
IDENTIFICATION
- Colour: Reddish brown, with abdomen darker as blood is digested
- Size: Adults are approximately 4 to 5 mm long, size of an apple seed
- Description: Bed bugs are an oval shape, they have a flattened body, two antennae and six legs
BED BUG HABITAT
Bed Bugs like to hide in small cracks and crevices close to a human environment. They can be found behind baseboards, wallpaper, upholstery, and in furniture crevices. Bed bugs are also known to survive in temporary or alternative habitats, such as backpacks and under the seats in cars, buses and trains.
BED BUG DIET
Common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) prefers feeding on human blood, it will also bite other warm-blooded animals, including dogs, cats, birds and rodents.
BED BUG LIFE CYCLE
An individual bed bug can lay 200 to 250 eggs in her lifetime. The eggs hatch in 6 to 10 days and the newly emerged nymphs seek a blood meal. Immature nymphs molt five times (they shed their outer exoskeleton) before reaching adulthood. There may be three or more generations per year.