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Human Bedbugs
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Fact Sheet on BedBugs
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BED BUG
COMMON NAME: Bed Bug
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Cimex lectularius Linnaeus
CLASS I ORDER I FAMILY: Insecta / Heteroptera / Cimicidae
METAMORPHOSIS: Simple
INTRODUCTION. This bug more than likely gets its common name of bed bug from its intimate association with human sleeping areas/beds where it often seeks refuge during daylight hours. It only comes out to feed on the bed's occupant(s) at night. The bed bug is an ecto-parasite of primarily humans but will also attack poultry and other mammals and birds. It was introduced into the United States with the early colonists. It is found throughout the United States and the world. It is particularly devastating in third world countries.
RECOGNITION. Adults about 3/16, long; being broadly oval and relatively flat. Its color is from brown to reddish brown (especially after feeding). Hits head has a beak/proboscis which is 3-segmented and does not extend beyond its front coxae. Ocelli are absent. The antenna is 4-segmented with the 3rd segment being longer than the 2nd or 4th. The pronotum and the front margin is deeply concave in order to receive the head, with the side margins much expanded forward to beyond the eyes. The pronotum is more than 2-1/2 times as wide as it is long at its middle. The bases (coxae) of the middle and hind legs are widely separated with the tarsi being 3-segmented. Both front wings are vestigial and are reduced to nothing more than wing pads. The body upper surface is sparsely covered with short golden hairs (called setae), which are usually shorter than the diameter of the 2nd antennal segment. The insect emits an obnoxiously sweet" odor from its scent glands.
BIOLOGY. The female bed bug lays from 1-5 eggs per day that are about 1/32" long and are white. The eggs are deposited individually in any cracks or on rough surfaces and are secured to the surface with a transparent cement for an average of about 200 eggs. The maximum number of eggs laid per day is about 12, which calculates to around 540 in a lifetime. Bedbugs have 5 nymphal instars with a blood meal being required prior to each molt. About 5-10 minutes are required for each blood meal, during which the bedbug saliva containing an anticoagulant is injected . Developmental time (egg to adult) takes about 21 days at almost 900F and up to 120 days at about 700 F. An additional week respectively for oviposition to occur. Without a blood meal, the once-fed nymphs can survive for an average of about 50 days at 800F and 70-75% RH. Being poorly fed can greatly prolong its nymphal period (generally 35-50 days to almost 160 days0. With average feeding and reproductive cycles, the individual bedbugs can live over 300 days. Humans are the preferred host of bed bugs but in the absence of human blood, the bed bugs will feed on poultry, canaries, sparrows, mice, rats, guinea pigs, and bats. Even though the bite of bed bugs is painless, most people (over 75%) develop an allergic reaction to the saliva injected by the bug as it feeds. A swelling usually results from feeding but there is no red spot such as is characteristic with a flea bite. Local swelling may be severe and extend beyond the immediate bite area in highly sensitive human cases. Bed bugs are known to be infected with about 25 different disease organisms. However, although bed bugs have been suspect in the transmission of many diseases or disease organisms in humans, in most cases convincing evidence is just not there.
HABITS. Bed bugs harbor in cracks and crevices during the day and come out to feed at night. Typically they can be found around mattress buttons and beading, in box-springs or their coverings, and in any crevice of a wooden bed frame, such as where members join. Other places to check are wall hangings such as picture frames, night stands, stuffed furniture, baseboards, floorboard cracks, behind loose wallpaper, light switches, door and window frames, conduits, etc. In heavy infestations, bed bugs may be found in wall voids, attics, and other enclosed places. They will crawl considerable distances to obtain a blood meal.
They can be introduced into a house, or structure via used furniture or in the belongings of someone who has been living in a bed bug infested situation. Adults can survive for up to 7 months if they are well fed and they can feed on other animals if humans are not present. When the temperature falls below about 600F11, the adults enter a semi-hibernation phase and can survive for many months.
Bed bug infestations are found in transportation vehicles such as trains, boats, airplanes, and commercial buses as well as in movie theaters where typical harborage is in the seats and their associated frames.
Besides the typical and characteristic obnoxiously sweet odor, the other primary clues to an infestation will be the presence of bed bugs and/or small red to a reddish brown fecal spots scattered here and there on surfaces such as bed linens and such.
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