How to identify and treat different types of bug bites. Discover effective prevention methods and tips to provide relief from itching, swelling, and other symptoms.

Identifying Common Bug Bites

Recognizing the type of bug bite can be crucial in determining the appropriate treatment. While bug bites often share similar characteristics, such as pain, itching, swelling, and redness, the specific details can help differentiate between them.

Bed Bug Bites

Bed bug bites typically appear in clusters on the face, neck, arms, or hands, especially after sleeping. They resemble mosquito bites and can be itchy and slightly swollen. Some people may not even notice the bite marks. Bed bug bites can take up to two weeks to develop in certain individuals, and they do not spread disease.

Mosquito Bites

Mosquito bites manifest as a slightly swollen and red area that may itch and become irritated. The symptoms usually appear quickly after being bitten and worsen over the next 8-12 hours. Mosquito bites do not typically occur in clusters. It can take up to 10 days for a mosquito bite to fully heal. Mosquitoes are most active during warmer months, in the early morning and evening hours. They can transmit diseases, including Zika virus, West Nile virus, malaria, Chikungunya virus, and dengue.

Tick Bites

Tick bites may be noticeable because the tick is still attached. If the tick has detached, you may see a red spot or rash near the bite, which could itch and burn. However, many tick bites do not have any symptoms. If you experience more severe, flu-like symptoms, it’s important to consult a doctor, as ticks can carry Lyme disease.

Chigger Bites

Chigger bites typically appear in clusters, often in warm, moist areas of the body, such as around the ankles, waist, or groin. You may notice red skin with bumps, blisters, or a hive-like rash shortly after being in grassy or wooded areas. Chiggers are not dangerous and do not spread disease.

Preventing Bug Bites

While some bug bites may be unavoidable, there are proven methods to help prevent certain types of bites.

Effective Repellents

Insect repellents containing picaridin or DEET are the most recommended forms of prevention against mosquitoes, biting flies, gnats, fleas, chiggers, and ticks. For protection against ticks specifically, products with DEET are most effective. Natural repellents, such as lemon eucalyptus oil, can also be a good option, especially for use on children over the age of 3.

Ineffective Repellents

Unfortunately, repellents are not effective against stinging insects, such as bees, wasps, or hornets. They also do not keep spiders away. Wristbands, stickers, or other wearables containing repellent are not as effective as topical applications, regardless of the repellent type used.

Treating Bug Bites

Addressing the symptoms of bug bites is important for providing relief and preventing complications.

Relieving Symptoms

To alleviate the itching, swelling, and irritation associated with bug bites, you can try the following:

• Apply a cold compress or ice pack to the affected area
• Use over-the-counter anti-itch creams or oral antihistamines
• Avoid scratching the bites to prevent further irritation and potential infection

Seeking Medical Attention

In rare cases, certain bug bites can cause more severe reactions, such as anaphylactic shock. Symptoms of anaphylactic shock include hives, wheezing, shortness of breath, and abdominal pain. If you experience these symptoms, it’s crucial to seek immediate medical attention, as an untreated anaphylactic reaction can be life-threatening.

Preventing Bug Bites at Night

Waking up with bug bites can be particularly frustrating, as the culprit may be harder to identify. The most common nighttime bug bites are likely caused by spiders, mosquitoes, or bed bugs.

Differentiating Nighttime Bug Bites

Mosquito and spider bites can appear similar, but there are a few key differences:

• Spider bites may have two distinct fang marks and tend to swell in a more circular shape, while mosquito bites look more uneven.
• Spider bites often cause more pain, while both can be itchy.

If you experience clusters of bug bites at night, be sure to check your bed for signs of bed bugs, such as the reddish-brown insects themselves or their droppings.

Conclusion

Understanding the different types of bug bites, their symptoms, and effective prevention and treatment methods can help you better manage these common annoyances. By following the tips and recommendations provided, you can reduce your risk of bug bites and find relief when they do occur.

How to Prevent & Treat (Infographic)

You try your best to prevent them, but bug bites happen. Between the stings, swelling and itching, it can be hard to know which type of bug is to blame and how to treat symptoms. Amanda Robinson, ARNP, UnityPoint Health, identifies common bug bites and how to prevent them.

Types of Bug Bites

Identifying bug bites isn’t always easy, and depending on the type of bite, symptoms can vary. Robinson says, regardless of what bug bit you, the bites typically have similar characteristics, including pain, itching, swelling and redness. Some common bug bites include bed bugs, mosquitos, ticks and chiggers. Here are a few tips to help you figure out what bit you:

