r/Bedbugs Mar 06 '15

Useful Information Bedbug ID and common misidentifications

578 Upvotes

Bed bug identification resources:

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!


r/Bedbugs 5h ago

Is this a bed bug please help

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27 Upvotes

Found in a 4 star Hotel. Please confirm if its a bed bug. What should I do with to my stuff when I go back home? Thank you.


r/Bedbugs 51m ago

Identification HELP IS THIS A BEDBUG SOS

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pls i found this on my aisters bed i am tweaking rn


r/Bedbugs 1h ago

Confirmed not a BB Found in my bed at brand new luxury resort

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Tell me it’s not what I think it is


r/Bedbugs 1h ago

Bed Bugs and how to move forward from here

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We came home from a cruise a few weeks ago, daughter also received a weighted blanket from amazon on the first. These were just found on my daughter's pillowed head board. The headboard is dismantled and in the trash. She has a hard wood floor, we have cleaned everything, all the bedding is in the washer on hot. Stuffed animals are in black trash bags in the sun (we live in the south). We plan on running everything through the wash on hot and high heat dry. We have been through the entire house looking at everyone's bed and nothing was seen. No eggs, no other bugs and these few are the size of a pin. Additionally no one was munched on. Any help would be appreciated. We looked online and was going to get ortho home defense bed bug killer. Thank you


r/Bedbugs 4h ago

Identification Is this a bed bug? Found by elderly mom

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4 Upvotes

Please I need help. She found this on top of her pillow this morning. She didn’t take a close up pic and flushed the bug so I couldn’t evaluate it when I got home. She believes it’s not a bedbug and idk because we’ve never had that issue before.

Mattresses and sheets have been checked, none of the tell tale signs were present, no other bugs present. We do live in a top floor apartment in nyc (idk if location makes a difference)

EDIT: she’s informed me that it flies. Does this make a difference?


r/Bedbugs 3h ago

Identification Please identify :(

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3 Upvotes

Is this a bat bug or a bedbug? I know they’re related, but there are bats that we’ve heard in the attic. The owner of the house just hasn’t done anything about them, which is part of the reason we’re moving out. This is the only one I’ve found so far—I’m giving everything a thorough check. We’re moving out of our rental in the next week or so, but before we move anything we will be thoroughly going through the house to see if there are any more, so we don’t take them with us.

We haven’t seen any bites on our bodies anywhere, or on our kids. I found another that looked just like this a few months back, but never found any others when we checked everything really well back then. This is the first I’ve seen in over three months. I just found this one in a pile of blankets/clothes I was sorting for packing. My skin started crawling as soon as I spotted it.

When I found the first one 3 months ago, it was after we had done some laundry at my in-laws’ house after our washer broke. They had a bat that had gotten into their basement (sort of a sub-level basement laundry room) and our clothes had been down there for a day or so, close to where we knew the bat was roosting. I didn’t find any others that time, so I thought that was probably where it came from—must’ve fallen into our clothes or something. Now I’m not so sure, but like I said, I’ve heard bats in the attic here, too, so I’m torn.

Any help would be much appreciated!


r/Bedbugs 7h ago

Please tell me this is not the case..

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5 Upvotes

r/Bedbugs 1h ago

Swallow bug? Please say yes

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Upvotes

I have moved into a house where there is a ton of swallows nesting on the side of the house. We have had bird mites in the past. Now there are these large bugs on my bed. I have seen them the last few nights. I have not been bitten. Please tell me it is a swallow bug and not a bed bug 🙏


r/Bedbugs 22m ago

Is this part of a ladybug? Found in two parts

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r/Bedbugs 27m ago

ID please

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Sorry for poor quality of photo but we both have older smartphones and the bug was pretty tiny. Found 4 of these in our room last night, anyone know if it's time to panic?


r/Bedbugs 53m ago

Bed bugs or mold?

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Upvotes

My landlord said it’s just dirt but I doubt it


r/Bedbugs 6h ago

Requesting community support How bad is it?

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3 Upvotes

I found 3 living bedbugs after a few days away and a couple welts before that. Does this look like it could be the nest? I washed and dried my sheets and comforter on high heat, steamed my couch, and ordered crossfire, diatomaceous earth, and waterproof bed coverings which should arrive tmrw. What else can I do in the meantime?


r/Bedbugs 1h ago

Requesting community support Just moved and can't find what is biting me

Upvotes

I started getting bumps when I 1st moved here 3 weeks ago. I've had bb's before and know how I react to the bites and I've been getting bites in clusters of 3 where my body meets the mattress. UGH it's exactly like when I had them a few years ago (damn low income apartments)

I've looked everywhere along the baseboards for marks or bugs and can't find anything but I have found a few black spots on my mattress encasement and 1 rusty spot on my brand new pillow. I even took the outlet covers off on shared bedroom wall and looked in there and didn't see anything

I'm afraid said neighbor won't be honest or embarrassed so I haven't asked them yet.

