Bed Bug

Natural Habitat

Indoor environments, specifically in furniture, baseboards, and mattresses where they can stay close to human or animal hosts.

Diet & Feeding

Strict blood-feeders (obligate hematophages) that primarily feed on humans but will also bite other warm-blooded animals.

Behavior Patterns

They are nocturnal, hiding in cracks and crevices during the day and emerging at night to feed. They undergo a hemimetabolous life cycle involving an egg, five nymphal stages, and an adult stage.

Risks & Benefits

They do not transmit diseases, but their bites can cause allergic reactions, intense itching, and secondary skin infections from scratching. Infestations lead to significant psychological stress and financial costs for eradication. They offer no known benefits to humans or the indoor ecosystem.

Identified on: 1/4/2026