea bites and bed bug bites. However, by following the listed traits and referring to the image above can help with prompt identification. In the image above, a flea bite is shown on the left and a bed bug bite is on the right.

The only similarity between flea and bed bug bites is the pink reddish coloration and itchiness of skin.

Flea Bites

• Flea bites are normally small, sporadic clusters that appear as slightly raised bumps. These random or sporadic bite patterns are due to fleas jumping from one place to another as they feed.
• When these pests make contact with your skin usually itching will occur as well as bumps an hour after being bitten.
• Typically flea bites will appear around your ankles, back of knees, groin, legs, and other lower warm body parts as these pests will hide on ground level surfaces.
• Flea bites are typically more consistent than bed bugs since they can travel more easily by jumping rather than crawling like bed bugs.

Bed Bug Bites

• Bed Bug bites are small, red puffy bumps with red marks at the center and will be more raised and inflamed than flea bites. These pests bites will appear in lines or groupings on exposed skin that comes into contact with the surface of mattresses or furniture.
• Typically, bed bug bites will be on exposed upper body skin areas such as the neck, arm, back, or trunk of the body.
• Bed Bug bites are not immediately noticed as fleas as several days can pass after the first bite before witnessing raised, large lumps. You may experience a burning sensation before red, lumps appear on your skin.
• Due to bed bugs being able to hide in multiple dark crevices and travel by crawling their bites patterns are not as continuous as fleas.

Key Takeaways

What is the Difference Between Flea and Bed Bug Bites?

• Fleas bites are small whelps that will appear in sporadic and random patterns whereas bed bug bites are slightly larger, and raised red lumps that will form lines or groupings.

Where Will Bed Bug and Flea Bites Appear?

• As crawling pests, bed bugs will bite your neck, arm, back, and other areas of the upper body that is exposed. Fleas are pests that normally hop from one host to another and will bite the lower half of a persons body such as the legs, feet, and ankle.

How to Remove Bed Bugs and Fleas from Your Home

• One thing you will do in each pest control program is to thoroughly clean your home and furniture, except during bed bed control where you will leave infested objects where they are to avoid spreading pest further into home or yard. To treat bed bugs, we recommend using Flex 10-10, Pyrid Insecticide Aerosol, D-Fense Dust, and a Handheld Pesticide Duster to apply D-Fense Dust with. If you are experiencing fleas, you will want to use Martins Preferred Plus for Dogs or Marins Preferred Plus Flea Treatment for Cats, Novacide Flea and Tick Killer, Valar Plus Bifenthrin Granules, and Supreme IT.