Masked Hunter (Nymph Stage)

Natural Habitat

Typically found inside houses, barns, and other buildings where their prey lives, often in dark, dusty corners or crevices.

Diet & Feeding

Carnivorous and predatory; consumes various small arthropods like bed bugs, carpet beetles, termites, and flies.

Behavior Patterns

Nymphs practice active camouflage by covering their sticky bodies with dust, lint, and sand (known as 'masking'). They are nocturnal hunters that move with a jerky, hitching motion to avoid detection.

Risks & Benefits

They provide a benefit by preying on common household pests like bed bugs. However, they can deliver a very painful bite to humans if handled or provoked, although they do not transmit diseases.

Identified on: 3/3/2026