Bedbug facts for kids

For other uses, see Bedbug (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids Bed bugs
Synonyms	Cimicosis, bed bug bites, bedbugs, bed bug infestation

An adult bed bug (Cimex lectularius) looks flat and oval.
Symptoms	None to prominent blisters, itchiness
Usual onset	Minutes to days after the bite
Causes	Cimex (primarily Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus)
Risk factors	Travel, second-hand furnishings
Diagnostic method	Based on finding bed bugs and symptoms
Similar conditions	Allergic reaction, scabies, dermatitis herpetiformis
Treatment	Symptomatic, bed bug eradication
Medication	Antihistamines, corticosteroids
Frequency	Relatively common

Bed bugs are tiny insects from the Cimex family. They like to feed on blood, usually at night while people are sleeping. When a bed bug bites, it can cause itchy skin rashes and sometimes make people feel worried or stressed.

Bed bug bites might look like small red spots or even bigger blisters. It can take a few minutes or even a few days for the bites to show up. The bites are usually very itchy. Sometimes, people might feel tired or get a fever if they have many bites. Bed bugs usually bite parts of the body that are not covered, like arms, legs, face, or neck. Good news: bed bugs are not known to spread any serious diseases.

The main types of bed bugs that bite humans are the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) and the tropical bed bug (Cimex hemipterus). These bugs are small, about 1 to 7 millimeters long. They can spread by crawling to nearby places or by hitching a ride in people's bags or clothes. Having bed bugs doesn't mean a place is dirty; they can be found anywhere. To know if you have bed bugs, you need to find the bugs themselves and see if your symptoms match. Bed bugs often hide in dark spots, like mattress seams or cracks in walls.

Treating bed bug bites usually means making the symptoms feel better. Getting rid of bed bugs from a home can be tricky because they can live for a long time without eating. You might need to treat a home many times. Ways to get rid of them include heating a room to very high temperatures, cleaning often with a vacuum, washing clothes in hot water, and sometimes using special sprays called pesticides.

Bed bugs are found all over the world. There have been more bed bug problems since the 1990s. Experts think this might be because more people travel, more second-hand furniture is moved around, and bed bugs are becoming stronger against pesticides. Bed bugs have been bothering humans for thousands of years!

What Bed Bugs Do to People

Bed bug bites on skin

More bed bug bites

Bed bugs live in homes and bite people, which can cause skin irritation and other problems. Even though bed bugs can carry tiny germs, there is no proof that they spread diseases to humans.

Bed Bug Bites: What They Look Like

The most common signs of bed bug bites are red, itchy spots that are slightly raised. Each spot is usually about 2–5 millimeters wide, but some can be as big as 2 centimeters. Sometimes, you might see a tiny dot in the middle of the bite. Bites usually appear on skin that is exposed while sleeping, like arms, legs, feet, face, or neck.

How people react to bites can be different. Some people don't show any signs at all (about 20–70% of people). Others might get small flat spots or even large blisters that are very itchy and can last for several days. Sometimes, small fluid-filled bumps or hard lumps can form. If you scratch the bites a lot, they might get infected by bacteria, but serious body-wide effects from bed bug bites are very rare. A tiny spot of bleeding might also appear in the bite area because the bug's spit contains things that thin blood.

It's important to know that symptoms might not show up until a few days after the bites. If you get bitten many times, your body might react more strongly because it becomes sensitive to the bed bug's spit. Many bites can lead to a widespread red rash or hives.

In rare cases, serious allergic reactions can happen, but this is not common. Since each bite takes a tiny bit of blood, a very bad or long-lasting bed bug problem could sometimes lead to anemia, which means you don't have enough healthy red blood cells. Scratching bites can also cause skin infections. If there are many bites, it might even cause poor sleep and affect how well someone does at school or work.

Bed bugs can also feed on pets, like cats and dogs. The bites look the same on animals and cause similar problems, like itchy skin. Bed bugs can even infest chicken coops, causing chickens to become anemic and lay fewer eggs.

