What Is the Common Bed Bug?
The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is a small, flat, oval-shaped insect about the size of an apple seed. Unfed adults are mahogany brown, becoming swollen and reddish after feeding. They are wingless and cannot fly or jump, but are excellent hitchhikers that spread through luggage, furniture, and clothing.
Habitat & Behavior
Bed bugs are expert hiders, spending most of their time tucked into mattress seams, box springs, headboards, nightstands, and baseboards. They emerge at night to feed on sleeping humans, guided by body heat and carbon dioxide. A single feeding takes about 5–10 minutes.
Bed bug bites appear as itchy, red welts often in lines or clusters. While they are not known to transmit diseases, heavy infestations cause sleep disruption, anxiety, and secondary skin infections from scratching. Allergic reactions to bites can range from mild to severe.
Prevention & Control
Bed bugs reproduce rapidly—a single fertilized female can start an entire infestation. Early detection is critical. Look for dark fecal spots on bedding, shed skins, and live bugs in mattress seams. Professional heat treatment or targeted chemical treatment is almost always necessary for elimination, as bed bugs are resistant to many over-the-counter pesticides.