You will find several pictures located here to help you, but it is important to read the necessary information about them as well. Bed bugs are commonly mistaken for other pests in the home. Or, you may think that you have bed bugs in your home when you actually do not but have some other pest lurking there.

If you plan to treat bed bugs, you need to have proper identification of these insects. Here are some key points to help you to identify them.

In their adult stage, they are brown to a reddish tint of brown.
They are an oval shape but they are also flattened out.
In size, the adult bed bug is about 3/16 to 1/5 of an inch long.
When they have just had a meal, the bed bug is swollen looking. They will be longer
now and have a dark red color to them.
On the front of their heads, they have what looks like a beak that allows them to pierce
and suck from their mouths.
Adult bed bugs do have wings. These wings do not allow them to fly, though. They are
small in size and are very short looking.
The eggs of bed bugs are white or colorless. They will darken in their color as they
mature. They will eventually have a brownish tint to them when they are mature.
The nymphs look a lot like that of the adult bed bugs in their appearance, just at a
smaller size.

Bed bugs are commonly mistaken for other bugs that are in the same family, (Family Cimicidae)
or in a closely related one. They are often confused with Cimex adjunctus, which are bat bugs or with Cimexopsis spp which are chimney swift bugs. The swallow bug, Oeciacus spp is also confused with bed bugs quite often.

Often the only way to know if a bug really is a bed bug is to have a professional look at it. A microscope is used to determine if the pest has the tell tale characteristics of a bed bug, as we have mentioned above.

It is often necessary for a skilled entomologist to do this type of investigation as most can not tell the difference from these creatures listed to the bed bug.

Tags: bed, bug