Treating Bed Bug Bites

To treat bed bug bites, the most important thing is to stop getting bitten again. This usually means getting rid of the bed bugs from your home. For the bites themselves, you can use antihistamines or corticosteroid creams to help with the itching and swelling. However, most bites get better on their own in 1–2 weeks without any special medicine.

What Bed Bugs Look Like

An adult bed bug is about 4 to 5 mm long.

Bed bug problems are mostly caused by two types of insects: the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) and the tropical bed bug (Cimex hemipterus). These insects only eat blood. They can live for up to 70 days without a blood meal. Adult bed bugs are light brown to reddish-brown, flat, and oval-shaped. They don't have back wings, and their front wings are tiny pads. Adults are about 4 to 5 millimeters long and 1.5 to 3 millimeters wide. Female common bed bugs can lay many eggs, up to 500 in their lifetime!

Bed bugs go through five young stages, called nymphs, before they become full-grown adults. They need to have at least one blood meal to grow to the next stage. Each time they grow, they shed their outer skin, which is called molting. Young bed bugs are clear and lighter in color, becoming browner as they grow.

Sometimes, people might confuse bed bugs with other insects like tiny cockroaches or carpet beetles. But when bed bugs are warm and moving, they walk more like ants. Also, like many other "true bugs," they give off a bad smell if you crush them.

Bed bugs are "bloodsuckers." They have mouthparts that can cut through skin and inject spit that has pain relievers and blood thinners. People react differently to their bites; some have no reaction, while others have a strong allergic reaction. The bite usually causes a swollen spot without a red center, but if many bugs bite a small area, red spots might appear after the swelling goes down. Bed bugs prefer to bite exposed skin, especially on a sleeping person's face, neck, and arms.

Bed bugs are attracted to people mainly by the carbon dioxide we breathe out. They are also drawn to our body warmth and certain chemicals. There's good evidence that bed bugs can find human smells even without other clues. A bed bug usually feeds only every five to seven days, so it doesn't spend all its time looking for a host. When a bed bug is hungry, it leaves its hiding spot to find food. After it eats, or if it sees light, it goes back to its hiding place. Bed bugs like to gather together at all stages of their lives. They might do this to protect themselves from predators, to avoid drying out, and to find mates. Special chemicals in the air, called pheromones, help them gather.

How Bed Bugs Spread

Bed bug problems are rarely caused by a lack of hygiene or cleanliness. They usually spread to new places by being carried in people's personal items. Homes can get bed bugs in several ways:

Bugs and eggs can accidentally be brought in from other infested places on a visitor's clothes or luggage.
Infested items, like furniture (especially beds or couches), clothes, or backpacks, can be brought into a home or business.
If nearby homes or apartments have bed bugs, they can crawl through ducts or cracks.
Wild animals, like bats or birds, can sometimes carry bed bugs or similar bugs.
People visiting a place with bed bugs (like a hotel, bus, or movie theater) can carry the bugs to another area on their clothes, luggage, or bodies. Bed bugs are even being found more often in air travel.

Even though bed bugs might bite pets, they don't live or travel on the skin of animals. Pets are not thought to be a main way bed bugs spread.

Finding Bed Bugs

To know if your symptoms are from bed bugs, you need to actually find the insects in your sleeping area. This is because other bug bites can look similar.

Bed bugs can be found alone, but they usually gather together once they settle in. Even though they are parasites, they spend only a tiny bit of their lives on people. After a bed bug finishes eating, it follows a chemical trail back to a nearby hiding spot. These spots are often in or near beds or couches, where they live in groups of adults, young bugs, and eggs. Hiding places can include luggage, car interiors, furniture, clutter next to the bed, and even inside electrical outlets or laptop computers. Bed bugs might also hide near animals that have made nests in a home, like bats, birds, or rodents. They can also feed on cats and dogs, but humans are their favorite food.

If there's a very bad bed bug problem, you might notice a strong, sweet smell, sometimes described as smelling like rotting raspberries. Special Bed bug detection dogs can be trained to sniff out bed bug hiding spots.

