Habits Bed Bug Division
Detection
Bedbugs are fast moving insects that are nocturnal blood-feeders. They feed mostly at night when their host is asleep. After using their sharp beak to pierce the skin of a host, they inject a salivary fluid containing an anticoagulant that helps them obtain blood. Nymphs may become engorged with blood within three minutes, whereas a full-grown Bedbug usually feeds for ten to fifteen minutes. They then crawl away to a hiding place to digest the meal. When hungry, Bedbugs again search for a host.
Bedbugs hide during the day in dark, protected sites. They seem to prefer fabric, wood, and paper surfaces. They usually occur in fairly close proximity to the host, although they can travel far distances. Bedbugs initially can be found about tufts, seams, and folds of mattresses, later spreading to crevices in the bedstead. In heavier infestations, they also may occupy hiding places farther from the bed. They may hide in window and door frames, electrical boxes, floor cracks, baseboards, furniture, and under the tack board of wall-to-wall carpeting. Bedbugs often crawl upward to hide in pictures, wall hangings, drapery pleats, loosened wallpaper, cracks in plaster, and ceiling moldings.
Other Information
- » Fox News, 15 January 2007: "Lawyer Sues London Hotel, Claims Bedbugs Attacked Him, Wife"
- » Pest Control Magazine, 1 January 2007: "Are Bedbug Dogs Up to Snuff?"
- » Bed Bugs and Blood-Sucking Conenose
- » University of Kentucky EntFacts Information Sheet on bedbugs
- » Shawn E. Brooks, University of Florida - Bed Bug Summary
