Do Bed Bugs Contain Blood?
If you have a bed bug infestation, you may wonder whether bedbugs contain blood. The short answer is yes, but only when they’ve recently fed. The blood they leave behind is actually hemolymph, which is blue in color because of copper. When you crush a bedbug, the blood will come out partially digested. However, if a bedbug is already feeding, it won’t bleed, but you’ll have a stain.
The stain of a bed bug is usually small and smeared, like an ink dot on a marker or pen tip. It comes from its feeding and is usually found on or near the foot of a bed or on the pillowcase. The space between the pillow case and the bed is a perfect hiding spot for these insects.
While bedbugs have been known to feed on the blood of other animals, they are much easier to feed on human blood. Human blood is easier for them to feed on than fur, and that’s why they focus on feeding around the neck, back, and hands. It’s important to note that they can’t chew through wood or paper.
Since bedbugs feed on the blood of humans and other mammals, their blood is filled with DNA of the humans they’ve eaten. This means that DNA from bedbugs is a useful tool for DNA profiling. In some cases, scientists believe bedbug DNA could be used as evidence of a certain person’s presence in a room.