What do domestic bed bugs look like?

None of us can immediately say what exactly a bed bug looks like. This is due to the fact that at different stages of development this pest undergoes metamorphosis, due to which its appearance radically changes. For this reason, it can be confused with a louse, small cockroach or tick. Residents of large cities who are not very well versed in the world of insects may not even be able to determine that they have encountered a bug. It is very important for everyone to have an idea of the appearance of a household pest, so that when detected, they can immediately take effective measures and drive it away from their home. People who enjoy walks in parks in the summer may recognize the wingless red bug, which likes to gather near tree trunks, on branches and stumps. All bugs have a common characteristic exterior - their body is elongated, there is a special ornate pattern on the elytra, the head clearly stands out from the body with a sharpened “beak”. A proboscis protrudes from the edge of the head, designed to pierce tissue and suck out blood.

Features of the appearance of bed bugs

Bed bugs have their own external characteristics, which are very different from their wild counterparts. Below are their features:

Bed bugs do not have wings. The wings would quickly give away the parasite; the flapping of their wings creates a special vibration that is easy to detect. When there are no wings, the insect is very difficult to detect, it is more difficult to grab or handle it. The peculiar evolution of insects tried to round out the shape of its body: in the absence of wings, the angularity disappeared.
The body color is usually brown, unlike its wild relatives. When a bug drinks blood, it acquires a dark color that can reach black. In a state of hunger, small bugs are even transparent; the color of their bodies can be light yellow. Because of this, people confuse them with cockroaches with similar colors.
The insect's abdomen has distinct segments in the form of stripes. In all types of bedbugs, the abdomen also has segments, but due to the presence of wings this is not so obvious. Bed bugs have distinct stripes on their bodies that increase in size and become distinct as the insect grows or when it becomes fed up with blood. Each segment expands, which leads to an elongation of the pest’s body.

What a bedbug looks like. Video:

It must be remembered that bedbugs have a very specific appearance, given its changes throughout the life cycle. You only have to see a bedbug once and understand that this is exactly the same household bed bug in order to remember it for a long time. In general, we can say that when an insect is hungry, its body seems to be pressed down, even flattened, but at the same time wide. It resembles a dirty small coin. When the bug fills itself with blood, the body becomes more protruding.

Often, satiety becomes fatal for bedbugs. They become defenseless and die in bed from the influence of the mass of sleeping people. In other words, crushing a well-fed bug is not difficult, but a hungry one is more difficult. A hungry bug has a flat body, it can press firmly to the surface, so you can’t just pick it up.

Armed with knowledge about the appearance of this household pest, you can always quickly make a decision to eliminate it.

The appearance of the bug is characterized by the presence of a proboscis on its head, which is a feeding organ. It is a jaw that has undergone evolutionary extension and has a two-channel system. This allows you to be saturated with blood through one channel, and through another to irrigate the bite site with your saliva.

With the help of this proboscis, the bug digs into the skin as close as possible to the vessel for one to two minutes. For complete saturation, he needs 4-5 such procedures, which he carries out slightly, moving over the skin. During digestion, the insect hides in a secluded place, and then repeats the whole process again.

Adult bedbugs are easily noticeable, as they measure 4-8 mm, and after eating their size increases up to two times. Juveniles are often mistaken for other insects. The larvae remain completely invisible to the naked eye.

How long do house bugs live?

The average lifespan of a bed bug is 10-12 months. In particularly extreme conditions (for example, during a sharp cold snap or the absence of a person in the house for a long time), they fall into suspended animation, in which they can remain for more than a year until the return of a source of food or normalization of external climatic conditions.

IMPORTANT! Household bugs are also called bed bugs, and their clutches instantly die at temperatures of +50°C and -10°C.

Lifestyle

Bed bugs are predominantly nocturnal. Only a certain danger or alarm can force them to become active during the daytime, for example, destruction of their habitat or the action of third-party chemicals.

The parasites are most active between 3 am and 6 am. At this time, they are especially dangerous for humans, since they go out in search of food, this is their feature. Insects are mobile and fast, they can get from any corner of the apartment to the bed in a matter of seconds, spend about half an hour feeding and return to their previous shelter.

Bed bugs spend most of their life cycle preferring to hide in various shelters, emerging at night to satisfy their hunger or to find a new home if the old one has been destroyed.

