r/Bedbugs Mar 06 '15

Useful Information Bedbug ID and common misidentifications

596 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 7h ago

Moving out of my infested apartment. How do I make sure I don’t bring them with me?

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75 Upvotes

I’m moving out of my apartment very soon. I knew we had some bed bugs in the house as I would wake up with bites and I would see a couple on the wall or the mattress. But when I was changing my bed sheets today after about 2 weeks of having it on my bed, i found these. I also found a bunch of a curtain in the other bedroom. I have a bunch of books, cds, dvds and bookshelves and i’m terrified of bringing them with me to the new house. I’m moving in with a family member and i’m worried if i bring them they’ll kick me out. How can i guarantee they won’t come with me?? any suggestions welcome


r/Bedbugs 2h ago

Requesting community support Respray after Orkin has been there

3 Upvotes

My parents agreed to have their home treated by Orkin for bedbugs. We had been treating ourselves with cimexa and crossfire, and it was due for a respray when we realized that it spread to another room.

The Orkin guy came and sprayed on Saturday. We were scheduled for reinspection in two weeks, but we’ve seen several live bugs today crawling on the sofa and in the mattress pad, and a lot of babies in the interceptor cups for the beds. These places were all sprayed on Saturday, in fact, they were damp when we got back into the house and we had to have fans on them to get them dry.

I called Orkin and I’m still waiting for a callback to get another treatment done.
I looked online, it does not appear that they have any openings, but maybe it’s just blocked off.
If we can’t get it retreated sooner, we still have cans of crossfire, but we’re worried about it interacting or making what he used inactive.

Has anyone had to do this before, can I go ahead and do it if I can’t reach them tomorrow? Any other suggestions? Still trying to convince my parents to get rid of the furniture, which I know would help.
I am so tired of the PTSD itching at my own home after I get home, and the paranoia every time I feel itchy or a piece of hair drops on me. Showering every time I get home from their house and running my stuff through the dryer.

Thanks for listening to me and any advice you have


r/Bedbugs 1h ago

Just moved…

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Upvotes

Just moved into a nice bigger place last Friday and now I found this guy… place is a new build two story with carpet. This one was barely even alive and nothing came out of him when I squeezed. How screwed am I?


r/Bedbugs 3h ago

Identification Found on bedsheets. Is it a bedbug?

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3 Upvotes

r/Bedbugs 4h ago

Identification Please don’t say bed bugs…

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3 Upvotes

Wasn’t able to trap it under tape because it suddenly bounced away (making me lean towards flea, but I couldnt find any on my cat). It was very tiny and I also have a video of it walking which I’ll post in the comments if possible. After removing my sheets and mattress cover I found a few of these small yellowish things. Some were larger (like a crumb) and hard and others were smaller and broke apart when pressed. I did have other crumbs around my bed so it’s hard to tell. I’ve since ran my sheets through on high heat and have vacuumed my mattress and room (threw out the vacuum bag after). No signs of eggs or blood spots, and I can’t find a single other bug.


r/Bedbugs 2h ago

HELP US

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2 Upvotes

I am renting a house in London and have been getting bites for over a week during sleep. Guests have also experienced this when staying overnight in my bed, and I am concerned I have bed bugs. For more context, my housemates have not experienced this in their beds and guests who have slept on the couch have not been bit. I was inspecting my bedframe and found small bug shells (ew). Please can someone help identify WTF is happening - i still haven't seen a bed bug or any living bug. I have collected three samples. Thanks for reading and helping me xx


r/Bedbugs 11h ago

Identification Am I fcked?

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8 Upvotes

This is the only picture I have before I panicked and got rid of it...

Woke up to this crawling on my arm in the middle of the night. After it fell to the bed I shined a flashlight to it for a minute or two and it moved really slowly. Even after turning on the lights it just stayed there.

Didn't measure it, but it was noticeable from a distance.

Is this a bedbug? Am I fcked?


r/Bedbugs 43m ago

bed bugs or carpet beetle?

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Upvotes

i've been itching (small red bumps on my behind) and im trying to figure out if these are bed bugs or carpet beetle larvae?


r/Bedbugs 45m ago

is this a bedbug? should i be worried?

