Bed bugs are tiny insects that feed on blood from humans or animals. They’re flat, oval-shaped, and reddish-brown. They can live in your bed, furniture, carpet, clothing, and other belongings and are most active at night.
Bedbugs don’t have wings, so they rely on animals or humans to carry them from one place to another. They typically get into your home after an overnight trip — by hitching a ride in your luggage or clothing.
Or they can enter your home if you bring in infested secondhand furniture. They can also travel from one apartment to the next if a building or hotel has an infestation.
Although bedbug bites are rarely dangerous, they can be very itchy. In some cases, they become infected or cause an allergic reaction.
Source: BBC Studios
Please keep reading to learn about bedbug bites, their look, and how to treat and prevent them.
What do bedbugs and bedbug bites look like?
Symptoms of a bedbug bite
Bedbugs excrete a tiny amount of anesthetic before feeding on people, so you won’t feel it when they bite you. It can sometimes take a few days for symptoms of bedbug bites to develop.
Some people never develop noticeable symptoms from bedbug bites. According to Pest Control Technology, approximately 30 to 60 percent of people never develop a reaction to a bedbug bite. When symptoms do develop, the bites tend to be:
- Red and swollen, with a dark spot at the center of each bite (they may also look like a hive or welt)
- Arranged in lines or clusters, with multiple bites grouped together
- Itchy
- Burning
- Fluid-filled blisters
- You may also find blood stains on the sheets from scratching
Scratching bug bites can cause them to bleed or become infected.
Where on the body do bedbug bites occur?
Bedbugs can bite any part of your body. However, they’ll typically bite areas of skin that are exposed while you sleep. This includes your face, neck, arms, and hands. If you wear pajamas to bed, the bug will bite along the clothing line.
Do bedbugs bite every night?
Bedbugs don’t always feed every single night. They can go for several weeks without eating. That might sound good, but it can be more challenging to notice bedbugs in your home.
It may take a few weeks to realize that the bites are part of a larger pattern. And that’s problematic because bedbugs can multiply very quickly. A female can lay eggs every 3 to 4 days.
What’s the best way to treat bedbug bites?
In most cases, bedbug bites get better within 1 to 2 weeks. To relieve symptoms, you can:
- Apply an over-the-counter or prescription steroid cream to decrease inflammation and itching.
- Take an oral antihistamine to reduce itching and burning.
- Use an over-the-counter pain reliever to relieve swelling and pain.
- Take Benadryl before sleep to decrease itching, or have a doctor prescribe a more potent antihistamine.
In addition to over-the-counter medications, several home remedies may help relieve the symptoms of bedbug bites. Try applying one or more of the following:
- a cold cloth or an ice pack wrapped in a towel
- a thin paste of baking soda and water
Allergic reactions and infections from bedbug bites
Although rare, there have been isolated case reports of systemic allergic reactions to bedbug bites. Responses typically included hives, asthma, and on rare occasions, anaphylaxis.
In addition, constant scratching of lesions caused by bedbug bites may lead to secondary infections, such as impetigo, folliculitis, or cellulitis. To reduce the risk of infection, wash the bites with soap and water, and try not to scratch them.
Contact your doctor if you suspect you’ve developed an infection or allergic reaction to a bedbug bite. Get emergency medical care if you develop any of the following after being bitten:
- multiple hives
- difficulty breathing
- wheezing
- swelling of the throat or mouth
- fever
- chills
- dizziness
- confusion
How should you treat bedbug bites on a baby?
If you suspect bedbugs have bitten your baby or child, check their sheets, mattress, bed frame, and nearby baseboards for signs of the bugs.
Washing the bites with soap and water will help treat bedbug bites on your baby or child. Consider applying a cold compress, over-the-counter anti-itch creams, or low-strength steroids for additional relief. Make sure to cut the baby’s nails short, so they can’t scratch their skin.
Talk with your child’s doctor or pharmacist before using topical steroid creams or oral antihistamines to treat the bites. Some medications may not be safe for babies or young children.
