BedBugs.org – The Web's #1 Bed Bug Resource

What are Bedbugs?

They are small insects that feed on both animal blood and human blood. These insects have been around for centuries, and they are so well-adapted to feeding on human that most people may not be aware when they are being bitten. They generally feed when people are sitting calmly or sleeping, and they particularly enjoy feeding at night. Adults can survive for more than a year without feeding, which is one adaptation that has ensured survival.

During the middle of the 20th century, they were in decline in America. Perhaps this was because people were knowledgeable about their existence and frequently used pest control methods to control them. However, in the past few decades, peoples worries diminished because their rare presence in homes. In the past few years, the United States has seen a dramatic increase in the number of reports.

Today, many people are still ignorant about them. Some people believe they are immune to the problem as long as they keep a clean house. That is not true. People also generally believe they are a problem only for the lower-class. That is not true either. Any home or dwelling can become infested, regardless of how clean or tidy it is, and so that is why people should educate themselves.

They are small, only about 1/4 of an inch in length. Their color is usually reddish-brown, though they are sometimes a much lighter straw color. They are sometimes referred to as Mahogany Flats, probably because they are flat and oval-shaped. They are similar in size to an apple seed or a lady bug. Baby bugs are significantly smaller than adults, and they measure smaller than 6 mm. They are six-legged creatures, and the upper part of their bodies contains gold-colored hair. They have visible antennae and cone-like eyes.

The males have a sharp flap on the back of their bodies, while the female of the species has a body that ends in a rounded or curved segment. The upper body of both the males and females is often described as being wrinkly like crinkled paper. They emit a musty, sweet odor from glands located on their thorax.

The term given to an immature bedbug is nymph. Nymphs are small, and they shed their skins regularly before they reach adulthood. These immature bugs must eat a meal before they shed, and they shed about five times before they become mature insects.

They are not flying insects, though they are somewhat mobile. They tend to be found around places where people recline or sleep, and they generally dont venture too far away from such areas.

They generally live in small groups as opposed to nests or hives. The bugs lay eggs, and the eggs hatch into incredibly small nymphs, only about 1/16th of an inch long. The nymphs go through molten stages and grow into adult size in about 5 weeks.

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BedBugs.org - The Web's #1 Bed Bug Resource