Most people know that bed bugs “drink blood”, but in addition to this repulsive fact, it is also wise to have an idea of what bed bugs look like so you won’t miss them when inspecting your bed for these blood suckers. Bed bugs are:
• Oval in shape, wingless, and rusty red or mahogany in color.
• About 1/5 inch long
• Bodies are flattened
• Well-developed antennae, small eyes, and, and the area behind the head expands forward on either side of the head
• Appearance of nymph is similar to that of the adult except smaller in size and lighter, yellowish white color
• These bugs are not indigence to Florida and only enter the home by being introduced though furniture or bedding.
• The only way to control bed bugs is by using several specially labeled chemical and securing the mattress.
Feeding Habits
• Bed bugs can survive without food for 80 to 140 days; older stages can survive longer without feeding than younger ones.
• Adults have survived without food for as long as 550 days.
• A bed bug can take six times its weight in human blood during a nighttime feeding, and feeding can take 3 to 10 minutes.
Life Cycle
• The female bed bug lays between 200 and 500 eggs (in groups of 10 to 50) on rough surfaces such as paper wood.
• Eggs are covered with glue and hatch in about 10 days.
• There are five progressively larger nymphal stages, each requiring a single blood meal before molting to the next stage.
• The entire bed bug life cycle from egg to adult takes anywhere between 5 weeks to 4 months
• Adults live up to 10 months
Damage
• Reactions to bed bug bites vary, ranging from inflammation and swelling around the bite, to intense itching.
• Bed bugs have not been found to transmit diseases to humans.
• Bed Bugs are commonly accompanied by small stains of blood on sheets and linen.