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Bed Bug
(John Obermeyer, Purdue University)

Common Name: Bed Bug

Order: Hemiptera

Family: Cimicidae

Pest Status: The bed bug has returned as a serious urban pest throughout the U.S. Although it does not transmit diseases, it is responsible for considerable physical and emotional irritation due to biting people.

Appearance: Bed bugs are red-brown insects that are only 1/5-inch long. A bed bug is flattened, oval, and wingless and the abdomen has a banded appearance.

Life Cycle: Female bed bugs can lay up to five eggs in a day. Eggs have a milk-white tone and hatch within two weeks. The newly hatched nymphs grow and molt five times before reaching maturity. Bed bugs can complete their development in a month, so they are capable of producing three or more generations per year.

Where to Collect: Bed bugs fit into the small crevices of mattresses, box springs, bed frames and headboards. These areas can be marked by dark spotting and staining.