Overview
Bed bugs
What Are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are small, flat, wingless insects that feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals, primarily humans. These pests belong to the insect family Cimicidae, with the two main species being Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus. Although they mainly feed on humans, they can also feed on other animals, such as chickens and bats, and very rarely on cats, dogs, or other domestic pets.
Bed bugs are found worldwide and can infest any location where humans live, particularly bedrooms, to stay close to their food source. They can be present in the cleanest of homes and are typically found in mattress seams, furniture cracks, sofas, behind pictures, and in other small crevices. Bed bugs can spread to other items in a room and potentially migrate to other rooms.
What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?
Bed bugs can be difficult to identify and are often confused with other insects. They are small, wingless, and have flat, oval-shaped bodies with six legs, a small head, and two antennae. They crawl at the speed of an ant, cannot fly or jump, and vary in size from 1 mm (juveniles) to 5 mm or more (adults). The color of bed bugs depends on their life stage and whether they have fed; they can be pale or white when young and darken to a reddish-brown after feeding.
