There are many bugs that can get into your Winston-Salem home. When they do, your first step is probably to go to the internet and find out what bug you have. When you do this with bed bugs, keep in mind that bed bugs have a variety of appearances. They may be tiny, 1 mm-long pale bugs. They may be tiny, 1 mm-long pale bugs with a black abdomen. They may be tiny, 1 mm-long pale bugs with a red abdomen. These are just the immature nymphs. As a bed bug grows, it may look tan, tan and black, tan and red, rusty red and red, rusty red and black, and more. It might be flat. It might be rounded. It might oval. It might be shaped like a piece of rice. It can get confusing, but don't worry. We're going to sort all this out.

All Bed Bed Bugs…

  • Have six legs, two antennae, and three body parts.
  • Have horizontal crease lines that wrap around their abdomen.
  • Are shiny.
  • Will run from the light.

A Pale Bed Bug

When a bed bug first hatches, it is pale and it has a transparent skin. If the bed bug has not had a blood meal, it will appear pale white. It will also be very tiny. At 1 mm, you'll have difficulty noticing this bug crawling around, especially since it prefers to crawl around in the dark.

A Pale Bed Bug With A Red Abdomen

Bed bugs eat blood. If you catch a bed bug feeding, it will have a bright red abdomen. This is important to know because you're not likely to ever see an adult bed bug feeding on you. Adults wait till carbon dioxide levels rise. This occurs while you're sleeping. An immature nymph can feed on you while you're awake. If you see a tiny, tan bug with a red abdomen attached to your skin, don't just swat it and move on with your day. That little bug is a warning sign.

A Pale Bed Bug With A Black Abdomen

As a bed bug processes the blood it has eaten, it will produce feces. This fecal matter is black and is easily seen through the transparent skin of a young bed bug. Keep this in mind if you see a tan and black insect crawling on your skin.

A Tan Bed Bug

Bed bugs grow tan as they develop through their five instars. The larger the bed bug, the more tan or reddish it will be. Bed bugs may be between 1 and 4.5 millimeters long.

Rusty Red Bed Bugs

You might think that an adult bed bug is easy to identify if you've looked at pictures on the internet, but most of those pictures are much larger than an actual bed bug. You won't easily see the details that are in the pictures on the internet. Here are a few things to consider.

  • Bed bugs hide in tight spaces.
  • Bed bugs are often found with black excrement, shed skins, white eggs, bed bug nymphs, and brown stains.
  • Bed bugs will be flat and oval if they have not had a blood meal.
  • Bed bugs will be bloated and rice-shaped if they have had a blood meal.

Detecting Bed Bugs

Most of the time, you won't see a bed bug. If the bug you've found is out in the light, it isn't a bed bug. Usually, the first sign of bed bugs are bites on the skin. But you can find signs of bed bugs by doing a detailed inspection of mattresses, box springs, couches, chairs, and other furniture. A handy tip is to slide a credit card along the seam of your mattresses. This is a tight space bed bugs are commonly found in.

Need more help?

If you have more questions or you need assistance with the elimination of bed bugs in your home, reach out to Ray's Pest Control & Wildlife Removal. We serve the Piedmont/Triad area with industry-leading pest control. We can help.