IMPORTANT! Parasites usually eat once every 5-7 days. If you notice new bites on your body every day, this is a sure signal that there are a huge number of parasites in the house.

After a single feeding, bedbugs digest the blood somewhere in a secluded corner of the home.

Reproduction and development

Bed bugs mate through traumatic insemination:

The male, using his genital organ, pierces the female’s abdomen and injects seminal fluid into it.
After a few weeks, the female begins to lay eggs (up to 5 eggs daily). Over the entire life cycle, one adult female is capable of laying about 250-500 eggs.
An insect in an egg will develop to the adult stage on average 30-45 days, but in extreme conditions development can take up to 100 days.
Bedbug larvae immediately begin to look for food on their own, because to move to the next stage of development (and to molt) they need a certain amount of blood they drink.

Characteristic features of their eggs

The female lays 3-4 eggs at a time, which are transparent and about 0.5 mm in size. But despite this, they are noticeable, since they are among adult insects and their metabolic products. Each egg has an elongated shape and resembles an ant's.

Only the larvae that emerge from the eggs bear a strong resemblance to young cockroaches or lice. Initially they are translucent and light. At this time, they can no longer be confused with other insects. Larvae that have not received food for a long time have a uniform light yellow color.

Appearance

Bed Bug The body of bed bugs is wide and flat. The size of the parasites ranges from 3 to 8.5 mm. A hungry insect looks like a small round ball. Since it does not have wings, the constrictions on its abdomen are quite clearly visible. Bed bugs feed only on blood. Their size and color change depending on how saturated they are.

Individuals that are very hungry and have not eaten for about two weeks are black bugs. They are very small, their body length barely reaches four mm. It is almost impossible to destroy them mechanically.
When the insect is full, it increases in size to 8.5 mm and acquires a scarlet color. It is easy to crush it even with an accidentally awkward movement. After it, tiny dark spots are noticeable on the bed or furniture.
Mostly the brown bug is found. Its bright color disappears within a few hours after heavy saturation.

How to distinguish bed bugs?

Having a general understanding of the features of the appearance and life activity of bedbugs, it is possible to easily distinguish them from other insects:

Adult cockroaches are clearly distinguishable against their background due to the presence of wings, giving them an even more elongated shape. The larvae of rufous cockroaches, which are wingless, have a characteristic red spot, a clearly visible effect on the upper side of the body. Juveniles of the black cockroach species have a characteristic black color and are darker in appearance even compared to adult bugs.
Lice and adult bed bugs come in different sizes and colors. Difficulties are caused by small bedbug larvae due to their visual similarity, but in this case one should not forget about the lifestyle characteristic of each type of parasite. Thus, the vital activity of lice is connected with the hair, so they are found only on the hair and are characterized by difficulty in removing from the surface of the head. For bedbugs, a comfortable place to stay is open areas of the body, where it is much easier for them to move and exist.
House ants have a slight resemblance to bedbugs only in the egg stage. And even the barely hatched larvae are easily distinguishable from bedbugs in appearance due to the body structure characteristic of an ant.
Ticks, a special type of arachnid, have 8 legs, which are larger in relation to body size compared to bedbugs. Bed bugs, like all insects, have only 6 legs.
Fleas are smaller in size compared to bedbugs. Also, the latter have a pronounced feature - the ability to jump and greater motor activity.

Ways to get rid of bedbugs

Nowadays, a huge number of different methods of getting rid of bedbugs are offered: from grandmother’s “tested” to almost nano-technologies. Which option is right for your particular case is up to you to decide. It may take time to experiment and you may not get the desired result right away. The main thing is not to give up!

When solving the problem of how to get rid of bedbugs in an apartment yourself and quickly, you can resort to the help of insecticides.

Karbofos

The action of karbofos is nerve paralytic. Once on an insect, the drug immobilizes it, resulting in death. However, if you decide to use this particular drug, remember that its paralytic effect lasts up to several months. And left on the surface of interior items, it poses a danger to children and pets. So, before you get started, read the instructions carefully and follow them carefully.

Almost all modern insecticides are highly effective in controlling bedbugs.

Dichlorvos

Dichlorvos is an aerosol preparation, and, according to experts, it is these products that are most effective in the fight against bedbugs. Surfaces on which the insecticide has come into contact will “work” against insects for a long time. To make the fight more effective, spray dichlorvos several times a week. Try to ensure that the substance gets into places where bedbugs accumulate, as well as in their possible habitats. After spraying, leave the room for about an hour, and upon returning, ventilate the apartment well.

