About the Bed Bug Registry

About Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are small parasitic insects that subsist on human blood. Bed bugs typically feed late at night and hide in tiny cracks and crevices during the daytime. Their bites form small red welts similar to mosquito bites, sometimes in a distinctive linear pattern.

Bed bugs can show up anywhere there are people, including hotels, theaters, trains and buses, coatrooms, libraries, and many other public places. And they can easily hitch a ride home on clothing or bags.

While bed bugs do not spread disease, they can cause severe psychological distress.

The insects are fairly small, extremely flat, adept at hiding, and can make a home anywhere there are small cracks and crevices. They can also go for long periods of time without feeding. This cryptic behavior makes them difficult to get rid of.

Our resources page will help if you think you've been exposed to bed bugs, or would like to learn how to avoid them.

Over the past few years, a number of cities have reported an alarming rise in bed bug numbers, but there is still very little public awareness of the problem.

In addition to our resource page, you can read more about the bugs at the University of Kentucky's informative site, and find out about how to deal with them in this primer on bed bug control.

Bedbugger.com is one of the best bed bug resources on the web, and has an invaluable bedbug forum with lots of advice and information from fellow sufferers.

The Bedbug Registry is a free, public database of bedbug sightings in the U.S. and Canada. We have about 20,000 bedbug reports dating back to 2006.

This site helps you check whether other people have encountered bedbugs at a hotel or in an apartment building so you can avoid them when you travel or rent.

The site FAQ explains how the site works in more detail.

Please read our posting guidelines before you submit a bedbug report.

Because our bedbug reports come directly from users, we can't guarantee their accuracy. If you feel a location has been reported in error, you can file a dispute.

This site is administered by Maciej Cegowski, a writer and computer programmer, as a way of getting vengeance against bedbugs after a traumatic experience in a San Francisco hotel.

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About the Bed Bug Registry