Bed bug insect have caused distress and concerns for years. They are small amd hard to identify with the naked eye. Despite their name, they are not just limited to beds. They can infest homes, hotels, and other structures.
There are three types of bed bug insects: eggs, young or nymphs, and adults with five molting periods, and adults. These three types of bed bugs have different sizes and appearances. Although they are called by different names in other countries, they are commonly known as bed bugs in the English language.
Bed bugs live and are often seen in your house, hotels, dormitories, apartments, and public transportation. They assembled on areas such as piles of clothes, cardboard boxes, and upholstered furniture. What causes these pests include buying secondhand things that are already infested, houses that are frequently cleaned, and checking in on infested hotels. Bed bugs are attracted to human scents such as body odor and sweat, human presence, and the carbon dioxide a sleeping person produces. These pests multiply rapidly when the conditions are favorable to them.
Understanding these things about bed bug insects will help you avoid bed bug bites. The problem of insects like bed bugs is not impossible to solve. This article aims to help you understand bed bugs and identify the types, where they live and are often seen, where they come from, what causes them, and how fast bed bugs multiply.
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What is a Bed Bug Insect
It is tough to detect bed bugs using the naked eye. These insects or pests feast on human and animal blood. They are the size of an apple seed, don’t have wings, and are reddish-brown.
Their bodies are oval and flat. Young Bed Bugs are tiny and have a transparent or yellowish appearance. They are hard to find because of their color, while tiny white eggs are laid by adult bed bugs.
There are three (3) types of bed bugs insect that you have to know, and these types of bed bugs have different appearances. The following types of bed bugs and their appearance can be seen below.
THREE TYPES OF BED BUG INSECT
Listed below are the different types of bed bugs insects based on their color, size, and appearance.
- Egg of Bed Bugs – Eggs of bed bugs are about 1 mm long, roughly equivalent to the thickness of a credit card. Despite their small size, bed bug eggs can be seen with the naked eye. The texture of egg bed bugs has a smooth and slightly sticky surface.
- Young or Nymph – The newly formed nymphs are transparent and lighter. Their color becomes browner as they shed and mature. Their movements are similar to ants, and when they are crushed, they release a distinct unpleasant odor. They have the same body structure as the adult, but it is smaller and less developed.
- Adult Bed Bugs – The appearance of adult bed bugs is flat, has no wings, is oval in form, and the color is reddish-brown. The adult bed bug grows from 4 to 5 mm long. They have two (2) antennae, a segmented body with six legs, a flat body that helps them hide in small areas, and they are also covered with tiny hairs.
Bed bugs are insect attacks at night or in any dark surroundings. As an insect sucking blood, their favorite spots to bite are exposed skin, such as the neck, legs, back, and hands. The list below is where the bed bug lives and is often seen.
NAME OF BED BUGS IN EVERY COUNTRY
Bed bugs are known by different names worldwide, though the scientific name Cimex lectularius is fairly universal. Below are the names of bed bugs in every country languages in the world:
North America
- United States: Bed bug
- Canada: Bed bug
- México: Chinche de cama, cama chinche
South America
- Brazil: Percevejo de cama
- Argentina: Chinche de cama
- Colombia: Chinche de cama
- Chile: Chinche de cama
- Peru: Chinche de cama
Europe
- France: Puce de lit
- Germany: Bettwanze
- Spain: Chinche de cama
- Italy: Cimice dei letti
- Portugal: Barata de cama
- Netherlands: Bedwants
- Sweden: Sänglus
- Norway: Sengemidd
- Denmark: Sengelus
- Russia: Постельный клоп (Postel’nyy klop)
- Poland: Pluskwa domowa
- Czech Republic: Postelní brouk
- Hungary: Ágyipoloska
- Greece: Κρεβατοκάμπι (Krevatokámpi)
Asia
- China (Simplified): 床虱 (Chuáng shī)
- China (Traditional): 床虱 (Chuáng shī)
- Japan: トコジラミ (Tokojirami)
- Korea: 침대 벌레 (Chimdae beolle)
- India (Hindi): बिस्तर की कीट (Bistar ki keet)
- India (Tamil): படுக்கை புழு (Paṭukkai puḻu)
- Iran (Persian): ساس تختخواب (Sās takht-e khab)
- Pakistan (Urdu): بستر کیڑہ (Bistar keeda)
- Thailand: ตัวเรือด (Tua rʉ̂at)
- Vietnam: Rệp giường
- Indonesia: Kutu kasur
- Philippines (Tagalog): Linta ng kama (surot)
- Malaysia: Kutu katil
- Singapore: Bed bug (English), 眠虫 (Chinese)
Africa
- South Africa: Bed bug (English), bedwants (Afrikaans)
- Egypt: حشرة السرير (Hasharat al-sareer)
Australia and New Zealand
- Australia: Bed bug
- New Zealand: Bed bug
Middle East
- Israel: בעיית המיטה (Be’ayat ha-mitah)
- Turkey: Yatak böceği
- United Arab Emirates: حشرة السرير (Hasharat al-sareer)
Oceania
- New Zealand:Bed bug
Notes – The name “bed bug” is commonly used in countries that speak English. In many languages, the term refers directly to the bed or the act of biting, reflecting the insect’s behavior. In non-European languages, names often describe the bug’s relationship to sleeping areas or its parasitic nature.