• Bed bug bites. Look for clusters of bug bite marks together on the face, neck, arms, hands or any other body parts, especially after sleeping. They resemble mosquito bites and are often itchy and appear slightly swollen and red. Some people have no reaction to bed bugs and won’t notice bite marks. Bed bug bites don’t always show up immediately and can take up to two weeks to develop in some people. Bed bugs don’t spread disease.
• Mosquito bites. Appears as a slightly swollen and red area that may itch and be irritating. The symptoms usually develop quickly after being bitten and get progressively worse over 8-12 hours. Mosquito bites don’t usually appear in clusters. It may take up to 10 days for a bite to completely heal. While mosquito bites may happen any time of the day, this pest is most active during warmer months in the early morning and in the evenings — when it’s cooler. Mosquitos spread disease including Zika virus, West Nile virus, malaria, Chikungunya virus and dengue.
• Tick bites. You may notice a tick bite, because you can still see the tick attached. If it dropped off, you might see a red spot or rash near the bite, which could itch and burn. However, many tick bites don’t have symptoms. If you notice more severe, flu-like symptoms call your doctor. Ticks carry Lyme disease.
• Chigger bites. These bites usually show up in clusters. They like warm, moist areas of the body — like on the ankles where socks fit tightly, around the waste and near the groin. You might notice red skin with bumps, blisters or a hive-like rash not long after being in grassy or wooded areas. Chiggers aren’t dangerous and don’t spread disease.

“Rarely, bee stings can cause an allergic reaction in people, which can lead to a condition called anaphylactic shock,” Robinson says. “Symptoms of anaphylactic shock include hives, wheezing, shortness of breath and abdominal pain. Without appropriate care, death could result. Individuals who are allergic to bee stings should always carry an Epi-Pen with them.”

Bug Bites While Sleeping

Getting bug bites at night, especially when you’re asleep is no fun. There are three likely sources for bug bites at night — spiders, mosquitos or bed bugs. Spiders and mosquitos usually find their way into your home — and into your bedroom — during the warmer months.

“Honestly, many mosquito and spider bites look similar. With a new spider bite, you may see two distinct dots from the spider’s fang. Spider bites also tend to swell in more of a circular shape and mosquito welts look more uneven. For symptoms, spider bites often come with more pain, but both can be itchy,” Robinson says.

If you experience bug bites in clusters at night, make sure to check your bed for bed bugs. Pull back the sheets to look for any of the reddish, brown bugs, particularly focusing on reviewing the seams and the head of the bed.

How to Prevent Bug Bites

“As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. While some bug bites can’t really be prevented, there are proven ways to guard off others,” Robinson says.

Using insect repellent can be an effective prevention method, but only for certain bugs.

• Non-preventable. Unfortunately, repellents aren’t effective against stinging insects, such as bees, wasps or hornets. They also don’t keep spiders away. You really can’t prevent stings or bites from these pests, other than staying away from areas of known infestation.
• Preventable. Repellents are extremely useful in keeping mosquitoes, biting flies, gnats, fleas, chiggers and ticks away.

Mosquito repellents containing picaridin and DEET are the most recommended forms of prevention. Wristbands, stickers or other wearables containing repellent are not as effective, regardless of the repellent type used. 

“If you’re specifically trying to fend off ticks, products with DEET are best. You may also consider permethrin-treated clothing and gear. For pests like gnats and mosquitos, using either DEET, picaridin or PMD (para-Menthane-3,8-diol) products work well. If you’re trying to go all-natural, lemon eucalyptus oil is a great option. It’s safe for use on children over the age of 3,” Robinson says.

Robinson offers these tips when using bug spray:

• Lightly cover skin. Use just enough to lightly cover, but not saturate, your skin. If you’re using with sunscreen, apply the sunscreen before the bug spray. Frequent reapplication of repellent isn’t necessary.
• Don’t apply under clothing. Apply insect repellent to exposed skin, clothing or both, but not under clothing.
• Wash your hands. Clean your hands after applying repellent, and don’t apply it to the hands of small children, as they will end up rubbing their eyes.
• Not for everyone. Some products, especially those with higher DEET contents aren’t for very young children. Read the label to make sure you’re using products safely.

How to Treat Bug Bites

From ice to oatmeal and even honey — there are plenty of home remedies you can try to help relieve itching bug bites. 

“Start by using cold compresses for stings or bites. An over-the-counter cortisone cream is great for itching. If these options don’t provide enough relief, consider a trip to urgent care for a prescription cream or ointment. If you believe your bug bite is infected, definitely come see us,” Robinson says. 

Insect bites and stings – Symptoms

An insect bite or sting often causes a small, red lump on the skin, which may be painful and itchy.

Many bites will clear up within a few hours or days and can be treated at home.

It can be difficult to identify what you were bitten or stung by if you didn’t see it happen. But don’t worry if you’re not sure. The treatment for most bites and stings is similar.

Wasp stings

A wasp sting causes a sudden, sharp pain at first. A swollen red mark may then form on your skin. This can last a few hours and may be painful and itchy.

Sometimes a larger area around the sting can be painful, red and swollen for up to a week. This is a minor allergic reaction that isn’t usually anything to worry about.

Some people may experience a serious allergic reaction.

Bee stings

A bee sting feels like a wasp sting, but the sting often stays in the wound.

The sting can cause pain, redness and swelling for a few hours. As with wasp stings, some people may have a mild allergic reaction that lasts up to a week.

