What Bed Bugs Look Like
WouterIf you’re concerned about bedbugs, you probably want to know what they look like before you take action. Bedbugs are tiny insects with an oval shape. When they’re unfed, they look flat, while when they’re fed, they’ll be pill-shaped. They also have six legs and two antennae. Knowing what to look for will make the situation much easier.
To identify them, look for their distinctive fecal stains. These stains are smaller and darker than the body of the bedbug. These stains are caused by the bugs’ droppings, which are made up of digested human blood. The fecal stains contribute to the overall foul odor that the bugs produce.
Adult bedbugs have a reddish-brown body and a flattened oval shape. The nymphs of the bedbug’s life cycle are small but red, resembling tiny cockroaches and ticks. They grow to be about five millimeters long and have six legs that are about half as long as their body. Bedbugs need a blood meal to survive, and they may feed on humans up to six times per day.
Bedbugs have a hardened body due to a process called sclerotization. The males of the species have a pointed abdomen, while females have a rounded abdomen with genitalia on it. Their six legs are arranged in three pairs, with the first pair attaching to the thorax and two to the abdomen. The abdomen of bedbugs is made of many layers, and they have multiple eyes, one of which is very sensitive.
