Hey Everyone!  We’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about what bed bugs actually look like. Since we are all amateur entomologists here, we’d love to show you!

Visual Identification of bed bugs:

Bed Bugs Eggs:

 Bed bugs eggs are small but visible (approximately 1mm in diameter). These are really hard to see. If you have been somewhere with an infestation, its best to assume that anything not sealed in plastic has been infested. The only way to ensure that your luggage and clothes do not have eggs is to heat treat them at 120F. Not too self-promote…but the the ZappBug oven is designed to do exactly that!

Nymph Bed Bugs:

 Range from just over 1mm long to just under 1cm (¼ inches) as they near maturity. These buggers are hard to find and unlike eggs, they can run and hide.

Adult Bed Bugs:

 Adults are about 1cm (¼ inches) long and are a brownish red color, especially if they have been feeding. These guys are pretty easy to identify because of their unique front legs and body shape. ..as you’ll be able to see in the bed bug pictures. The front legs bend forward, not backward like most other bugs. These guys are really fast. They can run approximately as fast as a human can walk (which is insane considering their size). Bed bugs infestation are terrifying and we highly recommend a preventative approach. You can get rid of of bed bugs if you already have them but it’s something you should strongly avoid.

 

Here are some bed bugs pictures from various sites on the web:

http://www.terminix.com/Information/Pest-Identification/Biting_Insects/Bed_Bugs/

http://www.bedbugcentral.com/bedbugs101/topic.cfm/identification