Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are also referred to as "red coats", "chinches",
and "mohogany flats". They are reddish brown or brown
in color and range in size from 1/4" to 3/8th ". The adult
bed bug is a wingless insect that is flattened from top to
bottom.

Bed bugs are blood feeding parasites of humans, poultry,
bats and occasionally domestic animals. They feed
principally on human blood piercing the skin with a long
beak and sucking blood into their stomachs. They are
usually active and feed during the night, but they will feed
during the day when hungry.

Bedbugs have never been implicated in the spread of
disease to humans.

Bed bugs hide in cracks and crevices in walls, furniture,
behind loose wallpaper, wall paneling, picture frames and
under carpeting. They will also hide in tufts, seams, and
folds of mattresses, pillows and bed coverings.

Bed bugs can be transported on clothing, in traveler's
luggage, or in bedding and furniture. They can be picked
up in a hotel or by sitting in a car, cab, bus, train or plane.

Female bed bugs deposit 3 to 8 eggs per day. A total of
200-500 eggs can be produced by each female. Eggs
hatch in 4 to 12 days. Newly hatched nymphs begin to
feed immediately. There are five nymphal stages, and it
usually takes 35 to 48 days for nymphs to mature.

Adult bed bugs can survive for 1 to 7 months without a
blood meal and have been known to live in an
abandoned houses for a year.

Bed bugs will readily travel 10-15 feet and have been
observed to travel more than 100 feet from their
established harborage (and back) to feet on a host.