What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?

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Can you tell the difference between bed bug bites, flea bites, or mosquito bites? On thing they have in common is they are a nuisance and their bite is usually very itchy to the host. The host is you, who the bed bug feeds from. Their favorite meal is blood.

It is really important to know what they look like because this bed bug invasion has exploded in recent decades, around the world. Their size gives them the advantage. They are barely visible by the naked eye but people traveling are the most part oblivious to these little parasites hitching rides in the seams of suitcases, clothing, and anything you can imagine. So, a word to the wise; be able to pick out a bed bug from other insects. These parasites are a very formidable enemy. Make no mistake, once bed bugs set up shop they reproduce rapidly and before you know you can have a very bad infestation.

Bed bugs look a lot like other bugs. They have no wings, however, and are very small. Standing over a bed bug, if you look closely they are a flat bug. You can mistake them for a termite or even an ant. Don’t think you can be sure you have spotted a bed bug by its color, depending upon whether or not the bug has eaten and things like when it molted and age, all affect the color of these bugs. Usually, however, bed bugs have a dark brown color. Even so, some bed bugs look like biting ants and surprisingly have a dark orange color. Others have light colors of tan or white. Bottom line, bed bugs are sure hard to identify. One reason bed bugs appear different colors is whether or not they have eaten. The color is determined by the blood the bed bug has ingested. Some appear very black or dark red. After they have eaten, they look like little balloons. Bed bugs also excrete waste while feeding. If this happens you will usually see reddish brown stains on the sheets. The majority of times this excrement will be foul smelling but other times there is barely an odor. Finding these bugs is made even harder by their miniscule size and ability to scoot along seams, cracks, and crevices.

An exterminator would have been needed most definitely a few years ago but now there are natural sprays that get right on top of the problem as soon as it gets identified. The sooner these parasites are found and gotten rid of, the less likely it is you will be infested with bed bugs.



By; Bradley Skierkowski