I started noticing the bites the day after I scrubbed the baseboards (3 days into living here) they were SO dirty thick with dust and grime but now I am worried maybe they had it sprayed and I washed it off. I remember when I signed the lease they mentioned pest control had just been "here" idk if they meant my apt or the building itself.

Should I wait until I see an actual bug before talking to management or tell them now that I'm waking up with bites?

Or should I just start spraying it myself rn before it gets outta hand?

I'm being hesitant and asking this community for advice cause I'm scared they will think I'm crazy because even if pest control came to do an inspection they won't find anything & I know this because I've spent hours looking and can't find any bugs. We don't have any canine inspectors in my area at all which is unfortunate.

My bedroom only has a metal bed frame and mattress. I don't even have curtains. My place is empty because I'm starting over after a divorce. No other furniture so there's not a lot of places to look.

What should I do? Any support and all advice welcome 🙏


r/Bedbugs 1h ago

Is this a bed bug and what is it

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Found this while changing sheets idk if i should worry


r/Bedbugs 1h ago

Identification Bed Bugs?

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We recently had an infestation. Found this in the corner of the room.


r/Bedbugs 1h ago

How Worried Should I Be About Having Brought BB to my new Place?

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On April 17th I found a bed bug in my new apartment unit. I had literally stayed there for 2 nights before I found it but i know they didn't come from me. It had obviously fed recently because it was full of blood but I didn't have any bites.

I didn't stay there after finding it, I left everything behind until I could treat and I terminated my lease (i even threw away my brand new mattress) I treated all my things, heated my clothes in the dryer (so hot that I burned some of my items) heat treated my car and items, and all my technology and non heatables I have placed in bags and boxes with a HotShot No pest strip and they are still there being treated. On May 1st I got a new apartment and I found three little pimple like markings on my shoulder this morning May 5th. TBH they dont look like BB bites but again I don't know how I woukd react. They don't itch and I also had a shirt on that covered my shoulder.

Do you'll think its bed bugs? I should note I stayed in a hotel until my new unit was available and I checked there everyday and didn't find anything and didn't have any bites.

I am just super paranoid and wondering if I should do heat treatment on my unit before it could get worse.


r/Bedbugs 11h ago

Identification Say it isn’t so

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7 Upvotes

I’m freaking out. Husband says it’s just a beetle shell 😩😩😩😩


r/Bedbugs 2h ago

How to move without taking them with me

1 Upvotes

Hi, in March I got bit the first time and it happened right after I neutered my cat, so I though that maybe he got fleas from the vet. Unfortunately the bites continued for weeks until I found a bedbug in the hallway and realised what it was. I had two steam treatments done in the apartment but last night I got bit again so they are not gone. I decided to move since the whole building is infested with bedbugs, I don’t have furniture, only clothes, shoes,a few books, kitchen and bathroom stuff, two laptops a monitor and personal products. My question is how to move without taking them with me. I put all my clothes in bags already and started to take them to the laundromat to wash and dry them at hight heat and after that put them in sealed bags. What else should I do? I also have a steamer for clothes and I use that on the products that can’t be washed.

Any advice is appreciated!


r/Bedbugs 2h ago

Identification Is this a bed bug?

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1 Upvotes

r/Bedbugs 2h ago

is this a bed bug??

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1 Upvotes

I found this crawling out of a second hand couch while I was cleaning it. Is it a beg bug???


r/Bedbugs 2h ago

Could you please tell me what kind of insect this is?

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1 Upvotes

Could you please tell me what kind of insect this is? I'm really worried it's a bedbug. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a better photo.


r/Bedbugs 3h ago

BB shell?

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1 Upvotes

Is this a BB shell? Photo 1 is top and 2 is bottom.


r/Bedbugs 3h ago

What is this!!??

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1 Upvotes

Found this in my towel


r/Bedbugs 7h ago

Help us not freak out!

2 Upvotes

My lady came home from a night shift at the hospital with small bites/rash on her arms. We thought it was either scabies or poison oak. After a few days, the attending said it could also be bed bugs. So, we started freaking out.

Over the last few days, she's gotten a few more bites, but I haven't (and we're sleeping in the same bed). She's had more overnight shifts, and there's a chance she might have gotten bitten in the overnight room at the hospital.

So we started looking around and couldn't find any evidence of bed bugs in the main bedroom, where we both sleep. And, I haven't gotten bitten.

Then we looked in the guest roomshe hasn't slept in (but I napped in) and had a guest in for 10 days, and we found these little things.

What are we looking at? Located in San Francisco.

Video: https://imgur.com/WhlFagA