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Bed Bug Signs and Symptoms
Description:
Wingless, reddish brown tinted insects approximately 4-5mm in
length.
Physical characteristics
Newly hatched bed bug
nymphs are translucent and lighter in color than adults. They
continue to become browner and molt as they reach maturity.
Nymphs go through five stages of growth and can range in size
from 1.5 mm to 4.5 mm. Adult bedbugs are reddish brown,
flattened, oval, and wingless, with microscopic hairs that
give them a banded appearance. A common misconception is that
they are not visible to the naked eye, but adults grow to
about 5 mm (three-sixteenths of an inch) in length and do not
move quickly enough to escape the notice of an attentive
observer.
Feeding habits
Bedbugs are generally active only
at night, and their peak attack period is usually roughly an
hour before local dawn. They will sometimes, however, attempt
to feed at other times of day if food is near. Attracted by
warmth and the presence of carbon dioxide, the bug pierces the
skin of its host with two hollow tubes. With one tube, it
injects its saliva, which contains anticoagulants and
anesthetics. With the other, it withdraws the blood of its
host. (Thanks to the anesthetics, when the host actually feels
a 'bite' sensation, that is skin's reaction to the bite, not
the bite itself.) After feeding — a typical meal lasts about 5
minutes — the bug returns to its lair. Although bedbugs can
live for up to 18 months without a food source, they will not
voluntarily abstain from food for that entire time; if a food
source is available, they will usually seek food on a weekly
basis.
Many individuals erroneously associate
bedbugs with filthy conditions. In truth, as mentioned above,
they are attracted by exhaled carbon dioxide and not dirt, and
feed off blood, not waste. They are found as often in
immaculately clean locations as in poorly kept conditions.
While bedbugs have been known to harbor
pathogens in their bodies, including plague and hepatitis B,
they have not been linked to the transmission of any disease
and are not regarded as a medical threat.
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