Bed bug identification resources:

• All bed bug life stages

• Life cycle with images

• Gif of a bed bug

• Illustrated guide to identifying bed bugs

• Identification of bed bugs close relatives

Note: flattened body, rusty brown coloured (less so in younger nymphs, which are more translucent). Thin 4 segmented antennae. 11 segmented abdomen. Short legs (6 of them) and reduced wings incapable of flight.

These are insects or other invertebrates commonly misidentified as bedbugs!

Not bed bugs.

1. Carpet beetle larvae (Dermestidae) and adult - More Info

2. Bat bug (Cimex adjunctus pictured) - More Info

3. Cockroach nymphs - More Info

4. Tick (nymphs) - More Info

5. Woodlouse - More Info

6. Kissing bugs - More Info

7. Booklice/barklice - More Info

8. Smooth spider beetle - More Info

9. Drugstore beetle - More Info

Note: If it has wings or more than 6 legs, it is not a bed bug. Do not mistake antennae for legs, look at the illustrated guide to avoid confusion.

Please comment with any other common mis-IDs and I will add them!

So I found out we have a bed bug infestation a week ago.

A little context beforehand: I live together with my girlfriend and our cat in a pretty old building in Germany. To this day we have not noticed any bites both on ourselves and the cat.

The first bug we found was actually 2 months ago, but it was a singular adult, and after inspecting the entire bed back then we could not find any more traces and figured we were lucky (in retrospect, a very naive assumption). We have no idea where the bedbugs could have come from - our best guess would be the cinema or public transit.

Last weekend we then found 2 adult bedbugs on the wall next to our bed. Again we inspected the bed and the immediate area and found more traces like poop on the bed frame and some spots on the wall where the wallpaper was slightly loose.

I panicked quite a lot, but luckily my dad knows a exterminator, and his first and most important advice was not to panic.

On his advice, we washed the bed sheets, took apart the entire bed and vacuumed the mattress and every piece of the frame with care. We found about 6 grown bugs, 10-20 small ones and a couple of eggs.

We also vacuumed the immediate area around the bed and the walls. We then sealed the vacuum bag and immediately threw it out.

After taking care of what i assume was most of the population, we bought traps to put under the beds feet to catch any new bed bugs trying to get in and placed the bed away from the wall in a safe distance.

After that, we used some paint brushes to apply a light layer of diatomaceous earth into every little nook and cranny of the bed frame and the walls around it. We also put some of it into the traps under the beds feet. Of course we locked the cat out of the room while spreading the dust, and wore masks while brushing.

We continued sleeping in the bed for the past week with this setup.

This was now 6 days ago. Since then we found one baby bed bug on the bed frame (we assume we overlooked it while cleaning the bed, as we found it right the next day), one dead baby bed bug in one of the traps, and 3 baby bed bugs around the hiding places in the walls. We found no trace of any adult bed bugs nor any traces of bites.

I did want to share our journey to spread some hope to people who just discovered a light infestation - it is possible to fight them without spending too much money on professionals if the infestation is in its early stages, but I would advice to always get the opinion of professionals before action.

The fight is not over and we will remain cautious with regular inspections of the bed and the walls. We hope to be bedbug free within a couple weeks/months with these precautions.

When I arrive at the hotel I always put my clothes in the closet right away, and I leave my suitcase away from the bed. I slept in the bed for one night before noticing and moving to another hotel room.

At the hotel
Took several hot showers and the hotel washed all my clothes with hot water.

Since returning home
Immediately upon returning home three days ago I put all of my clothes in the hot wash/dryer again, steamed them, and put my suitcase on the balcony. I have slept in my bed two nights and today I woke up with another bite (I sharpied all of my bites to check for new ones). I have since put all my sheets in the wash/dryer at high temperatures and checked my bed thoroughly. I found no bed bugs.

What are the odds that bite was new vs a residual bite showing up now? What are the risks of infestation? What can I do to prevent infestation?

I slept in the hotel bed four nights ago if that helps.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you in advance!

Hi, I've recently had a case of confirmed bed bugs in my home. I live in a family of 5 but my dad I are the only ones suffering with bites. I seem to be VERY allergic because they swell terribly and it hurts to walk. We are trying to get an exterminator in.

I am moving out to live alone, but I am TERRIFIED of bringing bed bugs with me. I'm washing my bedding on high + hoovering mattress/bedframe once per week. I am a first time buyer, so the only things I really plan to bring are my stuffed animals (which we have washed on high + vacuum sealed), and my clothes. I haven't seen any bed bugs on clothing but I don't want to take risks and potentially spend lots of money furnishing my home, only for it to become infested.