Simple detectors can also be used. These "monitors" or "traps" use things like carbon dioxide (from our breath) or special chemicals (pheromones) to attract and trap bed bugs in a container. These detectors can confirm if you have bed bugs, but they usually don't catch enough bugs to get rid of the whole problem.

Eggs and two adult bed bugs found inside a dresser
Dark spots from bed bug droppings
A bed bug on carpet

What Else Could It Be?

Other things that can cause symptoms similar to bed bug bites include scabies, allergic reactions, mosquito bites, spider bites, chicken pox, and skin infections caused by bacteria.

Stopping Bed Bugs from Spreading

To avoid bringing bed bugs home, especially after visiting an infested place or traveling, you can take some steps:

Check your shoes before leaving an infested area.
Change your clothes outside your house before going in, and put the used clothes in a clothes dryer right away.
When you visit a new hotel or lodging, check the bed before bringing your suitcases into the sleeping area.
Keep your suitcase on a raised stand to make it harder for bed bugs to crawl in.
Hang up your clothes or keep them in your suitcase instead of leaving them on the floor.
At home, seal cracks and holes in walls where bed bugs might hide.
Inspect second-hand furniture carefully before bringing it home, as it might have bed bugs.
Some experts suggest never sitting down on public transport seats and checking office chairs, plane seats, and hotel mattresses.

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

Getting rid of bed bugs can be tough because it means completely clearing them from your home or workplace. The best ways often involve methods that don't use chemicals. These include:

Using a vacuum to clean carpets and furniture thoroughly, then sealing the vacuum bag in a plastic bag and throwing it away.
Washing clothes and other fabric items in hot water (at least 60 degrees Celsius or 140 degrees Fahrenheit) or freezing them at very low temperatures (below -20 degrees Celsius or -4 degrees Fahrenheit). Most home freezers aren't cold enough to kill bed bugs effectively.
Using a steamer on mattresses and other fabrics. Steam can reach deep into materials and kill bed bugs in less than a minute if the temperature is hot enough (at least 60 degrees Celsius or 140 degrees Fahrenheit).
Heating entire rooms or special heating tents to a high temperature (at least 55 degrees Celsius or 131 degrees Fahrenheit) for several hours to kill all bed bugs. This method is effective but can be expensive and needs to be done carefully to avoid fires.

Using a mix of non-chemical methods and insecticides doesn't seem to work better than just using non-chemical methods alone.

Many insecticides (bug sprays) are not very effective against bed bugs because bed bugs have become resistant to them. Also, "bug bombs" or foggers don't work well because they can't get into the tiny cracks where bed bugs hide. Because bed bugs are becoming resistant to pesticides, there are also worries about how these chemicals might affect people's health.

Once bed bugs are in a building, especially one with many apartments, they are very hard to get rid of. They can move from treated areas to untreated areas and come back.

Mechanical ways, like vacuuming and using heat or special mattress covers, are good options. Bed bugs and their eggs will die if exposed to temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) for an hour, or below -17 degrees Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit) for two hours. A home clothes dryer can work for fabrics, or a commercial steamer can be used. Starving bed bugs doesn't work well because they can live for a very long time without eating, sometimes up to 100 to 300 days!

Where Bed Bugs Are Found

Bed bugs are found all over the world. In the United States, about 30% of homes had bed bugs before the 1950s. This number went down, partly because of the use of a strong pesticide called DDT that also killed cockroaches. The invention of the vacuum cleaner and simpler furniture designs might have also helped reduce bed bug numbers.

However, since the 1980s, bed bug problems have increased a lot in many countries. This rise is thought to be due to more people traveling, more second-hand furniture being moved, less focus on controlling other pests (which might have kept bed bugs in check), and bed bugs becoming resistant to pesticides. The decrease in cockroaches (which eat bed bugs) and the ban on DDT might also have played a role.

The U.S. National Pest Management Association reported a 71% increase in bed bug calls between 2000 and 2005. In New York City, reported cases jumped from 500 in 2004 to 10,000 in 2009. In 2013, Chicago was named the U.S. city with the most bed bug problems. Bed bugs are also showing up in places they never used to be, like southern South America.

