Bed bugs are blood-sucking insects in the family Cimicidae. Both nymphs and adults feed on humans mostly at night, a time when it is difficult to detect their stealthy habits. They hide during the day in places such as: mattress seams, box springs, cracks in bed frames, under loose wallpaper, picture frames, and in upholstered furniture.
In the past bed bug infestations were thought to be associated mostly with crowded and run-down housing. However, this is no longer the case and ed bug infestations may be found even in the finest hotel and living accommodations.
Bed bugs live without feeding for months. A feeding typically takes 3 to 10 minutes, and the insect can ingest 6 times its weight in blood. Saliva injected during feeding can produce swellings on the skin that itch and maybe become irritated and infected when scratched. Swelling may not develop until a day or more after feeding and some people do not show symptoms.
To find out more about bed bugs, including identification and management please see UC ANR’s free bed bugs publication.
August 31, 2010 update. UC ANR blog Southern IPM Activities has two useful and informative blog posts about bed bugs. One is about the danger of using pesticides and chemicals not approved for removing beg bugs from the home. And the other links to CDPH site offering a slide show on how to detect bed bugs.