What Do Baby Bed Bugs Look Like?

Many people can identify adult bed bugs, but they are unsure about baby bed bugs, which are often more prevalent in an infestation. Luckily, babybed bug identification is fairly simple because they look like miniature versions of adults, except for their lighter color. Let’s take a closer look.

Are Baby Bed Bugs Visible?

Yes they are visible with the naked eye, but are tiny in size, pinhead size. When a bed bug egg hatches, the babies are called nymphs. Baby bed bugs have six legs, three body parts, and two antennae. Their body shape is flat and oval until they feed and become more balloon-like as they fill up with blood. Nymphs start out nearly clear or pale yellow in color, so the blood inside of them is visible after they have eaten. As the blood is digested, the red color darkens and fades away.



Do Baby Bed Bugs Bite? Well, yes and no. They do require a blood meal, but bed bugs in all stages do not bite, they actually are puncturing your skin layer. Bed bug nymphs must go through 5 different stages of development to reach adulthood. During each stage, called an instar, the bed bug must find a blood meal so that it can grow and shed its skin, a process known as molting. Bed bugs get larger and darker in color during each stage, but their basic characteristics remain the same. All stages of the bed bugs life cycle are visible to the human eye, though eggs and babies may be difficult to see because of their small size and clear color. Bed bug nymphs start out about 1 mm long and will grow to be around 5 mm when they reach maturity. The process of going from egg to adult can take anywhere from around a month to many months, depending on conditions. If a blood meal is not available, a bed bug’s development will pause until it is. Bed bugs can go several months without food, so infestations should not be controlled by trying to starve them out. When you are checking for bed bugs, remember to check for all stages of bed bugs, including the nymphs and eggs. For effective bed bug control, you must eliminate all of these stages. Check out Harris’ line of home pest control products. We have everything you need toget rid of bed bugs and save you money in the process. Find a great Harris product today and start winning the war against bed bugs.