What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?

A bed bug is a parasitic insect that likes to feed on human blood. They will readily feed on a pet, rodents, birds, and other warm-blooded animals as well. They have been known since the 1600's as pests. They are not native to the New World, having been introduced from Europe. Thought to be almost eradicated, bed bugs have made an unwelcome comeback.

Identification

The color of bedbugs varies from brown to a reddish-brown. After they have engorged themselves on blood, they will be dark red. The body of the bedbug is oval and flattened, about one-fifth of an inch long. They are easily able to hide almost anywhere due to their shape. They have a mouth that resembles a beak. This allows them to suck blood from a host. The adults do not have wings, and the newly hatched young are almost completely colorless.

History

There were no bedbugs in the United States until the early colonists unknowingly brought them from Europe. They do well where there are many people, with places like hotels a favorite place for them to live. The use of pesticides such as DDT almost completely wiped out bedbugs in the middle of the twentieth century, but they have begun to come back. The discontinued use of pesticides has been a boon for bedbugs, and baits designed to kill them are much less effective.

Geography

The recent comeback of the bedbug can be traced to three states in the United States where poultry workers became contaminated and brought the insects into their homes and elsewhere. Delaware, Arkansas and Texas are these geographical points and indications are now that the bedbug population in the U.S. has increased almost 500 percent in recent years. Prolific international travel has also helped the cause of the bedbugs since people bring them in their luggage unwittingly from foreign countries. New York City in particular is a hotbed for bedbugs, and they are now in hotels, schools and even hospitals.

Time Frame

The female bed bug has the capability of laying up to one dozen eggs each day, depositing them in cracks and on rough surfaces where the sticky eggs remain until they hatch. The eggs will hatch in a week to 17 days, and the little bedbugs look to feed right off the bat. Depending on the temperature, the development of a bedbug from a nymph to an adult can take anywhere from 21 days to 120, with warmer temperatures speeding things up. The bedbug can go for several months without food, and the adult's lifespan is as long as a year and a half.

Misconceptions

A common myth about bedbugs is that they are too small to see and too fast. This, however, is not true. A bedbug is almost a quarter of an inch long. He cannot move quickly enough to escape the eyes of a keen observer.