What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?

Your Complete Bed Bug Identification Guide.

If you have ever experienced bed bugs, you can agree that is a very distressing ordeal. However, if you have never encountered bed bugs before and are now waking with bug bites, what should you do? First foremost, remain calm. Let’s determine exactly what you are dealing with. We will show you what a bed bug looks like and what other bugs can be mistaken for bed bugs. Proceed with caution!

What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?

Bed bugs are vampire-like little creatures that feed on the blood of and other warm-blooded animals. Bed bugs have elongated, oval-shaped bodies and are typically a reddish-brown color. With six legs, two long antennae, and small, piercing mouthparts, these insects are about the size of an apple seed.

What Do Bed Bug Droppings Look Like?

When looking for bed bug feces you will want to keep an eye out for a brownish, rust-colored droppings that are the size of a pinhead. Older feces will generally be darker, while fresher bed bug feces may be brighter red (just like blood). Bed bug feces has the consistency of mud or wet saw dust.

Bed bug feces can be found by looking at the creases along the mattresses and box springs, headboards and footboards. In some more extreme cases can be found in drawers, outlets, baseboards and picture frames.

Bed Bug Casings – Bed bug casings are the shells of the bed bugs that have been left behind after they have molted. Like bed bug feces, casings can be found by looking at the creases along the mattresses and box springs, headboards and footboards. In some more extreme cases can be found in drawers, outlets, baseboards and picture frames.

Do I Have Bed Bugs?

Determining whether or not you have bed bugs is going to be key in terms of getting rid of them! There are a couple of other pests that can be confused for bed bugs. Check them out:

What Do Bed Bug Bites Look Like?

Is there a pattern to your bites or are they random all over your body or are they just on your ankles and feet? Taking a good look at your bites can also help you to determine whether or not you have bed bug. Bed bugs tend to feed on the part of the body that is touching the mattress or whatever you are sleeping on. So, you will notice in this picture, the bed bug bites are lined up in a row along the back, where this person had been laying on the mattress.

Flea bites for example, tend to be mostly around the feet and ankles. Most of the time, you can see the fleas when they are on you or catch them when they are biting you. Bed bugs tend to be more elusive, and you really don’t notice them too much until they become an infestation.

Still Not Sure?

Are still not sure whether or not you have bed bugs? HowToPest.com can help. You can call our expert technicians and they can help you determine your pest and give you a plan of action to get rid of them! Our best advice is not to wait! Bed bugs can spread very quickly and be a lot more work than you expect!