The product is in aerosol form. It must be sprayed on the surface.

Hot fog

Getting rid of bedbugs using hot fog is a kind of know-how in disinfecting premises. Today, this is the most effective way to get rid of bedbugs in an apartment once and for all. The chemical used to treat premises is poisonous, which means it is better not to try to use it yourself. Seek help from professionals. They not only use modern equipment, but also have protective suits and adhere to safety regulations.

The method of removing bedbugs at home by heat treatment is quite effective.

The technology for killing bedbugs with hot steam is as follows: a chemical heated to 90 degrees is sprayed indoors. Hot fog heats the temperature in the apartment to 50 degrees, and bedbugs die already at +45 degrees. Treatment of the room (depending on the area) lasts approximately an hour. However, suspended particles of the drug used will settle on the surface for another 3 to 7 hours. Therefore, it is recommended to carry out wet cleaning of the room no earlier than 8-11 hours after spraying.

The sooner antiparasitic measures are started, the higher the likelihood of avoiding their subsequent increase in numbers.

Folk remedies

This is where you can find a huge assortment of all kinds of options for dealing with unwanted neighbors: from effective to funny and absurd. Although, according to many, there are traditional methods that not only eliminate bedbugs forever, but also do a good job of preventing the appearance of any insects in the house.

It is advisable to use folk remedies in cases where there are very few or no insects, but there is a risk of them entering from a neighboring apartment.

Increase or decrease in temperature. Furniture with blood-sucking insects is exposed to the cold or watered with boiling water. Such actions are actually detrimental to bedbugs.
Sagebrush. The pungent smell of this plant repels not only bedbugs, but also other uninvited guests.
Spraying gasoline or kerosene in places where insects accumulate will help significantly reduce their population. For complete destruction, such manipulations will have to be done often. If you can easily tolerate the smell of gasoline and kerosene, then this method will definitely suit you.
Dried tansy also has a characteristic aroma that is unpleasant for bedbugs. If you place twigs under the mattress, this is guaranteed to scare away blood-sucking individuals.
If you thoroughly treat areas where bedbugs accumulate with vinegar, this will also reduce their numbers.

So, it is quite obvious that unwanted guests can appear in any home. But it is also obvious that it is possible to cope with them. The main thing is not to wait for mercy from nature, but to act. And it doesn’t matter which method you choose: calling professionals to your home or grandma’s remedies.

Folk recipes using turpentine and other aggressive substances pose no less a threat to the human body and home environment than insecticides.

What does a bedbug bite look like?

In addition to all this, the presence of bedbugs can be determined by the condition of the bite site. Although each person has an individual reaction to insect bites, there are still features characteristic only of a bug:

They leave behind trails consisting of 3-5 bites, located at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other.
Since these are collective insects, many such paths appear during the night.
Upon careful examination of the injury site, a trace of a puncture through which blood was sucked is noticeable.

Bedbugs are active at night, so after sleep, burning and itching of the damaged surface appears. The main thing they bother a person with is their bites, which are very painful, and the resulting wound can subsequently itch for a long time. In addition, sensitive people may develop allergies. To avoid such troubles, you should always carefully inspect the premises of hotel rooms or rented apartments.

You can find a bedbug if you know what it looks like and where it might be hiding. An important factor in the appearance of bedbugs is the condition of the host’s skin; healthy skin attracts bedbugs.

To make sure whether there are bedbugs in the room, just carefully inspect such places and everything will become clear.

More often you can see not bedbugs, but chitinous shells remaining after their molting is complete. Whole clusters of dry skins may be found. This is direct evidence of the presence of bedbugs.

Their presence is revealed by brown spots on the bed linen.

During the day, you can see insect excrement, similar to poppy seeds - small, looking like dark dots.

Preventing the appearance of bedbugs in the house

To prevent bedbugs from ever infesting your home, take the following measures:

Block the entry points for parasites: seal cracks in the floor and baseboards, lay an insulating gasket in the doorway, etc.
Get rid of old furniture that was inherited from your grandmother or old owners.
Replace mattresses at least every 5 years.
Periodically inspect the premises for the appearance of bedbugs.
Clean your apartment thoroughly with a vacuum cleaner more often.
Add essential oils, ammonia, and vinegar to the water for washing floors.
Buy a steam mop.