Serious allergic reactions can also occasionally occur.

Emergency action required: Dial 999 or 112 for an ambulance immediately if

you have symptoms of a serious allergic reaction:

• breathing difficulties
• dizziness
• swollen face or mouth

Mosquito bites

Bites from mosquitoes often cause small red lumps on your skin. These are usually very itchy. Some people may also develop fluid-filled blisters.

Mosquitoes don’t cause major harm in Ireland. But in some parts of the world, they can spread serious illnesses such as malaria.

After a mosquito bite abroad, get medical help right away if you develop worrying symptoms.

These can include:

• chills
• headaches
• vomiting

Tick bites

Tick bites are not usually painful. You may not realise you’ve been bitten straight away.

Symptoms of a tick bite can include:

• a small red lump on the skin
• swelling
• itchiness
• blistering
• bruising

Ticks in Ireland can sometimes carry a serious infection called Lyme disease.

Remove ticks as soon as possible

It is important to be aware of ticks and to remove them as soon as possible. Lyme disease can be prevented if infected ticks are removed quickly.

See your GP if you develop any symptoms of Lyme disease. This could be a fever or a rash that looks like a ‘bull’s-eye’ on a dart board.

Horsefly bites

A bite from a horsefly can be very painful. The bitten area of skin is usually red and raised.

You may also experience:

• a large red, raised rash called hives or urticaria
• dizziness
• weakness
• wheezing
• part of your body becoming puffy and swollen

Horsefly bites can take a while to heal and can become infected. See your GP if you have symptoms of an infection. Symptoms can include pus or increasing pain, redness and swelling.

Midge or gnat bites

Midge and gnat bites often look like mosquito bites.

They usually cause small, red lumps that can be painful and very itchy. They can sometimes swell up.

Some people may also develop fluid-filled blisters.

Bedbug bites

Bedbug bites usually occur on the face, neck, hands or arms. They’re typically found in straight lines across the skin.

The bites aren’t usually painful. If you’ve not been bitten by bedbugs before, you may not have any symptoms.

If you have been bitten before, you may develop itchy red bumps that can last for several days.

Mite bites

Mite bites cause very itchy red lumps to develop on the skin. They can sometimes also cause blisters.

Mites usually bite uncovered skin. You may be bitten on your tummy and thighs, if your pet has mites and has been sitting on your lap.

Some mites burrow into the skin and cause a condition called scabies.

Flea bites

Flea bites can cause small, itchy red lumps that are sometimes grouped in lines or clusters. Blisters may also develop.

Fleas from cats and dogs often bite below the knee, around the ankles. You may also get flea bites on your arms if you’ve been stroking or holding your pet.

Spider bites

Bites from spiders in Ireland are uncommon. But some spiders such as the false widow spider are capable of giving a nasty bite.

Spider bites leave small puncture marks on the skin. These can be painful and cause redness and swelling.

Some spiders in Ireland are venomous. Their bites can cause nausea, vomiting, sweating and dizziness. Bites can become infected, or cause a severe allergic reaction in rare cases. Get medical help immediately if you have any severe or worrying symptoms after a spider bite.

Ant stings and bites

The most common ant in Ireland, the black garden variety, doesn’t sting or bite. But red ants, wood ants and flying ants sometimes do.

Ant bites and stings are generally harmless. Although you’ll probably feel a nip and a pale pink mark may develop on your skin.

Sometimes the bitten area may be painful, itchy and swollen.

Content supplied by the NHS and adapted for Ireland by the HSE

Small bugs bite – skin beetle bites

Brown bugs in an apartment are not only a threat to things or products. Despite the fact that skin beetles are not parasites like fleas or bedbugs, they bite people, it is necessary to carry out pest control. When a kozheed bites, it does not anesthetize the place of contact, as they do, for example, bedbugs, so this does not go unnoticed by a person. The bite of the kozheed beetle is felt very clearly and is very unpleasant for almost everyone. Some call it “burning”. It is as if the damaged area of ​​the skin suddenly ignited with “skin-tearing” force. It’s pretty frustrating when something like this happens unexpectedly.

Adult skin beetles bite humans undetected due to their ability to fly. Often they can be confused with a harmless housefly. It is worth noting, though, that flying beetle bites are extremely rare, if ever confirmed. Another thing with the larvae, but more on that below.

Kozheed bites: far-fetched?

Nowhere in the specialized literature is it said that kozheed beetles bite people. Therefore, many people think that skin beetles cannot bite a person. Like, why would they bite if they can “chew” something, such as skin or the same fur.

Why doesn’t science study the behavior of kozheedov in apartments? Because these insects are only important as stock pests in the agricultural industry.

In recent years, we often receive complaints from customers about the bites of these particular insects.

“It would be a delusion to think that leather-eaters do not bite. They bite and are quite noticeable. Just not as massively as parasites, but often selectively and singly.”

What do skin beetle bites look like? Like pink spots, more like flea bites. In some, they turn into bleeding wounds.

Do skin beetle larvae bite?