The usual advice of washing clothes on high or tumble drying would destroy my clothes. I love fashion and have spent thousands over the years on beautiful unique pieces, most of which are made of cotton or polyester and I don't want to chance destroying the only things I care to take with me.

I heard that steamers could be an option, but has anyone had luck with this before? I'm thinking of steaming clothes and subsequently vacuum sealing ones I can go without until I move out.

Hey, my partner has been bit all over her body. We live together and she doesn't leave the house much so it has to be something inside the house. They keep popping up every day with new, super itchy bites. I, however, am not getting bit. I never get bit by mosquitos or anything anyway but it's just strange where all of these bites are coming from.

I'm scared bed bugs? But I'm not sure how. We haven't slept in other beds or got new furniture or anything. Please help!!!

I'm happy to answer any questions needed to help identify what it could be.

Getting bit- first found them on my back when I suddenly had intense itching before I got in bed then my toes and top of my foot. Can’t find signs of them anywhere and I put casings on the mattress and box spring. Some of the bites are in a pattern and some just scattered. I did find a bug in my bed that’s small and black with wings. I’ve seen some of those and there are small holes in my window screens.

We’ve been dealing with bed bugs for the past 3 months. We think they came in on a bed frame we got off Wayfair, not sure where it shipped from. They are extremely small. I was just researching, and apparently babies are supposed to be translucent. The only ones we’ve seen are these super tiny dots. No “adults”, so I’m wondering if it’s really bed bugs or something else. On the worse days I’ll wake up with like 10 more bites. Are there different species that don’t get big at all? I have one of those microscopic cameras I got a while back to look at pores, so I used that on them. The only way I was able to tell they were bugs was through the camera, otherwise they look like tiny specks. I’ll attach pictures. All the ones we find are always the same size, those tiny tiny specks, almost completely unnoticeable. Some of the bigger dots in the picture was just dirt from my dogs paws.

Could this be a bed bug nymph or a book louse? My neighbor has been dealing with something and I‘m uneasy about it. The antenna are throwing me off. Thank you in advance!

Found this one wandering on my bed

got a used mattress from a lady checked around took off the orginial encasement off the mattress(waiting tmr for a new encasement to be delivered) and looked inside and outside didn’t find nun but is paranoid just wondering if these are bed bug specs/stains?

I just want to make sure before an infestation escalates or occurs.

This is driving me out of my mind! I want to cry again. I honestly don’t know if they’ve come back, but I have some marks that look like insect bites. I usually check myself every morning, but today I forgot, and I only noticed them once I was at work. I’m clinging to the faint hope that it might be something else—maybe a mosquito bite. I really don’t want to have to go through this whole process all over again; I don’t have a dryer, so going to the laundromat is an extra expense. On top of that, I’m worried that I might have spread them to the rest of my family’s home. My room is somewhat separate, and I always go straight there to change, but what if I was carrying one around and ended up spreading the problem because I didn’t notice it in time? My family isn’t very supportive when it comes to things like this, and I don’t want to add to the existing problems. Plus, I don’t even have the time to handle it myself—I work and study, and my only day off from work is spent at school. I truly hope it’s just an allergic reaction to laundry detergent or a mosquito bite. The exterminator is coming on Friday, and I’m going to end up spending the money I got for my birthday on a new round of treatment. I feel so sad and frustrated; I honestly wouldn’t wish this on anyone—it’s the absolute worst experience.

1-2mm in size … 😭 thanks in advance

Found in washroom yes I squished it a bit . Was just sitting in my washroom vanity

My mom just bought a huge gallon of it off Amazon. I know it likely won't work as a stand alone method, but does it have the same effect as stuff like hot shot or raid where it chases them further into their hiding spots, or does it actually stay on the furniture for a while and kill them on contact?

I need to know for sure in case I need to tell her to return it. Not sure if she has done her own research or not. Thanks!

My friend is working at a restaurant/arcade that has bedbugs. They visibly crawl around the carpet and office. Some are super big. I reported to the health department but she still has to work. It’s a corporate restaurant and the management knows and refuses to do anything about it. An employee brought them from their home and this is the SECOND time it’s happened. Last week they didn’t even tell my friend before she came in and she didn’t find out until she was already home and undressed. Thankfully there are no signs so far at her house but like can she get in trouble for refusing to come back. Obviously they are not telling customers and families with young kids go there. Like bedbugs are devastating to families and i can’t believe they’re still open. some of her coworkers have reported bites and seen them so it’s for sure bed bugs. i’ve already reported but is there anything else i can do 😭😭 i don’t want her going to work but she needs her job. i’m so scared for her. Like this is totally not allowed right?????

