Exterminator Secrets

Bed bugs produce a distinctive odor from volatile chemicals used for communication and defense. People have described established infestations as smelling musty or sweet, but odor is a poor way […]

Bed bug bites can itch intensely, but scratching them usually makes the situation worse. It can damage the skin, prolong irritation, and increase the chance of a secondary infection. Research […]

Bed bugs aren’t aquatic insects, and swimming isn’t part of their normal behavior. Put one in plain water, however, and that doesn’t mean it will immediately sink and die. Bed […]

Male and female bed bugs are similar in color and overall size, but adult specimens can often be distinguished by the shape of the abdomen. Male bed bugs have a […]

A bed bug has been reported traveling as far as 4.9 meters, about 16 feet, in five minutes under laboratory conditions. That sounds remarkably fast for such a small insect, […]

A single unmated female bed bug cannot start an infestation by herself. Common bed bugs reproduce sexually, and research does not support parthenogenesis, or reproduction without mating, in Cimex lectularius. […]

Bed bugs are attracted to warmth, but body heat works mainly as a short-range host-finding cue. Research shows that bed bugs orient toward human-temperature heat when they’re already close to […]

A bed bug can look surprisingly different after a blood meal. An unfed adult is broad, oval, brown, and extremely flat. Once it feeds, the abdomen expands, the body becomes […]

At normal room temperatures, newly hatched bed bug nymphs survive without a blood meal for much less time than older nymphs and adults. In one laboratory study, first instar nymphs […]

Bed bug poop usually appears as small, dark brown to black spots around places where the bugs hide. On absorbent material such as fabric, the liquid waste can soak into […]