It should be remembered that only skin beetle larvae are active around the clock. The beetles themselves do not bite at night, since they are active only during the day (some types of skin beetles are accurate, but vice versa). Therefore, if bed bugs and linen lice are excluded, then skin beetle larvae bite.

In almost all confirmed cases, bites were caused by larvae and not by adults. After all, they, unlike beetles, basically need food and substrate.

On this account, there is a version that the larvae do not bite at all, and what a person feels like a bite can be a kind of “prick”. It is known that “hairy larvae” have a full length of something like bristles that protect the surface of the body. There is an opinion that the larvae, as it were, stick by them to a person lying on a sofa. And he, perplexed about all this, itches in the morning and is lost in conjectures about what can irritate his skin so much.

Examples of complaints about the bites of beetle larvae from our practice are enough. Here is one of them:

“I wake up from the fact that my legs are itching to the point of impossibility. I mechanically sat down, rubbing my eyes to get up, and then I see something: some dark brown furry worms wriggle at the edge of the sofa” Mikhail, Novokuznetsk (client’s name has been changed).

The watchman of a warehouse where fumigation was carried out described his encounter with skin-eaters as follows:

I saw them on my leg, as if he was trying to tear off a piece of my skin right through my socks. At the same time, I didn’t feel anything particularly, maybe because I reflexively managed to pull my leg back”

It becomes clear that beetles and their larvae can still bite. Often they are found in the upholstery of sofas and really have a worm-like shape, they shed very often. The skins shed during molting are sometimes indistinguishable from the larvae themselves.

It should be noted that, in general, skin beetle attacks are rare, and in order to force them to such behavior, the population size must be initially high, but conditions must change dramatically for its development. For example, moisture has increased, the apartment has become empty due to the lack of furniture or things during the move, or something else. It is worth noting that sometimes such an aggressive reaction is provoked by an unsuitable substrate for pupation of the larva. In general, those same larvae will not just come out on open surfaces, they love dark, hidden and dusty places. If they come out to bite people, something is wrong.

Why does the kozheed beetle bite?

What makes them do this remains a mystery to many. Perhaps the epidermis – the outer layer of human skin – is of no less interest to beetles than all products of animal origin?

Are kozheeds really dangerous for humans?

In addition to the excruciating bite, there is a real risk of suffering a disease after it. At the stage of growing up, the larvae feed on everything, including decomposed organic matter. Therefore, adults are often infected with helminths (worm eggs). Quite often, the symptoms are: general discomfort, high fever and weakness of the body, mild nausea, diarrhea, etc. Nothing fatal and passes as quickly as a mild poisoning episode with appropriate treatment. However, it is still quite unpleasant that an insect bite can be the cause.

Bitten by a beetle: what to do after

If a skin beetle bites a person, it is necessary to treat the bite in the same way as the bite of any other insect. Bite sites will heal quickly (2-3 days) despite the bothersome itching. An antihistamine bought at a pharmacy and a skin-soothing ointment indicated for use after insect bites will help from it. If you are bitten by a beetle, what you definitely should not do is comb the bite, because this will not heal it in any way, but will only aggravate the itching even more. Also, it will not be superfluous to visit a doctor and get tested for infections.

Whether skin beetles bite or not, this does not negate the urgent need to get rid of them. And yet, many are interested in why, despite the fact that kozheeds catch the eye in the apartment, they still do not touch anyone. Obviously because there are not so many of them in the apartment.

You can prevent the appearance, as well as stop the further reproduction of skin beetles, by following the simple tips outlined here.

Kozheed beetle drops cocoon (video)

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Photos of bed bugs, adults, small nymphs and their eggs

• By Wil Malinoshevsky
• About bedbugs

Look at the photo below. These are bed bugs:

Shown here are two adults (brown below) and several nymphs of different ages and therefore different sizes.

This is what bed bugs look like. These are small brown insects, some are translucent, yellowish, but all without wings, with a wide, squat body and clearly visible transverse constrictions across the abdomen.

Looking at such a photo, it seems that it will be quite easy to recognize bed bugs in ordinary home conditions somewhere in an apartment. But our practice shows that this is not the case at all.

It seems that almost every person today can go to the Internet, find a photo of a bed bug, compare with it the insect that he finds in the apartment, and understand whether it is a bug or not. But in reality, we are faced with a huge number of situations when people call us, call an exterminator, but cannot say for sure whether they have bedbugs or not bedbugs. We arrive, and usually find that it is bed bugs. Or vice versa, it happens that a person panics when he finds an insect on a bed (especially on a nursery), he is afraid that bedbugs bite him, but in reality it turns out that the insect found is a grinder beetle, or a skin beetle larva.

On the left – a larva of a kozheed, on the right – an adult beetle

There are also curious cases. For example, once we were sent a photo of an alleged “bug” for identification, and a very exotic pretend beetle was found in the photo. It turned out that he was photographed in New York, but because of his very original appearance, they decided that this was a bed bug.

