Appearance:Reddish-brown, oval, and wingless, and appear banded. Adults grow to 4–5 mm (1/8th – 3/16th of an inch) in length. Often compared to lentils or apple seeds. Newly hatched nymphs are translucent, lighter in color and darken as they reach maturity.
Habits:Bedbugs travel up to 100 feet to feed. In the daytime, they tend to hide in mattress interiors, bed frames, nearby furniture, carpeting or clutter close to the host where he/she may sleep.
Diet:Bedbugs pierce the host’s skin with two hollow tubes. With one tube it injects its saliva, while the other withdraws the blood of its host. After feeding for about five minutes, the bug returns to its hiding place. Bedbugs can live a year without feeding.
Reproduction:A single female can lay 500 eggs over her lifetime. The eggs measure 1 mm in length and are milky white. The eggs hatch in 1-2 weeks. New nymphs begin feeding immediately. It takes only about five weeks for a new bedbug to become reproductively active.
Additional Information:Bedbugs are known for being elusive and therefore difficult to detect. The presence of bedbugs may be confirmed through identification of the insects collected or by a pattern of bites. Though bites can occur singularly, they often follow a distinctive linear pattern marking the paths of blood vessels running close to the surface of the skin.