Parameters to rely on when choosing funds

All chemicals are formulated for individual use. There is no universal remedy that will eliminate the problem under any conditions and degrees of neglect. List of criteria for choosing a product:

First of all, safety. Due to the fact that many stores sell substances for household use, high toxicity can lead to negative consequences on the body of residents.
Efficiency is the very property that is most important when choosing a product. If the drug does not produce results, then its use will be ineffective.
Deadline for destruction. If you need to get rid of “unwanted guests” in a short time, it is recommended to use aerosols.
Price. The phrase “quality - price” is not always true. Funds should be selected not by amount, but by quality.

How to properly destroy bed bugs. Video:

Distribution methods

Reasons for the appearance of bedbugs There are several options for pests to enter an apartment or house:

Due to the fact that a bed bug can migrate, it crawls from one apartment to another from neighbors.
You can bring it home from a store, hostel, along with your luggage, or from the market.
The insect can crawl and hide in the folds of clothing while traveling on a bus, train, or train.
It can appear in the house along with clothes purchased in stores, especially second-hand stores. You should carefully check it for the presence of bed bugs, their larvae and eggs.
Old furniture purchased from an antique shop can also be favored by them.

Insect habitat conditions

It is a mistake to think that bedbugs necessarily require unsanitary conditions to live. They feel great both in a rustic barn with animals and in a luxurious apartment with expensive renovations.

If insects appear in an apartment building or in one of the apartments, then soon their invasion is expected in other apartments. Walls and floors for bedbugs are not an insurmountable obstacle. Insects move easily around the house. Residents of neighboring apartments should immediately prepare for problems with bedbugs. The fight ahead will not be easy.

Interesting facts about bedbugs

Bedbugs were first mentioned in ancient Greek sources in 400 BC. Aristotle and Pliny also wrote about them, endowing them with all sorts of useful properties: treating ear infections, hysteria, and even neutralizing snake venom.
The reproduction of bedbugs in warm climates occurs much faster and more actively, but low temperatures affect them in a completely opposite way - the reproduction process is temporarily suspended, and the development of larvae is delayed indefinitely.
In the complete absence of a food source, bedbugs can fall into a state similar to suspended animation. Some of their life processes are suspended, thereby allowing the parasites to live without food for up to one year.
Due to its small size, the parasite can easily move across any area of the skin without fear of being damaged. It is very difficult to feel it on your body; only hypersensitive people, of whom there are not so many in the world, can do this.

Prevention

If there are bedbugs in neighboring apartments, it is necessary to carry out preventive treatment of the entire house with insecticidal preparations:

For the purpose of preventive measures, you need to carefully inspect all brought furniture. Especially if the furniture was purchased secondhand. It is also recommended to inspect wardrobe items, bags and suitcases. This can keep you away from nasty pests.
You should not bring home discarded soft toys, which are often the site of large concentrations of bedbugs.
If you have returned from a trip where you stayed at a hotel, then the first thing you need to do is inspect your travel bag or suitcase and, in case of the slightest suspicion of the presence of “guests,” carry out thermal or chemical treatment of it.

Types of bedbugs with photos and names

The habitat of insects determines the characteristics of their structure and behavior. Bedbugs are divided into 2 large groups: ground and water. There are also intermediate options: the water strider family lives on the surface of water bodies, and representatives of Leptopodomorpha live in the tidal zone and can submerge in water for a long time.

Water bugs

The inhabitants of stagnant bodies of water have adapted to life in the water column. They grew elongated rowing limbs for fast movement. Some individuals preferred to move slowly along the bottom, grabbing onto vegetation. Almost all aquatic species are predators; depending on their size, their prey is caviar, fry or fish. Insects use atmospheric air to breathe. Most have retained well-developed wings, which help them move in search of comfortable habitats. Common types:

Water scorpion

The Nepidae family includes 230 species. The length of insects is 20-45 mm. Their forelimbs have become grasping, their structure reminiscent of claws. The abdomen ends with a respiratory tube. The body color is brownish. Representatives of the family prefer to hunt from ambush, catching crustaceans and tadpoles.

Water scorpion

Water strider

The water strider family (Gerridae) has 700 species. Insects live on the surface of reservoirs during the warm period. The special structure of the legs, covered with non-wettable hairs, allows them to glide across the water surface. The front legs are short and are used to capture prey. Adults reach 30 mm. Insects receive information using compound eyes and sensitive limbs that detect fluid vibrations. Predators catch invertebrates that have fallen into a body of water.

