Bedbug Facts

Bedbug Size: 1/4 to 3/8 inch (4-5 mm)

Bedbug Color: Reddish brown or brown

Bedbug Description: Bed bugs are sometimes called "red coats", "chinches", or "mahogany flats". The adult bed bug is a wingless insect that is flattened from top to bottom.

Bedbug Habitat: At the beginning of an infestation, bed bugs are likely to be found only in the tufts, seams, and folds of mattresses and bed covers. In areas of heavy infestation, bed bugs can be found in crevices in the bedsteads.

Bedbug Life Cycle: The life cycle stages of a bed bug are: Egg, Nymph, and Adult. The females lay about 450 eggs, usually at the rate of up to 50 per day, in cracks and crevices in the floor or bed, and the eggs attach to any hard surface. Newly hatched bed bugs begin feeding immediately. They shed their skin five times before becoming adults.

Bedbug - Type of Damage: They feed principally on human blood by piercing the skin with a long beak and sucking blood into their stomachs. They feed mostly at night, but will feed during the day if hungry and the light is dim.

Bedbug Control: In private homes, find all areas that bed bugs hide in during the day time. These must be treated with chemicals. In hotels, apartments, and other multiple-type dwelling places, bed bugs may spread from one unit to another using electrical wires and pipes as highways. All units should be inspected. Remove bird nests, if any.

Discovery Spots: Usually discovered in unsuspected areas such as in floor cracks, under carpets, behind loose wallpaper or wall pictures, in books, CDs and electrical outlets.

How are bedbugs treated?

Adult Bedbug

What to do

DO take notice of yourself and other people in your household who have mysterious bites, welts or unexplained itching.
DO remove clutter, i.e. throw away unwanted materials. Bedbugs like wood and like to hide in clutter - clothes on floor, around bed, etc.
DO give a thorough inspection to your bedding area. Look for white to light brown castings (skins) of the bedbugs.
DO communicate with your neighbors to learn the history of your apartment and building.

DO NOT panic and move. This will only prolong your suffering.
DO NOT move your bedroom set. Wherever you go, the bedbugs will follow.
DO NOT bomb or fog your apartment. You will send the bedbugs further into their hiding places, making them much harder to kill.
DO NOTattempt to treat bed bugs yourself. Chemicals used may be harmful to health if used incorrectly. If bed bugs are not thoroughly treated, the situation will not improve and you end up wasting your time and money.