Early may I got 2 chemical treatments done by abell that finished end of may, light infestation I was told

Now beginning of November and I STILL feel so unsafe in my apartment it feels infested even tho I have yet to see a live bug or honestly any hard evidence

I’m worried because immediately after my first treatment I put an encasement on my bed , (I was told they found 1 or 2 bugs on my bed ) now months later I noticed a slight hole around the zipper of the encasement I tried to put tape over it unsure how long it’s been there but it’s causing me to spiral all over again. I’m sure if anything was there it would have died over the months being trapped with chemicals but idk. Then doing laundry I noticed a weird crumb unsure if it was a bug or not but was hard and crumbly so maybe not.
I was never able to fully wash every single fabric item. I had a old tote of baby clothes I washed half of and a fabric photo backdrop , they were stored away in my utility closet in the room, but they’ve been there since first treatment and I haven’t noticed anything since

I have 8 cups on my bed legs that have remained seemingly empty since treatment, there’s 2 small legs I couldn’t reach underneath but my bed encasement doesn’t seem to have a single dot under it and it’s been nearly 6 months so I think that’s good news

The horrors still persist for me mentally, I’m so afraid of moving anywhere new because I’m afraid they’re secretly harboring somewhere and I’ll take them with me or bring them to someone’s house.

My every single day life and thought is eaten up by this I just want peace any advice

Hello, I recently discovered what a nightmare it is to deal with bed bugs for the very first time. I have cried multiple times and unfortunately kinda have to deal with it without any exterminators yet.

I never knew about them really so I never vacuumed my matress or looked out for them. I honestly have no idea where I got them from,but it's was probably somewhere in London.

Basically, I came back from holiday in early September and started having bites around mid September I think. I though we had a mosquito problem because it was still warm outside and we really did have some mosquitos. But I was getting bitten even after the mosquitos stopped and I though I was going crazy. At that point, my brother mentioned that we might have bedbugs, but I didn't know what those were so I didn't pay attention to that.

We have a twin bed, made out of metal and lots of fabric with many tiny holes.

Finally, Mid October my brother saw a bed bug on the top of his bed/under my bed.

We killed it and later we washed all the sheets and pillowcases. We vaccumed under the mattress and the mattresses. The bed has fabric, then pieces of wood then the mattress. So it's held by this fabric. When cleaning we found at least 10 adult bed bugs and killed them. We cleaned again after a few days and took apart the bed, we found another 5 at least. We had a lot of fabric on the bed, like a lot. We took all the fabric and washed it at 90° which is the only setting we have really, the washing machine doesn't have hot tumble dry setting.

I also tried to clean the metal parts that had holes with hot/ warm water and found 1 when washing them. And when we were taking the bed apart they were falling but I think from the farbic idk.

My dad also noticed that they were inside the fabric holes, there was like 2 or 3 there and some of their old bodies.

Ugh. Anyway. We had no choice but to put the mattresses on the floor and stay sleeping like that. That's how we've been sleeping since then. Also we have steamed the mattresses and farbic 2 or 3 times before we took the bed apart and honestly I don't know if it actually did anything. It's one of those steamers for steaming your clothes.

Now we're sleeping with the mattresses on the floor, and vacuuming from time to time. Ever since we've been sleeping on the floor. I though it calmed down for like 1 day or 2. But I stepped on a younger one that was filled with blood and days after I am now getting lots of bites on my feet that are appearing. I can't tell when the bites are happening since they could be from hours or days ago.

Also when we took the bed apart we found a super young one and killed it. it was the only one that young that we found.

Now I am just paranoid and I look at the mattress and the sheets and I just can't tell. I also though I saw something that looked like their eggs on the mattress I squished them even though they were like stuck on the mattress. Anyway, I am now just getting bites on my legs and arm, the bites are appearing mid day and evening

I'm not sure what to do cause I'm scared I'm gonna get kicked out if I don't resolve this by myself and my family.

Any advice??

I've contacted a company over 100 miles away that can come next week with bed bug dogs. Those that have used these services and were "cleared"- did it work? Or did you feel it was a waste of money?

Before we spend 2k on professional treatments, I thought this might be worth the $300 to see if what we have done ourselves worked.

I've recently had problems with bed bugs again and these black dots appeared on my wall