Bed Bugs Pictures: Actual Size, Stages and Skin Bites

Click Free Pest Control Quote
to fill in a form to obtain a free pest control quote today.

Overview

The following Bed Bugs pictures can help identify bugs in your home or apartment as well as any bites or symptoms on your body.

When looking for bed bugs in the home, first realize that they follow a lifecycle. The insects start as an egg, move through infancy (called being an instar or nymph), followed by adulthood (see lifecyle chart below and National Geographic video).

In terms of skin reactions, it varies by person. Some people are not allergic to bed bug bites and will show no skin reaction. Others are highly allergic and will experience red skin bumps, irritation and rash. Severe cases result in rashes. See pictures below for examples.

Bed bugs live for approximately 10 months and move through a life cycle from egg to adult. Infestations usually start with a female bed bug who would bite the host for blood upon arrival in the bed, and then for another "meal 2 weeks later.

At that point, she would lay eggs in the home at a rate of 3 per day. It takes 2 weeks for an egg to hatch. The just born nymph looks for food right away and becomes an adult bed bug in 4 months. The speed of reproduction and total life span is effected by room temperature and what is described assumes a room at 68F (20C). The adult bed bug lives for approximately 10 months, but can live without feeding up to a year if you decide to move to another room. A typical infestation has between 4 and 500 bed bugs.

If you are going to "do it yourself", the best way to remove an infestation is to buy a kit which contains a collection of products and zippered covers needed to 1) kill the bugs that you can see, 2) kill the bugs you can't and 3) protect against eggs you miss. Good choices include Eco Friendly natural kits offered by Naturasil or an insecticide based kit offered by Bed Bug Supply. More than one type of spray is needed to kill bedbugs, which is why a kit is essential.

If your mattress is over eight years old and showing signs of wear you may consider replacing it. See our guide for detailed instructions on pest control for eliminating bed bugs.

As this picture of a bed bug shows, adult bed bugs are approximately 1/4 inch to 3/8 inches long. After feeding on blood, the bug becomes a color that is a dull dark red. When the bugs are just born they have no color or look like a straw color.

A bed bug only feeds on the skin for up to 10 minutes. One bug may make multiple bites. Each bed bug will feed every few days and then move back to their hiding place until they need to feed again as this picture of bed bugs shows.

In this picture the bed bug on the left hasn't fed on a host yet. The bedbug on the right is engorged with blood.

Bed bugs tend to hide near the bed, with 80% - 85% of any infestation found near the mattress. However, they can also hide in nearby furniture, particularly if they were dropped in the area.

Bed bugs usually climb up bed legs or a headboard. They are attracted to the carbon dioxide exhaled by humans when breathing. Hiding spaces such as mattress seams are convenient ways to stay close to a human source for their next blood meal.

Picture of Bed Bug eggs on furniture including adult bed bugs and just born bedbug (nymph). Each bed bug (females) will lay approximately 3 to 8 eggs and up to 500 eggs over their 10 month life. Each egg is 1/25 inch and is curved. The bed bug will lay eggs in a sticky cluster. A bug will feed 24 hours after being hatched. Eggs will hatch between 4 and 12 days.

While bed bugs will bite anyone, they only leave red irritated skin on people that are allergic to the bites. This is why two people sleeping in the same bed can experience no symptoms, or only one of the two people will see symptoms.

Not sure you have a bed bug infestation? Trouble evaluating your problem based on these bed bugs pictures. One good way to evaluate a bed bug is to complete this form and send to to the Harvard School of Public Health, with a sample bug for evaluation. See this page for more bed bug photos or here for more bed bug pictures.

Remember that each bed bugs picture will be different from being a baby bed bug or nymph through adulthood.

Bed bugs are difficult to exterminate. It's preferable to call in an expert who can confirm the presence of bed bugs, knows how to conduct a proper inspection, and who uses specialized equipment to treat the problem. The bugs multiple quickly so be sure to act as soon as you think you have a problem..

Start by locating a nearbybed bug exterminator from our list. Only use companies and representatives of those companies that have specific expertise in treating bed bugs.

Do you have a question or great story about bed bugs? Share it!

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Finding and Getting Rid of Bed BugsNot rated yet Bed Bugs Handbook Reader Question Ten days ago I was bitten by a bed bug while sleeping. I know it was a bed bug because it woke me up and I found

Have Bed Bugs But No BitesNot rated yet When my husband and I first moved into our appartment we were sleeping on two twins beds. Now I am 4'10" and my husband is 6'2". And this bed was not working

Bed bug paranoidNot rated yet I just traveled to Vietnam and I discovered I stayed in a hotel with bed bugs. I've had the worst itching and hurtful bites ever, I have them all over

Click here to write your own.

Free brochures for download with additional bed bugs pictures and information.

Bed Bug Problems

Guide to solving bed bug problems.

Written by: Michigan State Community Health Services

Available in a free Ebook

Bed Bug Pictures and Facts

Bed Bug Fact Sheet

Written by: James J. Butler

Available in a free Ebook

Excerpt from:
Bed Bugs Pictures: Actual Size, Stages and Skin Bites