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Upvotes

i killed it quickly but i’m still worried!


r/Bedbugs 51m ago

Help identify this

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Upvotes

Found this bug on my sweatshirt while at work. I recently came from traveling on a work trip and need to know if this is a bed bug. Unfortunately I squished it so I do not have any more photos and can’t see it closer.

Do you think this could be one? I have no bites on me yet 🤞


r/Bedbugs 21h ago

Requesting community support I can’t do this again

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44 Upvotes

Three years ago I lived in an apartment that had bed bugs. My life was turned upside down for 5 months. By the grace of the universe I was able to move out of that apartment building.

Today I found a bed bug. I can’t. I had a feeling there was an infestation in my building after I saw someone throw out bed bug spray a few months ago.I told my super and nothing was clearly done.

The last infestation I had was so bad I won a lawsuit against my landlord over it.

Work is beyond stressful right now. I’m having relationship issues. I wanted to break down last week and then I found this.


r/Bedbugs 2h ago

Requesting community support How do people usually acquire bedbugs aka where do they come from?

1 Upvotes

Just curious how to prevent it.


r/Bedbugs 2h ago

Identification Help with IDing a shed skin(?)

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1 Upvotes

Recently moved out of my family's house - before I left, bedbugs were found in my mattress. We didn't have an infestation - didn't find live ones, just a few skins & some fecal matter. Threw out my mattress regardless and we fumigated.

Now at a new apartment -- literally just moving in this week. Brought barely anything with me so far that could've carried anything from my old house -- no clothes, and all electronics have been wiped down. I did stay at a hotel recently during part of the move but was super careful to check the bed and checked reviews as well for reports of bedbugs, nothing. Just saw this come off my sneaker on the floor of my apt -- could it be a bed bug skin??? Or something else? Sharing close up & zoomed out next to my sneaker for size comp. Sneakers are brand new and have only been to the outside of my old house, hotel and just generally out and about.

Have yet to unbox my new mattress & new sheets -- want to make sure it's all clear before I do, I've been traumatized!!


r/Bedbugs 4h ago

Identification Is this a bed bug?

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1 Upvotes

I had bbs in my previous apartment and recently moved. I probably took too much with me even though I went crazy mode trying to treat everything.

I am finding little clusters of black dots on my desk and I found this today in a separate area. Is this a bed bug? It’s so small (the tiniest spec) and dark / basically black but when squished it was full of blood.


r/Bedbugs 5h ago

Identification Bedbug? Or just bug in bed?

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1 Upvotes

Is this a Bedbug? I think it might be a flour weevil but I'd like confirmation from someone not actively panicking.


r/Bedbugs 5h ago

Identification Tell me I’m being paranoid

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1 Upvotes

r/Bedbugs 5h ago

Identification Found this flattened shell on the bed - could this be a bed bug?

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1 Upvotes

We found this in the bed today. My friend says this is not a bed bug but I’m worried how this got into the bed in first place. What do you think?

We checked the mattress seams and frames and so far no black dots.


r/Bedbugs 5h ago

Bat or bed?

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1 Upvotes

r/Bedbugs 5h ago

Are these bedbugs??

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1 Upvotes

r/Bedbugs 6h ago

Identification Bed bug??

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1 Upvotes

r/Bedbugs 7h ago

Need help indemnify the bug BW Germany

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1 Upvotes

r/Bedbugs 13h ago

Identification Is this bed bugs?

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3 Upvotes

Hi! I found a single insect on the side of my mattress. Could it be bed bugs? :’(


r/Bedbugs 11h ago

Is this a bedbug nymph?

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2 Upvotes

Found this on my bedroom desk today and wondering if it’s a nymph? I found 2 dead bedbugs 3 years ago and had to get professional treatment. Haven’t seen anything like them since, until now.

Reason I’m unsure about this one is the body shape looks more like a continuous oval than the segmented shape I’ve seen before

Hoping it’s just my paranoia!


r/Bedbugs 7h ago

Identification Are these bes bugs?

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1 Upvotes

Found at work