Help with a bug please
Hey i was hoping you could help me identify this bug and give me some help on what i can do to get rid of them. The bug is a brownish red color, pretty small, 4 legs from what i could see. When i killed one it was definately full of red blood. Human blood i would imagine. They are crawling all over my bed and have been biting me leaving me with an itch that usually lasts until the morning. I tried using a bug gas bomb to get rid of them but had no luck. I took a picture to help. Thanks alot.
David
Hi David,
Your photo isn’t detailed enough to be certain, but the general outline of the culprit as well as your description leads us to believe you have Bedbugs, Cimex lectularius. According to Hogue: “The species may be recognized by its small size (its length is about 3/16 to 1/4 inch), dusky red color (which changes to bright red when the bug is ingesting blood), and flatness. It is entirely wingless, even as an adult. When indoors, the Common Bedbug feeds exclusively on human blood, invading the bed at night for its meals. … During the day Bedbugs hide in crevices in walls and floors, behind wall decorations, and in furniture.” Seek professional help.
¶ Posted 06 June 2005 § ‡ ° Hello, my name is Kat and I live in Bakersfield California in the country. Recently I have found small skinny black bugs that smell really bad when crushed. They are really annoying me because at night if I lift the covers there is always one or two crawling around. What can they be? And more importantly, how can I kill them? They might live in the cotton fields around my house or in the alfalfa. There are almond trees too. Any help would be appreciated!
Not so good Kat. They sound like Bedbugs which will bite.
¶ Posted 08 June 2004 § ‡ ° I found these flat(they almost look like ticks) brown bugs living in the seams of and on my box spring part of the mattress set. When you squash them they’re full of blood. What are they?!
This is bad. They are bedbugs. Yes they really do exist. According to Borror and DeLong in their book An Introduction to the Study of Insects, “The Common Bed Bug, Cimex lectularius, are flat, oval bugs about 1/4 inch in length which feed by sucking blood from birds and mammals. The Common Bed Bug is frequently a serious pest in houses, hote.s, barracks, and other living quarters. It attacks animals other than man. The Common Bed Bug is largely nocturnal, and during the day hides in cracks in a wall, under the baseboard, in the springs of a bed, under the ridge of a mattress, under wallpaper, and in similar places. Its flatness makes it possible for it to hide in very small crevices. Bed Bugs may be transported from place to place on clothing, in luggage or furniture, or they may migrate from house to house. Bed Bugs are important primarily because of their irritating bites. They are apparently unimportant as disease vectors.” Here is a photo from Essig of a bedbug feeding on a finger.
¶ Posted 07 December 2003 § ‡ ° Dear bug man,
In the last few months my roomates and I have been the unfortunate hosts to the dreaded Bed Bug. Until I met the nasty critters in real life, I thought they were only the fabricated subject of the cute little pre-bedtime saying "Night-night, don’t let the bed bugs bite". But they do exist. And they have become a part of my living nightmare now for three long months. I live in Brooklyn, New York in a building with four apartments. The bugs were brought in by our upstairs neighbors. The short of the story is that I have to move out of this building because I cannot take it anymore. I am also afraid that I will bring them with me when I go. Do you have any advice about a bug free move? As it is, I am throwing out my bed my dresser and my couches (that is the extent of my furniture anyway). And I am laundering every article of clothing and bedding and then moving it into storage. The other distressing aspect of my story is that I have become a social pariah. One of my friends just moved into a new apartment and will not allow me to set foot into her home until I am free of bed bugs. She also refuses to see me… well, anywhere. I think she would cross the street if she happened to run into me in Manhattan one day. This has caused a strain on our friendship because, in reality i think she is being paranoid…. is she? Will the eggs stick to my clothes even after i have laundered them? i don’t sleep in my apartment anymore anyway. I am living at my boyfriends while i move out of the infested apartment. Please help me. It sucks that my friends are treating me like I have a communicable disease. Maybe I should just get new friends. Thanks for any advice you can give!
Deirdre .
Dear Deirdre,
I sympathize with you.
You do need to worry about taking the pests with you. Bed bugs may be transported from place
to place on clothing or in luggage or furniture, and they can migrate from house to house.
Eggs are generally laid in cracks, not on people or clothing. The bugs are nocturnal and
during the day, they hide in cracks in the walls, under the baseboard, in the springs of a
bed, under the edge of a mattress, under wallpaper, and in similar places.
My advice is to fumigate before leaving, only take furniture that is irreplacable. Get a new
box spring and mattress, eliminate most of your clothing and only take freshly laundered
clothing to your new place. Good luck.
¶ Posted 08 August 2003 § ‡ ° 
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