-Typically, Bed Bugs often are brought into homes on visitors' clothing or luggage
-Bed Bugs are reddish-brown in color.
-Usually Bed Bugs are 4 to 5 mm in length.
The assumption one must be a poor housekeeper or have poor hygiene to have bed bugs is simply untrue. Bed bugs are good hitchhikers and can easily be transported from place to place as people travel. They can hide in luggage, folded clothes, bedding, furniture, boxes, and other places. You can come in contact with bed bugs just about anywhere -- in a hotel, buses and trains, and even in movie theatres. No business or residence is immune to a bed bug infestation. Although it can be difficult to eliminate bed bugs, it's not impossible. Don't panic. Don't throw out all of your things because most of them can be treated and saved. Getting a pest management professional involved as soon as possible rather than taking time to try to treat the problem yourself can help prevent the infestation from spreading.
Bed bugs are parasites that are commonly found in sleeping areas of homes and hotels. They feed off of humans at night and during the day they live near the sleeping locations of their hosts. Beg bugs were virtually eliminated before 1995, but have since reemerged with the increase in world travel. An adult bed bug has a flat round body about the size of an apple seed. It ranges in color from brown to red, depending on when it last fed. Right after feeding, the bug is a bright red color which gradually fades to brown as it digests the human blood. Bed bugs are born lighter in color and turn brown as they mature.
Bed bugs are small, oval, brownish parasitic insects that feed solely on the blood of animals or humans while they sleep. Adult bed bugs have flat bodies, six legs, and are about the size of an apple seed (1/4 to 1/2 inches). After feeding, however, their bodies swell dramatically and are a reddish color. Bed bugs can be quite resilient. Although they typically feed on blood every five to ten days, they are capable of surviving several months without feeding.
Bed bugs do not have nests like ants or bees, but tend to congregate together. Under favorable conditions, immature bed bugs can fully develop in as little as one month and produce three or more generations per year. They do not jump or fly but are good runners and will travel up to 15 feet for a blood meal. They are most active at night and can easily move between adjacent rooms or units via wall voids and utility chases.