Bed Bug Info.

Bed Bug Stages

source: www.bed-bugs-handbook.com – click to enlarge

Appearance

• Eggs are pearl white and only 1mm long
• Nymphs are almost translucent and also about 1mm long
• Adults are about ¼ inch long and reddish-brown

Activity

• Mostly nocturnal, but are capable of feeding at any time
• Attracted by warmth and carbon dioxide
• Live in mattresses, linens, upholstery,
• behind wooden trim, cracks and crevices, luggage and wallpaper
• Professional hitchhikers on anyone and anything

Food

• They feed almost exclusively on human blood
• They can survive for more than 1 year without a blood meal
• Bites do not hurt, but can leave red marks
• Bed bugs are not known to carry disease

Life Cycle

• Six life stages (5 immature and an adult stage)
• Female can lay 1-5 eggs per day
• Eggs hatch in 7-10 days
• Egg hatch to maturity is 1½–2 months
• Bed bugs shed their skins throughout the multiple stages, leaving a clear, empty exoskeleton

Bed Bug Life Cycle (pictures not to scale)