A bed bug is a small blood-sucking insect typically around the diameter of a credit card. They are typically found in college dorms, long-term living arrangements, and other large living environments.
They do not occur in smaller or normal environments due to heat and cooling systems. This makes knowing their whereabouts difficult, if not impossible.
Their name comes from the place they congregate to sleep and feed- this is their bed! They can move around during the day when needed, but mainly stay asleep. This is why they do not wander around during the day- it would be too difficult to keep up with how active they are.
They do not live in groups or cycles like mosquitoes or flies do, so identifying them as such can be hard at times.
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Red eyes
Another way bed bugs hide is by looking like other insects. They’re known as biological pest control agents, so it’s not surprising that they mimic other bugs for their exploits.
The red eyes of a bed bug are one of the ways they disguise themselves. According to insect photographers, these bugs often look like an Orange Commissioned Bug with black and white markings.
How bad can this look? Well, in the right light, it can look almost dignified. You can imagine a person lying in a bed surrounded by these little creatures!
Bullet point: Long legs/body/torso/ears/wherever they go down (out)
The long legs and body of a bed bug are another way they hide. They can reach up to half a foot in length! This is why it is so hard to find on the average person!
These bugs also have long bodies to get around in their places. The torso and legs make them easy to spot as they travel from room to room looking for food.
Dark brown color
They are usually darker brown in color, which can make them look like a burnt sugar cookie or pizza pie. They are also sometimes shaped like an upside down U
These bugs spend most of their time hiding in crevices and places where they are safe from predators. When food is scarce, these pests may become more active. This is a typical behavior for pests that do not have a long life span, such as termites!
Because they must hide so often, bed bugs need easy access to water. If you find that your bed bug problems are getting better, look for water cracks or leaks near where the bugs must go to water.
Tiny hairs on their bodies
These bugs have tiny hairs on their bodies. These can be seen when they are under a shower or a bathtub. They use these to climb up and over pipes and water fixtures to get to your bed!
They also catch air bubbles as they move which is how you know they are there. This is similar to what people with high blood pressure do when they feel the rise and fall of a heart beat. They feel that pulse so they know it is inside them.
The bed bug travels in groups of five to ten bugs, however, only four look like an ordinary bug during their invasion. These four look more like a circle with an offset border and no Centre. These are the Ct bedsbug and Pileup bug!.
Need blood to survive
As mentioned earlier, bed bugs feed on human blood. This makes sense as it is very rich material! It takes just a small puncture to take a bite out of your body and inject the blood into their system.
This makes sense as they are small insects that hide in places like your pillowcase. They then sneak into a sleeping person and consume the blood while they sleep.
It is believed that they stay in their new location for around six to nine months before moving onto another host. This makes sense as it takes that time for someone to report a bed bug infestation to be noticed and treated.
Once someone notices them, they contact the health department which brings in an exterminator to rid the home of them. In order to prevent this, have a plan in case you get caught by an infestation.
Frequent bites on your body
As mentioned before, bed bugs are most frequent in people who sleep in the same place as other people. Since they can eat your body twice per day, it makes sense that they would be very interested in familiar sites to snack on.
This is why they often find themselves on people’s bodies as they sleep. They can also congregate in places where others have been such as furniture or beds.
Since they are usually close to people when they are sleeping, it is not surprising that you may feel some neighborhood or household-level bed bugs! These may even make you feel like there are tiny little bites all over your body, which is very creepy.
However, since bed bugs are a vector insect, not a blood meal type, their bites do not seem to spread antibiotic resistance within their population. This helps prevent overly intense reactions such as swelling and/or itching.
Bites look like tiny red dots
When a person encounters a bed bug, it looks like one of the following:
A red dot. These look like tiny red dots that move around. It can look like one is hiding or moving around an object.
These look like tinyred dots that move around. It can look like one is hiding or moving around an object. Circle bites. These are bigger and more noticeable looking than the tiny red dot style bites. They may be oval or round instead of flat.
These may be oval or round instead of flat. Both looks same! People may not notice the difference between these two styles of bite, they are both bugs!
Bulletproof vases are typically used for flower arrangements or vegetable plants to contain seasonal changes in growth.
Smell bad
A bed bug’s smell is pretty subtle. When a person sleeps in a bed or a bed is infested, the smell can be very strong.
People who have lived in beds before, know how familiar they are with them. You feel very safe sleeping with them. You trust their presence to make you feel comfortable.
You trust them enough to let them lay there without checking them out? Yes!
They are that good at hiding their scent. Only when someone sleeps in the bed and uses the furniture, do they find an opportunity to develop a thick coat of scuff and dust to cover themselves.
This takes some time because it takes energy for people to peel off the coverings! Once they do, they will know it is daylight and they must get up to go outside.
Live in dirty places
Most live in the bed frame and head board, but there are reports of them in the mattress as well. This is due to being very active neighbors!
You can see a bed bug’s Wayne Gilchrist bug as it hides. It looks like an ornament with its curved back and long legs. They resemble small black bugs with a hint of red!
They hide easily and only appear when there is someone living in the room! They do not stay for very long once they find a new home.
They do not live in areas where you can easily see blood or tracks because that would attract other bugs. Their predators prevent these areas from being protected. This makes them vulnerable to disease and human activity such as sharing beds!
Bed bugs are commonly found in places such as hotels, houses, and apartments. They are also known as paper bugs because they don’t present any markings when moving.