The same spider beetle from the family of pretenders

In general, even having a photo of a bed bug at hand, it is not always possible to find out exactly whether the bugs have started in a particular apartment. Perhaps this is due to the fact that in the photo the bugs are shown in close-up, but in reality they are small and it is difficult to see the details of their structure. Perhaps the smallest larvae are generally barely visible to the naked eye, and it will be problematic to compare them with a high-quality photo.

But in any case, knowing what bed bugs look like, in most cases, they can be recognized. Therefore, now we will show good photographs of them and explain what details you need to pay the main attention to in order to understand exactly what these parasites are in front of you.

Let’s start with the basics…

Adult bed bugs pictured

Adult bed bug adults are most easily recognized. This is how they look on the upholstery of the sofa:

Pay attention, their body color is dark brown. The size of such an adult bug is approximately 4-5 mm in length, 3-4 mm in width.

In a bug that has just sucked blood, the abdomen has a burgundy-red color, since the integument of its body is translucent and blood itself is visible through them. In the photo below – such a well-fed parasite:

And here on the left is a bug before bloodsucking, and on the right – after saturation:

Feel the difference…

In most individuals, a day or two after saturation, the blood is digested and only a small black spot of irregular shape is visible on the body:

This speck of semi-digested blood is even better seen in nymphs with their thinner and more transparent body covers:

Adult bugs differ from nymphs in size and darker color of body integument. For example, in this photo there is an adult bug and several nymphs:

Note: none of the specimens have wings. This is a distinctive feature of bed bugs: due to the specifics of their lifestyle, they have lost wings that they do not need to maximize the flattening of the body and the ability to hide in the narrowest crevices. From the wings that the ancestors of these insects had, only small rudiments on the pronotum remained in bed bugs:

Another interesting fact is that bed bugs make up a whole family with about 100 species. Of these, Cimex lecturarius is most often found in human habitation, but sometimes Cimex hemipterus is also found here. The first is distributed throughout the world, the second – mainly in the tropics. Moreover, Cimex hemipterus has more hairs on its body than Cimex lecturarius.

Pictured here is Cimex lecturarius, the most “domestic” of the bed bugs:

And here is Cimex hemipterus:

And this is how an adult of the species Cimex pipistrelli, parasitizing on bats, looks like:

Here, by the way, he was photographed on the wing of a bat

That is, in real conditions, it is almost impossible to determine the type of bed bug with the naked eye.

Moreover, even from representatives of other genera, the common bed bug differs only under a microscope and with certain knowledge. For example, here in the photo is the swallow bug Oeciacus hirundinis:

Agree, it is also outwardly identical to the indoor Cimex lecturarius.

But to distinguish a female from a male in this species is quite simple. Females have a wider and rounded body, while males have a small protrusion with a copulatory organ at the end of the abdomen, turned to one side. Outwardly, it gives the impression of asymmetry.

Here in the photo on the left is a male, on the right is a female bed bug:

And here are two males, only the one on the left is more hungry, and his body is lighter:

In nymphs, even of late instars, there are no visible differences between females and males due to the underdevelopment of the reproductive system.

By the way, the photos of the nymphs are no less interesting…

What nymphs of different ages look like

Nymphs are bug larvae. Like other insects with incomplete transformation, they look like adult bugs, have a similar body structure, lead the same lifestyle and feed on the same food – human blood. Their differences from adults are in size and color, as well as in the underdevelopment of some organ systems, in particular, the reproductive one.

This is what a nymph of the first age looks like, having just left the egg:

And so – the nymph before the last molt, after which she will enter adulthood:

As we see in the photo, the nymphs have yellowish translucent body covers at all stages of their development. Through them, droplets of blood pumped from a person are especially clearly visible.

In the video below, you can see how the nymph feeds and how, when bloodsucking, the blood literally flows into her stomach:

After saturation, the nymphs become bright red, like running drops of blood:

Bed bug nymphs of the first instar are very small, and it is not always possible to see them on the bed. But the nymphs of the last ages are already comparable in size with adults.

The photo below shows nymphs of all ages next to an egg and an adult bug:

During its development, the nymph molts 4-5 times, increasing in size after each molt. Within half an hour to an hour after shedding the old body covers, the new cuticle of the larva is very soft and almost white, translucent. Seeing such an individual on a bed or on a sofa, one might even think that such a white bug is a representative of some other species. For example, here is just a molted “cub”:

It is these nymphs, especially the smallest ones, that people most often do not consider bed bugs and try to find out what kind of insects they are. We came across different cases: one time the students told us on the phone that these were probably some kind of spiders that had multiplied on the mattress. Another time we showed these larvae to an old grandmother in an infected apartment, and she cursed that we, apparently, weren’t exterminators at all, because we didn’t know what bed bugs looked like, but she knew that they were round and brown . ..

Several photos of bed bug eggs

Due to their small size, bed bug eggs are difficult to find and see indoors. Moreover, they are white and merge with the upholstery of the sofa, with the color of the wallpaper or bed linen, which can be deferred.

Enlarged, they look like this:

These eggs have not hatched yet.

