Bed Bug FAQs

What are bed bugs?

Bed bugs are small, nocturnal, wingless insects that belong to the family of Cimicidae. They feed on human blood and other warm-blooded hosts.

What do bed bugs look like?

Young bed bugs are very small,  translucent, lighter in color and very difficult to see with the naked eye.  They become darker in color as they mature. Bed bugs become increasingly bigger and darker in color until they reach about 5 mm. Adult bed bugs grow to a length of 4-5 mm and a width of 1.5-3 mm.  They are reddish brown and have a flattened, oval appearance, similar to an apple seed.  Microscopic hairs make them look as though they stripes or banding.

How long do they live?

Bed bugs can actually survive for up to ONE YEAR without a food source and live for as long as eighteen months without any oxygen at all.

Are they nocturnal?

The most active time for bed bugs is at night, right before dawn but they have been observed feeding during the day.

How quickly do they reproduce?

Bed bug eggs look similar to the size and shape of rice.  Bed bugs lay approximately 1-5 eggs per day with a total of 200-500 in their lifetime; which is slightly less than one year. If a bed bug can lay up to 500 eggs, offspring infestation can quickly explode exponentially. In six months, a single bed bug can produce 30,000 descendants. In nine months, they can be counted by hundreds of thousands.  Bed bugs are extremely hard to get rid of without the help of a professional exterminator that specializes in bed bug eradication.

Do bed bugs bite?

Yes, bed bugs feed by biting the host.  They typically feed during nighttime hours and are most active before dawn.  However, beg bugs have been known to feed during the day. Bed bugs can cause a variety of symptoms in their hosts. Although some people are unaffected by bed bug bites, others can experience severe itching and discomfort. Welts and inflammation are an issue for some individuals, and severe infestation can lead to painful blistering. Prophylaxis can occur in severely allergic individuals, and asthmatics may find that a bed bug
infestation can trigger an attack.

How do they feed?

The bed bug injects the host with two feeding tubes, one for injecting anticoagulants and anesthetic and the other for withdrawing blood.  They are attracted to carbon dioxide and secondarily to heat.  They normally crawl onto the host but have been known to drop on a host from overhead.  They feed for approximately five minutes before returning to their hiding place.  They try to feed every five to ten days, but in the right conditions, they can live for as long as one year without feeding.

Are they dangerous to humans?

There is currently no evidence that bed bugs transmit diseases to humans however some people have an allergic reaction to bed bug bites. Additionally, there is the psychological effect of going to sleep knowing you will be bitten. 

What are the signs of a bed bug infestation?

Signs of an infestation includes the presence of apple shaped and sized bed bugs, bites, small blood stains on sheets, bed bug eggs and fecal matter of the bed bug on the mattress, with a heavier concentration of fecal matter typically on the corners of the mattress and in folds of the mattress.  Another indication to look for is bed bug exoskeletons or molted skins.

Where do they hide?

Bed bugs like to hide near the person they feed on. Beds, couches, chairs, etc.  They like to burrow away in very small cracks and crevasses.  Look in the seams of a mattress and the folds of sheets.  Additionally, any screw holes where headboards and sections of the bed are held together.

What are the common infestation places?

Many public places are at risk for bed bug infestations.  Top infestation spots include hotels, dorms, hospitals, schools, vehicles, public transportation, libraries etc.