What Is the Bat Bug?
Bat bugs (Cimex adjunctus) are close relatives of bed bugs and are nearly identical in appearance, making them difficult to distinguish without magnification. The key difference is that bat bugs have longer hairs on their upper thorax compared to bed bugs.
Habitat & Behavior
As their name suggests, bat bugs primarily feed on bats and are typically associated with bat colonies roosting in attics, wall voids, and chimneys of North Carolina homes. When bats are removed or migrate, bat bugs may move into living areas in search of an alternative blood meal—often humans.
Bat bug bites produce itchy welts similar to bed bug bites. While they can feed on humans, they cannot reproduce without bat blood, so infestations in living spaces are usually temporary if the bat colony is addressed.
Prevention & Control
Effective bat bug control requires a two-step approach: humane bat exclusion (performed outside the maternity season of May–August) followed by targeted treatment of the areas where bats roosted. Simply treating for the bugs without addressing the bat colony will result in recurring problems.