It's hard to track the exact number of bed bug problems because people often don't talk about it. Most reports come from pest control companies, local governments, and hotels, so the problem might be even bigger than we know.

Types of Bed Bugs

The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is the type that lives best with humans. But it can also be found on birds, bats, chickens, and sheep. It lives in cooler parts of the world. Other types include C. hemipterus, which lives in tropical regions and also infests chickens and bats. Leptocimex boueti is another type found in tropical West Africa and South America that infests bats and humans. Other species mostly infest bats or poultry.

How Bed Bugs Evolved

The ancestors of modern bed bugs appeared about 115 million years ago. This was more than 30 million years before bats, which were once thought to be their first hosts. From unknown early hosts, different types of bed bugs evolved, specializing in either bats or birds. The common bed bug (C. lectularius) and tropical bed bug (C. hemipterus) split into different species 40 million years ago. Humans became hosts to bed bugs at three different times, as these bugs slowly adapted to living with us.

Bed Bugs in History

An advertisement from the late 1800s for a bed bug exterminator.

An engraving from 1860 showing parts of a bed bug.

Bed bugs were first mentioned in ancient Greece around 400 BC. Ancient Romans even thought bed bugs had medicinal uses, like treating snake bites or ear infections! People believed in these medicinal uses until at least the 1700s.

Bed bugs were also mentioned in Germany in the 11th century and in England in 1583. Some people in the 1700s thought bed bugs came to London with wood used to rebuild the city after the Great Fire of London in 1666.

In the past, people tried to get rid of bed bugs using many different things, like plants (such as black pepper or wild mint), fungi, and even other insects. Smoke from peat fires was also suggested as a way to fumigate homes against bed bugs in the mid-1800s.

Dusts have been used for centuries to protect stored grains from insects. Some of these, like diatomaceous earth, are now used again as a non-toxic way to fight bed bugs.

In the 1800s in the UK and France, people would put woven panels around beds and shake them out in the morning. In some parts of the world, people would scatter leaves with tiny hooked hairs around their beds at night, then sweep them up in the morning and burn them to trap the bugs.

Bean leaves were historically used in Eastern Europe to trap bed bugs. The tiny hairs on the bean leaves would catch the insects' feet. Then, the leaves would be destroyed.

The 20th Century and Bed Bugs

Until the mid-1900s, bed bugs were very common. In 1933, a report in the UK said that many homes had bed bug problems. The increase in bed bugs in the early 1900s might have been due to electric heating, which allowed bed bugs to live comfortably all year, not just in warm weather.

Bed bugs were a big problem at U.S. military bases during World War II. At first, dangerous gases were used to kill them. Later, DDT was used and worked well, but bed bugs have since become mostly resistant to it.

The decrease in bed bug problems in the 1900s is often linked to strong pesticides that became available. Other reasons might include people knowing more about bed bugs and programs that cleaned up crowded areas, using pesticides, steam cleaning, and moving people to new homes.

Bed Bugs in Society

Legal Issues

Bed bugs are causing more legal cases. In some situations, courts have ordered hotels to pay large amounts of money. Many homeowners in places like New York City have had bed bug problems, but they often don't talk about it publicly. This is because they don't want their property value to go down or to be seen as having a problem often linked to "lower social class." In New York City, a law (Local Law 69) requires building owners to tell tenants and future tenants about any bed bug history in each apartment. They also have to post these reports in their building.

Common Sayings

"Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite," is a traditional saying often used before bedtime.

Books About Bed Bugs

The Bedbug (Russian: Клоп, Klop) is a play written by Vladimir Mayakovsky in 1928–1929.
How the Bed Bug Infiltrated Our Bedrooms and Took Over the World was written by Brooke Borel.

New Discoveries

Scientists are studying bed bug secretions (the liquids they produce). These secretions can stop some bacteria and fungi from growing. This means that parts of bed bugs could potentially be used to fight human germs and might even lead to new medicines!

Images for kids

An adult bed bug (Cimex lectularius) with the typical flattened oval shape