Water strider

Belostoma

The giant water bug has become a rare inhabitant of Russian water bodies. The insect has a flat, streamlined body, the forelimbs are thick, and perform a grasping function. Large (up to 15 cm) individuals attack frogs, salamanders, and fish. Adults can bite a swimmer. The male takes care of the offspring; he carries the clutch on his back until the nymphs appear.

Giant water bug with eggs on its back

Gladyshi

The genus Notonecta comprises large freshwater bugs. Insects have convex elytra. The color of the body depends on the color of the bottom. Adults spend most of their time at the surface, holding onto the water film with their feet. They overwinter on the forest floor and fly well. Predators feed on insects and fish fry.

Information. Smoothies bite painfully, they are nicknamed “water wasps.”

Gladysh

Terrestrial species

Among the insects living on land, there are inhabitants of forests, fields, deserts, arctic tundra, and human buildings. One of the large superfamilies is shield insects. Bed bugs got their name from the large shield on their back. This is a triangular chitinous plate, starting at the pronotum and covering the main part of the abdomen. The size of the shield depends on the degree of development of the wings. In the harmful turtle, the flight organ is reduced, so the scutellum has developed over the entire back. The function of the chitite plate is to protect internal organs.

The largest family, true shield insects, includes 4 thousand species. The main part of them lives in Europe, a little less in North America. The insects are called tree bugs, although they live on bushes and herbaceous vegetation. Many species are agricultural pests. Representatives of the family have the same structure: the head is triangular, flattened, partially retracted into the prothorax. The eyes are bulging, the antennae are segmented. Wings with longitudinal veins, developed scutellum. Common types:

Lined scale insect

The bright red insect with black longitudinal stripes is nicknamed the “Italian bug.” Its length is 10-11 mm, the antennae are black. Distribution area: Europe and Central Asia. Phytophages feed on shrubs and trees. They prefer young shoots of aspen, rowan, and berry bushes. Active from May to September. The larvae damage the inflorescences of parsley, dill, and carrots.

Lined scale insect

Shield berry

The species Dolycoris baccarus is a polyphage. Its representatives suck the juice of berries, ornamental, oilseed and fruit crops. After punctures, the buds and leaves dry out. The fruits are falling. The size of the pest is 12 mm. The color is reddish-brown. The body is covered with hairs. There is a black and white rim along the abdomen. Full information about the pest in the article “Berry bug”.

Shield berry

Marbled bug

A dangerous pest that spoils about 300 species of plants appeared in Southeast Asia. The bug was artificially introduced to the USA and Europe. In new habitats it has no natural enemies, its numbers are not controlled. The insects are prolific, laying 20-30 eggs. In a year they manage to produce 3 generations. For the winter they climb into heated buildings. The body of the pest is pear-shaped. The color is brown with light dots. Length 10-17 mm.

Marbled bug

Shield turtles

In Europe, the family is represented by 46 species, and in North America there are 37 species. The insects are small, oval in shape, with a convex body. The wings are reduced. Many species destroy cultivated plants, the most famous being the pest bug. The species Eurygaster integriceps specializes in cereal crops. Adult size: length 10-13 mm, width 6-7 mm. The body color is brown, the scutellum covers the entire abdomen. The turtle bug overwinters on the forest floor and migrates en masse to wheat fields in the spring. Adults and larvae use their proboscis to damage grain. Bedbugs live in the Caucasus, in the forest-steppe zone of Russia, in Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Greece.

Harmful turtle

Redbug

The soldier bug, the cossack bug, or the red bug is a frequent visitor to garden plots. Insects are clearly visible thanks to their red back with a black pattern. Adult length 11 mm. Soldiers gather in numerous colonies of 500 to 10 thousand individuals. Bed bugs feed on fruits, seeds, plant tops, and dead insects.

Soldier bug

Predatory bugs

Several families of bugs specialize in eating other types of insects. Predators are large individuals with a black or brown color. This is the largest family of hemipterans (97 thousand species). Insects have an oblong head, thread-like antennae, and an awl-shaped proboscis. They are distributed all over the world. Predators are active at night.

The hunting bug family is also ubiquitous. Small individuals (3-12 mm) live in gardens and meadows. They attack insects with soft body coverings.

Hunter bug