Small, brown, oval-shaped, and about the size of an apple seed, bed bugs are often confused with other insects such as fleas, ticks, and carpet beetles. While bed bugs are a pest issue that needs solving, it’s important to first be sure that you are really dealing with bed bugs.
Bed bugs can still be hard to spot, but the experts at Western Exterminator can help. If you need help identifying pests or with bed bug removal and prevention, get in touch with us and schedule a bed bug inspection.
Bed bugs go through several changes during their life, and their appearance can shift depending on age, feeding habits, and where they’re hiding. To help understand what bed bugs look like, it’s important to look at the details. Knowing the typical bed bug shape, their color at each stage of development, and typical bed bug sizes can help you work out if the insect you’ve spotted is a bed bug. Read on to learn how to identify a bed bug based on its size, shape, and color.
Think you’ve got an infestation? Read our dedicated guide for tips about how to get rid of bed bugs.
Bed bugs are very small, which works to their advantage as it allows them to easily hide when they are between feedings. Their flat bodies allow them to wriggle into tiny cracks and folds of a mattress. As adults, they are between four to five mm in length. Nymphs (or immature bed bugs) are even smaller, making them nearly impossible to see with the naked eye.
Bed bugs are small insects without wings. They are very flat and have round bodies divided into three segments. The first, at the top, is the head. Right behind that is a small segment known as the pronotum. The largest part of the bed bug's body is the abdomen, which is wide and round. Adult bed bugs have six legs and two antennae at the top of their head.
Bed bug nymphs (immature) are usually white or tan in color. Fully grown adults are a rusty, reddish-brown. After a blood meal, bed bugs appear bloated and red, just like mosquitoes and ticks often do after they have fed.
The bed bug life cycle:
The time it takes a bed bug to progress through its life cycle depends on temperature and the availability of blood meals.
If you’re dealing with itchy bites at night and you’re not sure what’s causing them, schedule an inspection with Western Exterminator.
Adult bed bugs are roughly the size of an apple seed — about ¼ inch long.
Bed bug eggs are tiny: about 1 mm long, and roughly the size of a pinhead.
Both are small and can be found in similar areas of the home, but they're quite different. Bed bugs are flat, oval, and reddish-brown, and they feed on blood. Carpet beetles are rounder, often patterned with black, white, and orange scales, and they feed on natural fibers like wool, fur, and feathers — not people.
Beds are the most common hiding spots, specifically mattress seams, box springs, and bed frames. Bed bugs prefer to stay close to where people sleep so they can feed undisturbed at night. As an infestation grows, it can spread to headboards, nearby furniture, electrical outlets, and even behind loose wallpaper.
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