This photo clearly shows that the eggs have a specific bowl shape. In the upper part of the egg there is a flat “lid”, which the larva, when hatching, discards and gets out.

By the way, under a microscope or with good vision and with the naked eye, you can distinguish an egg with an embryo from an empty shell from which the nymph has already hatched.

Here in the photo on the left is an empty shell from the egg from which the nymph hatched, on the right is the egg in which the embryo develops:

The second egg is dull white and opaque because the embryo is tightly packed in it. This is what eggs with embryos look like:

You can see that they are opaque. And in this photo – empty egg shells close-up:

It is clearly seen that they are translucent, and “caps” are open in their upper part.

Directly on furniture and in different shelters of bedbugs, the eggs look like grains of long-grain rice. It is interesting that they are glued to the bottom of the surface, and therefore it is impossible to simply brush them off.

As a rule, in an apartment on furniture, bedbug eggs are found in clusters, since females lay them in the calmest suitable places, where they themselves gather in large quantities. Moreover, such clusters even look creepy in the photograph, and one can only guess what an unprepared person who looks at such masonry on his sofa experiences. For example:

Or such a cluster:

But, as a rule, the eggs themselves are not found either in clusters or singly. Usually they are found along with bedbugs, their larvae and all related waste products in those places where bedbugs hide during the day and which are not quite correctly called nests.

Bed bug nests in photograph

Actually, organized nests like wasp and especially ant bugs do not form. They simply hide during the day in the most suitable places, and since there are much fewer such places in the room than the bugs themselves, these parasites can accumulate in huge quantities in the most comfortable shelters. In these places there are bugs themselves, both adults and nymphs of all ages, eggs, the remains of chitinous covers of larvae, excrement, and in general they look very unpleasant.

For example, here is a typical bed bug nest on a sofa upholstery:

And here the video shows the same cluster, only on a blanket, which is generally atypical for bedbugs – they prefer to settle on fixed surfaces that are not disturbed by people:

Here is another bed bug hiding, resting and breeding area that completely covered one side of the bed mattress:

The largest such “nest” that we saw caught the eye of the exterminator Kostya in an apartment near Moscow – it was about 80 cm in diameter and was located in a sofa. It is difficult to say how many parasites it contained, but the sight was, to put it mildly, repulsive.

By the way, this is how the accumulation of small larvae looks right on the mattress:

It was precisely such young specimens that the students already mentioned by us mistook for some incomprehensible spiders. But they were sure they weren’t bed bugs.

Such hiding places cannot be called nests, because there is no organization and order in them. For example, in the nests of wasps, termites or ants, a strict order reigns: the queen lays eggs, working individuals care for her, for the brood, for the nest itself, get food, protect the nest from enemies. In bedbug clusters, all this is not:

• There is no queen that lays eggs alone – all adult females lay them;
• There are no individuals that would maintain order here – everything in such a shelter accumulates spontaneously, complete disorder reigns here;
• The nest is not defended in any way, and when it is opened, some of the bugs try to run away, the other part hides, hoping that they will not be noticed;
• There is no hierarchy in such a cluster. The bugs simply accumulate here, spend the daylight hours here, multiply and die here.

By the way, you have probably already noticed that black dots resembling balls are visible almost everywhere in such clusters. You probably already guessed what it is …

Excrement of bed bugs, as obvious traces of their presence in the apartment

Yes, yes, this is excrement, colloquially – “poop”. This is how they look close up:

And so – in the general photo of the nest:

They are black, in places of accumulation they are usually already dried up and simply crumble when crushed. Fresh they are smeared and form ink blots that are not washed off with water. By the way, they can contain pathogens of dangerous diseases, and accidentally rubbing the contents of such feces into the skin is the only way to get infected with something from bedbugs.

In the morning, by the way, such spots from them can be found on the body, if at night such feces are smeared over the skin.

Very often, without even knowing that bedbugs live in the room, people find such excrement in the dust during cleaning and do not even think about what it is. So, you know – these are the waste products of bed bugs:

By the way, they are one of the most noticeable and first traces of the presence of bedbugs in the room. After being bitten by bedbugs on the body, of course…

What bed bug bites look like

The effects of bedbug bites on the body are usually the first detectable sign of the presence of these parasites in the apartment. Due to the fact that the bugs hide well, they almost never accidentally catch the eye, but if a person has a strong reaction to bites, then the next morning after the bites, he finds such redness on his body:

Or like this:

Sometimes they are found even on the face:

As a rule, in the early stages of apartment infection, these swellings are few and sometimes do not attract attention at all – a person thinks that he was bitten by a mosquito or just some kind of pimple popped up. And only when such bites begin to appear regularly and their number begins to grow constantly, the bitten person suspects the constant presence of some kind of bloodsuckers in the apartment.