If your child is old enough to understand your instructions, ask them not to scratch the bites. To prevent scratching, it may also help to trim your child’s nails and cover the bites with a bandage.
How can you tell if you have bedbugs in your home?
If you suspect there are bedbugs in your home, look for signs of them in your bed and other areas. They usually hide during the day in:
- household cracks or crevices
- walls
- luggage
- bedclothes
- mattresses
- bedsprings
- bed frames
- spaces under baseboards
- loose or peeling wallpaper
- electrical switch plates
- conduits for electrical cables
- sofas (if a person is using the sofa to sleep on)
Bedbugs typically live near where people are sleeping in the house. That’s because bedbugs are attracted to body heat and carbon dioxide.
They don’t usually travel to other rooms if people aren’t sleeping there. Bedbugs typically feed from midnight until dawn and then hide during the day in the same place they were before biting.
You may not see the bugs themselves, but you may find drops of blood or small black dots of bug droppings in your bed. If you find bedbugs, call your landlord or a pest control company.
It’s challenging to find bedbugs unless you’re professionally trained. Most pest control companies will do a check free of charge. If they find bedbugs, they’ll give you several options to eliminate them.
Remember, until you’ve eliminated the infestation, do not visit or sleep at someone else’s house or a hotel, as this may potentially spread the bugs to their home or hotel room.
Risk factors for getting bedbugs
Bedbugs can live in any home or public area. But they’re common in places with many people, turnover, and close quarters. That’s why you may be at increased risk for encountering bedbugs if you live or work in a:
- hotel
- hospital
- homeless shelter
- military barrack
- college dorm
- apartment complex
- business office
Bringing secondhand furniture into your home is another risk factor, as is having visits from friends or relatives who may have bedbugs in their homes.
How to get rid of bedbugs in your home
To contain and eliminate a bedbug infestation, it helps to:
- Vacuum and steam-clean your floors, mattresses, furniture, and appliances.
- Launder your linens, drapes, and clothing using the hottest settings of your washing machine and dryer.
- Seal items that can’t be laundered in plastic bags and store them for several days at 0°F (-17°C) or for several months at warmer temperatures.
- Heat items that can be safely heated to 115°F (46°C).
- Fill gaps around your baseboards and cracks in furniture with caulking.
It’s almost impossible to get rid of bedbugs without an exterminator. Many exterminators today use nonchemical eradication, such as very high heat or very cold liquid nitrogen. These options may be the most effective way to eliminate bedbugs, as bedbugs are resistant to most pesticides.
Find more tips for managing bedbug infestations and learn when to call a professional.
How to prevent bedbug bites
Bedbugs travel from place to place by hiding in items such as furniture, clothing, blankets, and luggage. Bedbugs can live for months without feeding. This makes it easy to accidentally bring bedbugs into your home without knowing.
There are steps you can take to help prevent bedbugs:
- Travelers who are exposed to bedbugs or are concerned about bedbugs should decontaminate luggage, clothes, and belongings upon returning home using mechanical methods (brushing, vacuuming, heating, washing, or freezing).
- Always use luggage racks to keep your clothes off the floor and away from hotel furniture.
- Keep your suitcase away from your bed when you return home from a trip, and run your clothes through a dryer cycle before putting them away.
- Store your clothing in vacuum-sealed bags when you travel.
- When you return home from traveling, seal items that can’t be washed in a plastic bag for several weeks.
- If you’re a frequent traveler, you can get a device that heats your suitcase to a temperature that will kill any bedbugs.
- Inspect any secondhand furniture, linen, or clothing for signs of bedbugs before bringing it into your home.
- If you use a shared laundry room, transport your laundry in plastic bags, and don’t fold it until you return home.
Bedbug bites vs. fleas
Bedbug bites and fleabites are similar in appearance, although flea bites are typically smaller. Both can cause red bumps to form on your skin. Both can be very itchy.
When fleas bite you, they typically bite the lower half of your body or warm, moist areas around joints. For example, they may bite:
- your feet
- your ankles or legs
- your armpits
- the inside of your elbows or knees
Bedbugs are more likely to bite the upper parts of your body, such as:
- your hands
- your arms
- your neck
- your face
Bedbug bites also occur at night and look like hives. But later in the day, they get smaller and look more like a pimple.
