What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?

If you're feeling itchy while you're sleeping or have woken up to small red welts on your body that are irritating your skin, there's a chance you may be dealing with bed bugs. How would you know for sure though? Bed bugs are excellent hiders and can be hard to find in the middle of the night when they are doing their dirty work.

Properly identifying Bed Bugs in your home is the first step in controlling them. On this page, we will share with you the common traits bed bugs have so you can confirm the presence of the pest and move into a treatment approach that will get rid of them.

Bed Bug Identification

Bed bugs are tiny but they are not tiny enough to where you can't see them with the naked eye. If you were to get a close look at a bed bug, you would think that they look similar to an apple seed with six little legs and tiny antennae.

Bed bugs do not have wings, are shaped like an oval, and have very flat bodies that help them to squeeze through the tightest of spaces. When they've had a blood meal, they can be more visible because they are gorged and plump.

Bed bugs grow in stages after they hatch from an egg. Immature bed bugs are known as nymphs and vary in size ranging between 2 mm and 5 mm. Adult bed bugs are around 1/4th of an inch or larger.

The Bed Bug life cycle can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months, depending on the surrounding temperature and available food sources.

• Adult bed bugs have a rusty red color and swell to a bright red directly after feeding off blood.
• Immature bed bugs are a bit lighter and smaller than adults. They are typically a yellow, tannish color.
• The eggs of bed bugs are usually a very light cream-like color.

Do I Have A Bed Bug Problem?

You can only be sure you have a bed bug problem if you perform an inspection and see signs of bed bug activity. Some of the main pieces of evidence to look out for that will let you know you have a bed bug infestation on your hands are:

• Bed bug feces that come in the form of black and dark brown spots on your mattress, furniture bed sheets and fabrics.
• Bed bug eggs and shed skins left behind by developing bed bugs.
• An odd musky scent in areas of high bed bug activity.

If you find any or all of these signs of bed bugs, you have an infestation and need to act quickly so it doesn't grow. Fortunately, bed bugs can be controlled with a combination of products like Flex 10-10, Gentrol IGR and D-Fense Dust.

Learn more about bed bug control on our dedicated page here.