The most terrifying photographs of bed bug bites usually do not reflect the typical picture. For example, like this:

happens extremely rarely when a person once spent the night in a heavily contaminated room (for example, in a hotel in some outback). If a person has such a pronounced reaction to bedbug bites, then in his own house he will begin to feel them when there are 2-3 of them every night, and, accordingly, take measures before the parasites breed in quantities that can bite so hard. Exceptions are rare – for example, if neighbors poisoned bedbugs and all this brethren rushed to scatter to neighboring apartments, an invasion and severe bites may occur in one of these apartments.

By the way, many people do not feel bedbug bites at all, even when there are many such bites. For example, one of our volunteers tested his reaction to bites – there is none, this reaction. Look in the video:

It is dangerous if people live behind your wall who also do not have such a reaction, and they have bed bugs. These neighbors simply will not know that parasites live in their house, they will feed them safely without feeling it, the bugs will multiply, crawl into the neighbor’s premises and gradually climb up to you.

Note

According to statistics, such people, who are not sensitive to bedbug bites, are the majority – from 65 to 75%. This is the main reason that bed bugs still thrive next to humans: most people are simply unaware that they feed these parasites, and they safely breed near their hosts.

There is no clear correlation between a person’s sex or age and sensitivity to bites. It happens that even small children or women with thin and seemingly sensitive skin do not have bumps from bites on their bodies. And it happens that adult harsh men suffer greatly from these bumps, they develop severe symptoms, up to generalized ones. It all depends on the individual reaction of the body to the components of bedbug saliva.

This is how, for example, a bitten man looks like with a very acute reaction to the substances secreted by bedbugs:

This difference in sensitivity, by the way, often leads to the misconception that the bugs in the room do not bite all people and somehow choose them by blood type, age or sex. We dispelled this myth in a separate video:

The main feature of bed bug bites is that they form characteristic chains of 3-4 bumps. For example, the following “tracks” are visible in the photo:

And these:

Such “paths” of bites are left by adult bugs, each of which sucks blood from several wounds in one person in one night. The parasite pierces the skin, sucks blood, then takes out the proboscis, moves 2-3 cm forward, makes a new puncture, sucks again – and so on 3-4 times. At the same time, his entire course turns out to be well marked with bumps from bites.

Young nymphs, as a rule, do not leave such “paths”, since the blood from one bite is enough for the insect to be completely satiated. And the spots at the site of their bites sometimes do not swell. Here, for example, small feeding nymphs are shown, and below – a spot at the site of the bite:

Therefore, in heavily infected apartments in bitten people, both individual bumps and bites connected in “chains” are found on the body.

These bites usually go away on their own without special treatment. If they itch too much, you can lubricate them with a special ointment after Hector bites – it quickly soothes itching, relieves redness and prevents secondary infection of the bite site with bacterial infections. If Hector ointment is not at hand, you can lubricate the bites with Menovazin or other anesthetic ointment. When the action of the ointment is over, the bites themselves will already pass, or at least they will not itch.

And, by the way, most other parasitic insects that can live next to a person in his housing do not leave such “paths” either. That makes it quite easy to distinguish bedbugs from other bloodsuckers and just harmful cohabitants in the apartment.

We distinguish between bedbugs, fleas, ticks and lice according to photo

It is enough to see bedbugs and other synanthropic insects next to each other once, so that later, when meeting them in an apartment, you will never be mistaken with identification.

For example, here the photo shows a bug next to two red cockroaches:

On the left is an adult bed bug, in the center is a Prussian nymph, on the right is an adult red cockroach. It can be seen that even small red cockroaches are larger than an adult bug. Also, cockroaches have a more slender elongated body, and adults have wings that bedbugs do not have. But the most reliable difference is the presence of cerci at the end of the abdomen in cockroaches – two outgrowths that look like short antennae. Bed bugs don’t have them.

And here is a bed bug next to two black cockroaches, also a nymph (in the middle) and an adult female (on the right):

It can, in principle, be confused with a nymph due to the similarity in size and color.

In any case, all cockroaches run much faster than bedbugs, and the big ones run so fast that sometimes you can’t even swat them. Bedbugs crawl much more slowly, crushing them is not difficult at all.

And here in the photo on the left is a bed bug nymph, and on the right is an adult cat flea:

Their sizes are similar, but the bug is lighter, and its body seems to be flattened from above (although this is not as noticeable in nymphs as in adults). Fleas are darker, and their body, on the contrary, is compressed from the sides.

But the main difference between these parasites is that fleas jump, while bedbugs cannot do this. Moreover, fleas jump so fast that the jump is not noticeable at all: it seems that the parasite was just here, and now it has simply disappeared. If this happened, then it was a flea.

Note

By the way, fleas can also sometimes bite several times during one feeding and leave chains of bites, but this happens very rarely.

