What are Bed Bugs?

A bed bug is a small (usually 1mm – 6mm) nocturnal insect of the Cimicidae family. The bed bug lives by feeding on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded hosts (hematophagy).

Bed bugs get their name through their preferred habitat – the bedroom. Extremely hard to find and elusive, the invaders live in box springs, especially the plastic corner protectors and inside among the “horse hair” under the cheese cloth fabric, in the creases and folds of mattresses, and in porous material close to the bed such as wooden slats, headboards, side tables, carpet and baseboards.

Startling Bed Bug Facts

• They can ingest up to 7 times their weight
• Bed Bugs are able to live up to 18 months without a meal
• Severe infestation can result in over 500 bites in a single night
• Many people live with Bed Bugs without even knowing it
• Eggs hatch within 2 weeks & only take 4 weeks to become fully grown
• New York has the most reported cases in 2013
• Reported cases have increased over 500% in the last 3 years
• Bed Bug infestations cause increased stress, anxiety and insomnia
• Females can lay up to 500 eggs over their lifetime

Published in Bed Bug 101