What do baby bed bugs look like? – (size and color)


Dave Campbell

Bed bugs are parasitic insects which fall under the cimicid family and feeds solely on blood in order to survive, grow and reproduce. Bed bugs are blood sucking insects who mostly feed on human blood when they can’t find other prey. Bed bugs are somewhat nocturnal whereby they are mostly active at night. A bed bug infestation can cause adverse health problems resulting from their bites.  If you think you might have a bed bug problem, then you have probably wondered about baby bug appearance as well as the adults and know the things to look out for and methods for removing bedbugs for good.

Bed Bug Nmph Appearance

A baby bed bug looks very like an adult bed bug, except smaller. They grow from a hatched egg larvae to a full adult in just about a month under favorable conditions. In order to grow well, baby bedbugs need a warm and dry place and blood to grow well and healthy. The bed bug eggs are tiny with a size of a pinhead and are visible with the naked eye.

Young Nymph Development

The entire stages of their development is also visible. The first thing newly hatched baby bed bugs do is to search for a blood meal. They cast their skin as they grow and can feed as much as one time per day although they can go for several days or even months without feeding. When baby bed bugs can’t get a blood meal their development stagnates and cant progress to the next stage until it feeds. They attack their hosts without being noticed and despite the fact that they don’t transmit any pathogen as a disease vector, they cause skin rashes, allergic symptoms or even psychological effects.

bed bug growth pictures
Bed bug development from baby to adult

Nymph coloring and dimensions

Young bed bugs are known as nymphs and are whitish-yellow to translucent in color. If the bed bug nymphs go for long without getting blood to feed on, they can be extremely small and invisible to the naked eye because of their color and size. Young bed bugs are nearly colorless when they are freshly hatched and slowly change their color to brownish as they mature and feed on blood. Blood is clearly visible in a baby bed bug nymph that has just had a blood meal and they appear like a tiny swollen balloon.

Images of baby bed bugs

bed bug larvae photo
Baby Bed bugs appear a whitish colour

Adult appearance

Adult bed bugs compared to bedbug babies are long and brown with a flat oval-shaped body(see picture below). Adults are about the size of an apple seed and measure approximately a quarter inch. Their flat body makes them hide in the most surprising places. Bed bugs are brown to reddish-brown in color and changes to purple-ish red and shiny after sucking blood. An adult bed bug feeds about 3 to 10 times a day on average and they swell to take a shape of a capsule or blood balloon after feeding. If you suspect you have had a bug bug bite, it is likely the insects will be easier to see if they are filled with blood. They have segmented abdomens with microscopic hairs which explain their banded appearance. Bed bugs do not fly but are able to move quickly on the floor or on furniture and have a smelly odor which is produced through the glands on their lower side of their body.

(dead bed bug closeup)

adult bed bug image

What is surprising about adult bedbugs is that they can survive for up to 18 months without feeding. When bed bugs are in the right and favorable conditions, which is warm and dry environment, adult bed bugs can survive for long without blood food.

Spread of bed bugs has been rampant because managing and controlling them has been a little difficult. Bed bugs become easily resistant to pesticides and banning of certain pesticides in some countries has made it even more difficult.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/09/28/keeping-dirty-laundry-bedroom-allows-bed-bugs-thrive-say-scientists/

https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/bed-bugs-appearance-and-life-cycle

 

Dave Campbell

I'm Dave Campbell and the owner of deadpestz.com. You can read more about me and my background on my About Me page.

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