Bed Bug facts you probably didn’t want to know

Once engorged after a blood meal, nymphal bed bugs may take on a bright red color. However, individual bed bug color may vary.

Immature bed bugs maintain their reddish color for as long as they have remnants of their blood meal within their gut. As the blood meal is digested over time, they become more and more translucent again.

It may take several weeks for an immature bed bug to fully digest a blood meal such that no or very little blood matter appears within the abdomen.

Hatched bed bug eggs appear hollow and may have their “hatch top” opened and attached like a pop top or missing.

As are the eggs, newly emerged/hatched immature bed bugs are equally small and difficult to see.

Newly hatched bed bugs are translucent, may appear shiny and milky white to slightly yellowish in color, making them difficult to see on light color mattresses, bedding materials, and other such surfaces.

Bed bug eggs can be about the same size as one stitch of sewn mattress fabric.

Much like mosquitoes, bed bugs suck blood from their host victims. These blood meals are sucked in through the piercing sucking mouthparts at the “north end” and once digested are expelled out the “south end” as a dark ink-like appearing fecal liquid.

Reportedly, alcohol, such as rubbing alcohol, kills bed bugs on contact.