People often ask us how to tell a bed bug from a tick. It is important to understand here that there are practically no cases when they really need to be distinguished, for two reasons:

• There is some external similarity between bed bugs and ixodid ticks (those that can carry encephalitis and tick-borne borreliosis), but these parasites are not found side by side – ixodid ticks do not live in human dwellings, and bed bugs do not live in meadows and forests where the ixodides meet. Simply put, you cannot meet an ixodid tick in an apartment – they do not survive here. As an exception, it may happen that one of the people or a dog will bring such a tick home and the parasite will fall here. A little lower we will show how to understand that this is a tick, and not a bug;
• The so-called dust mites can constantly live in apartments, feeding on skin particles exfoliated from people. But in principle, it is impossible to confuse them with bed bugs, since they cannot be seen with the naked eye: the body length of adults is 0.3-0.4 mm, and due to the translucency of the covers, they are almost invisible in the dust and pile of carpets, where they usually live . Simply put, if you see some kind of arthropod in the room, it’s definitely not a dust mite.

This is what dust mites look like in a home carpet under a microscope:

They do not bite people and only harm by excreting substances that are strong allergens with excrement. It is believed that more than half of the cases of allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma of unknown etiology in humans are associated with an allergy to dust mites. Moreover, ticks often settle in pillows and mattresses, excreting excrement in the immediate vicinity of the face of a sleeping person.

Notes

Dust mites are much more common than bed bugs – they occur in some form in about 95% of households worldwide.

That is, we found out: only an ixodid tick accidentally brought from a walk can be confused with bedbugs. This is what these parasites look like next to each other:

On the left – a bug, on the right – a tick

All you need to do to distinguish them is to count the legs. Bed bugs have 6 (3 pairs), ticks have 8 (4 pairs). If it turned out to be a tick, you can either kill it (which, by the way, is difficult – they have a very strong body), or throw it out into the street – there are no relatives in the room, since ixodid ticks do not breed here.

Finally, small bug nymphs can be confused with lice. Look at the photo – here on the left is a bed bug nymph, on the right is a head louse:

Their sizes are approximately comparable, but the louse is more slender and elongated in length. In addition, lice are found either on the hair of a person, or on his underwear, if we are talking about pubic lice, then on the hair in the groin. It is almost impossible to meet lice under a mattress, on a plinth, on furniture – due to their low mobility and inability to move on a smooth surface, they die here very quickly. Bedbugs, on the contrary, are not found in people’s hair and on underwear, since it is inconvenient for them to crawl here.

But an even more reliable difference between bedbugs and lice is that lice bite a person around the clock, since each individual must eat every 3-4 hours. Bed bugs normally only bite at night.

Finally, if you come across an insect in the apartment that looks like a bed bug, only with wings, it may be a street stink bug. Here compare:

On the left is a bed bug, in the center is a green stink bug, on the right is a berry bug. The proportions in size are roughly preserved.

Such stink bugs do not bite people, but they stink strongly when frightened. It is better to catch such a find with a handkerchief and throw it out the window.

It is clear that there are other insects with which bedbugs, and especially their nymphs, can be confused. Ants, small spiders, grinder beetles – what clients send us in photographs so that we can help them figure out exactly who they found at home. But such errors are rare and rare.

A photo of a few more signs by which you can identify the presence of bedbugs at home

Often in the house you can find such skins that look like live bugs:

These are chitinous covers that nymphs shed during molting. Each nymph replaces 4-5 such shells in her life, and due to the rather high stability of chitin in the environment, they can remain practically unharmed for several months or even years.

As a rule, in places where bugs accumulate, there are even more such skins than live bugs. This is clearly seen in the photo – discarded chitinous covers, eggs, excrement and live insects are mixed here:

These shed skins are quite dangerous, by the way: their particles, after getting into the dust and inhaled by people, can cause severe allergies.

Be that as it may, if you find such a skin (and even more so, more than one) in your house, it is almost certain that live active bugs are hiding somewhere.

Another symptom is blood stains on the bed in the morning. Approximately the same as in the photo:

They remain when a well-fed, swollen bug is accidentally crushed by a man tossing and turning in his sleep. After that, the bug sometimes even manages to crawl away and die already in the shelter, and the blood pumped by it stains the bed and the body of the person himself.

However, such spots are relatively rare. They are found, as a rule, in heavily infested apartments, where dozens of bedbugs bite people every day.

Perhaps such blood stains, discarded skins and excrement are the main traces of the life of bedbugs, by which their presence can be judged without even meeting the insects themselves.

Sometimes they also say that in an apartment infested with bugs, there is a characteristic smell of sour raspberries. But our experience shows that this is not so: even heavily infested “bugs” usually do not smell like bugs, because the aroma of parasites is clogged with stronger household odors – food, linen, cigarettes, animals, and others. That is, seeing bedbugs or traces of their vital activity is always easier than smelling these parasites.

And some more cute photos of bed bugs for those who have a special sympathy for these parasites. Here the female lays her egg:

She can lay up to 5 eggs per day, up to 500 in 10-12 months of her adult life.

And here the male inseminates a random girlfriend using the so-called traumatic insemination method:

Simply put, he pierces the body of the female with his genital organ and injects the sperm simply into the internal cavity. The wound in the female heals quickly, and the spermatozoa with hemolymph reach the eggs, which are fertilized. If the female has been starving for a long time, the sperm is used in the hemolymph as a food source.