Bed Bug

Natural Habitat

Found exclusively indoors, primarily in residential dwellings, hotels, and crowded spaces, hiding in mattress seams, bed frames, cracks, and furniture.

Diet & Feeding

Obligate hematophages; they feed exclusively on animal blood, primarily from humans, using a piercing-sucking proboscis.

Behavior Patterns

Nocturnal and elusive; they are attracted to host heat and carbon dioxide and typically bite while the host is sleeping. They undergo hemimetabolous metamorphosis, requiring a blood meal to progress through each of five nymphal stages.

Risks & Benefits

Risks include physical reactions like itchy welts, skin infections from scratching, and psychological distress (insomnia, anxiety). They are not known to transmit pathogens to humans, but their presence is a significant nuisance and expensive to eradicate. They offer no known ecological benefits to indoor environments.

Identified on: 3/26/2026