WHERE BED BUGS LIVE AND OFTEN SEEN
They are well known for hiding in tight spaces and night-time eating habits. Although their name suggests otherwise, Bed Bugs are not only found in beds or sofas.
Below are the following habitats or where bed bugs are often found.
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- House/Rooms/living room
- Dormitory
- Hotel/motel
- Apartments
- Bus
- Shelter
- Trains
They can assemble in a variety of indoor spaces, such as:
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- Pile of clothes
- Sheets or blankets
- Luggage or suitcases
- Upholstered furniture
- Cardboard boxes
- Sofas/Couches
- Underneath carpets
Bed bugs are fast crawlers. They can go far and crawl over carpets, wood, and tiles, moving up to your feet per minute. This enables them to move through entire residences, including hotels and apartment buildings.
WHAT CAUSES BED BUGS
They can enter your home from an affected area. If you live in an apartment or dormitory, you may travel from one place to another. The list below is what causes bed bugs:
- Bed bugs are travelers that’s why traveling or staying in infested areas has a high chance of bringing it home. You may transport them in Luggage, clothing, or other personal items.
- Houses that are frequently cleaned or not taken care of can cause bed bugs to appear and spread. Poor house maintenance can produce an atmosphere that is favorable to bed bugs. Unclean areas can act as a hiding place and breeding grounds for bed bugs.
- Another reason that causes bed bugs is buying or purchasing second-hand furniture, especially if it is already infested.
- Old stuff or piles of trash is also one of the best hiding places for them. It is hard to detect or eliminate them, and it will be easier for them to spread within the area.
These bugs are tiny and skilled at hiding or concealing throughout the day, so they can easily sneak into your home without your knowledge.
WHAT ATTRACTS BED BUGS?
Human scents like sweat and body odors attract bed bugs. Especially in bedrooms, piles of unclean clothes and trash can serve as hiding places for them. They are attracted to warm and dark surroundings where they can hide in piles of clothes, cracks, and other warm and dark areas. They are also attracted to human presence and heat because when we sleep, the body releases heat and carbon dioxide, which signal bed bugs to their blood meal.
HOW FAST DO BED BUGS MULTIPLY
Bed bugs can multiply rapidly when conditions are favorable for them. Here are some aspects of how fast they multiply:
- A female bed bug reproduces five (5) to seven (7) eggs daily, and these eggs develop into young bed bugs within six (6) to ten (10) days, depending on temperature and other conditions. The female bed bug lays from 200 to 500 eggs in her lifetime.
- When the bed bug egg is hatched, it is called young or nymph, and it goes through five stages of puberty before it becomes an adult. The whole process of changing an egg to an adult can take five (5) to eight (8) weeks, depending on temperature.
- The reproduction begins to reproduce when an adult bed bug is 2-3 weeks old. Bed bug population can grow quickly in a warm environment, and in just a few months, an infestation that started off small could grow to be vast and uncontrollable.
These pests can live for an average of 6 to 24 months, feed every 3 to 7 days, and they can go months or even years without eating. Without immediate action, a small infested area can grow within months.
Relative Article: Are you embarrassed to go out because of the mark on your skin caused by a bed bug bite? Here’s our guide and step-by-step instructions on Bed Bugs Bite Home Remedy Treatment.
DID YOU KNOW?
Fossils discovered in Egypt demonstrate that bed bugs have been identified as human parasites for over 35 centuries. Bed bug infestations increased in the 1990s, and they are now common throughout the world.
Bed bugs belong to the “Cimicidae Family“, it is an order of insects from hemiptera, commonly known as the “True Bugs.” At least eighty-eight (88) of them are known to co-exist with bats and consume birds as food.
ARE BED BUGS HERMAPHRODITES?
No, they are not hermaphrodite, when an organism possesses a male and female reproductive organs it is called hermaphrodite. However, bed bugs are sexual animals that have male and female individuals.
With the proper identification, Bed bugs insect can be easily avoided and eliminated. Solving the bed bug problem is not impossible if it can be efficiently handled. A pest control expert or your local health department can provide more particular advice for your case.
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