If you suspect that bedbugs or fleas have bitten you, check for signs of the bugs in your home. Bedbugs often hide in the seams of mattresses, cracks in bed frames, headboards, and baseboards around beds. Fleas tend to live on family pets and in carpets or upholstered furniture.
You can also visit a dermatologist who can examine the bites and help determine the cause.
If you find bedbugs or fleas, it’s essential to treat your home or pet to get rid of them.
Flea bites tend to occur on the feet, ankles, or lower leg. Source: Getty Images (Dermnet, Wikimedia, etc.)
Bedbug bites vs. mosquito bites
Bedbugs and mosquito bites can be red, swollen, and itchy. If you have a line of bites that appear in a small area of your body, they’re more likely to be bedbug bites. Bites that occur in no apparent pattern are more likely to be mosquito bites.
Both bedbug and mosquito bites tend to get better on their own within 1 or 2 weeks. To relieve itching and other symptoms, apply a cold compress, calamine lotion, or other topical treatments. Taking an oral antihistamine can help as well.
It’s also possible to confuse bedbug bites with spider bites, ant bites, or other insect bites. Find out more about the differences between these types of bites.
Mosquito bites cause raised itchy welts. They typically don’t appear in a line or pattern. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Bedbug bites vs. hives
Sometimes, people mistake hives for bedbug bites. Hives are red bumps that can develop on your skin due to an allergic reaction or other causes. Like bedbug bites, they’re often itchy.
Bedbug bites may initially look like hives with small central bumps or bites. However, hives from bedbug bites don’t stay in the same place for more than 24 hours. They tend to migrate to other locations or go away.
If you develop red bumps on your skin that get larger, change shape, or spread quickly from one part of your body to another, they’re more likely to be hives.
A small group or line of bumps that appear on one part of your body without changing shape or location are more likely to be bedbug bites.
If you develop hives along with breathing difficulties, swelling of the mouth and throat, wheezing, rapid heart rate, or confusion, get medical help immediately.
You might be experiencing anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. Learn more about anaphylaxis and other potential causes of hives.
The itchy red bumps from hives may spread from one part of your body to another. Source: Panther Media GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo
Bedbug bites vs. spider bites
Spider bites can be red and itchy, much like bedbug bites. But unlike bedbugs, spiders rarely bite more than once. If you only have one bite on your body, it’s probably not from bedbugs.
Spider bites often take longer to heal than other types of bug bites. Some spider bites can cause severe damage to your skin, especially if they get infected. To reduce the risk of infection, wash any bug bites with soap and water.
Some spiders are poisonous. If you suspect a poisonous spider has bitten you, get medical help immediately.
Spiders rarely bite more than once, so you typically won’t see a line or pattern of bites. Photography courtesy of David~O/Flickr
Bedbug bites on pets
Bedbugs don’t just bite humans. They can also feed on family pets.
The bites will likely get better if you have a pet bitten by bedbugs. But in some cases, they might become infected. Make an appointment with a veterinarian if you suspect your pet has an infected bite.
If you hire a pest control expert to get rid of bedbugs in your home, let them know if you have a pet. Some insecticides may be safer for your pet than others. It’s also important to wash your pet’s bed, stuffed toys, and other accessories where bedbugs live.
Bedbugs are small insects that feed on blood. They can be found in furniture or other areas of your home. They can bite people and animals. While the bite isn’t painful, it can leave behind red bumps that itch in a line or cluster.
Bedbugs hide in clothing, furniture, bedding, luggage, electronics, and clothing. Most bites heal within a week. Bedbug bites can be treated with soap, water, or calming lotions. Bedbug bites may become infected and require medical attention.
Once bedbugs have entered your home, it can be challenging to get rid of them. Pest control will be needed to locate and eliminate bedbugs.
For treatment and diagnosis, consult a dermatologist or doctor if you’re unsure of the type of rash/bite. Source: Healthline
