What types of bedbugs are there: photos and descriptions, varieties, control methods

What types of bedbugs are there?

Representatives of the suborder bedbugs (Heteroptera) lead a terrestrial and aquatic lifestyle. Insects are predominantly small and medium sized. Giant water bugs, reaching a length of 15 cm, especially stand out against their background. The common body shape is flattened, some species are close to a ball, some are rod-shaped. Insects share common morphological characteristics:

• The structure of the oral apparatus - the lower lip has changed into a proboscis, the upper and lower jaws have turned into piercing bristles. The piercing-sucking type is designed for the consumption of liquid food. The jointed proboscis can contract and stretch. There is a groove on the chest for its placement. There are two channels inside the organ, one of which delivers food enzyme (saliva) to the puncture site, the second one pumps out liquid food.
• The presence of odorous glands - on the chest of insects there are appendages that secrete a special secretion. The sharp unpleasant odor of liquid from the glands scares away potential enemies. By studying the chemical composition of the substance, scientists established its similarity to pheromones.
• Type of wings - in representatives of the order Hemiptera, half of the fore wings are leathery or chitinous. The remaining margin and hind wings are membranous. In some species the flight organ is completely reduced, in others only the elytra are preserved.
• Number of limbs - all bedbugs have 3 pairs of legs. Their structure depends on their habitat. Aquatic species have swimming limbs, while land species have running limbs.

How many types of bedbugs live on our planet? Wikipedia answers this question - about 40 thousand species. They differ in size, shape, and body color. Most of the insects received a protective coloring of grayish, brownish and greenish shades. But representatives of the superfamily shieldfish are yellow, blue, and red. Modest coloring characteristic of vulnerable insects. Individuals with bright colors usually have potent secretions; the article “How to recognize a stink bug and get rid of the pest?” will tell you about such insects.

Bedbugs have well-developed senses of touch; in addition to the antennae, there are sensitive hairs on the body. Some species are endowed with excellent vision. They have convex compound eyes complemented by simple ocelli.

Information. Organ reduction is associated with lifestyle features. Aquatic species do not have scent glands, and parasites do not have wings.

Nutritional Features

Types of bedbugs are classified according to their feeding method. Among them are:

• Herbivores or phytophages make up the bulk of the species. Adults and nymphs feed on the cell sap of various parts of plants - leaves, fruits, seeds. Many bugs are pests of field, garden and ornamental crops. The greatest danger is posed by quarantine species; one of them will be discussed in the article “Dangerous pest of gardens and fields: how to deal with the marbled bug?”
• Predators – attack invertebrates, insects and their larvae. The proboscis of bedbugs is shortened and durable, resembling a beak. The families of predators include: hunting bugs, most aquatic species.
• Parasites are hematophagous - insects feed on the blood of people and warm-blooded animals. Representatives of ectoparasites mainly live in houses, but some are found in natural conditions.

Information. Some species are characterized by a mixed diet (herbivory and predation). Cannibalism is common among bedbugs.

Representatives of the laceweed and earthen shield families are able to live together with ants, and individuals of the Termitaphididae family get along with termites. Some horseflies and predators settle in the web, where they feed on prey caught in it.

Diet of bed bugs

Both adult bedbugs and their larvae feed only on human blood. Adults eat once a week, while larvae require daily food. In order to lay eggs, the female must feed very heavily at least once.

Why doesn’t a person feel bites? Because adult insects, when biting, inject an anesthetic into the wound. But the bites of the larvae, due to their lack of this substance, are quite noticeable even during sleep.

All living creatures leave traces of their vital activity and bedbugs are no exception. Signs indicating that it is time to look for bedbugs in your home are:

1. Regular bites on the body. Of course, they are not easy to distinguish from the bites of other insects, but they should not be neglected. The bite sites appear the next morning and look like hard swellings or red spots, and are also very itchy. Bedbugs prefer to bite children and women, because their skin is smooth and their hair is insignificant.
2. The apartment smells like bedbugs. As for the smell of house bugs, it is quite specific, but at the same time relative. Bedbugs in nature have a strong smell: stink bugs, soldier bugs, turtles. He helps them out by driving away predators. But domestic bugs do not smell very strongly compared to other beetles, but stronger than, for example, ants or cockroaches.
3. Traces of bedbugs on the bed. There is a great method for finding bedbugs in your bed. In the evening, put a white sheet on your bed, turn off the lights and wait until 3 am. Then turn on the light sharply and, if you have bedbugs, you will see at least a couple of them on the sheets.
4. Traces of life activity. Bedbug waste products can be found near the bed and on the bed. They have the smell of low-quality cognac. Also, the growth of larvae is accompanied by periodic molting. If a lot of bedbugs have already settled in the apartment, then the shed chitinous covers will probably regularly appear everywhere. They look like small skins, and you can easily find them.

Aphids on houseplants

Aphids on houseplants

can cause serious disease of flowers or even their death. Be careful!

What harm can food moths cause to humans? You will find the answer in this article.

There are many types of locusts, a pest that devastate fields. You will find a description and means of combating the desert locust at https://stopvreditel.ru/rastenij/pustynnaya-sarancha.html this link.

These insects usually live in all sorts of secluded places in the apartment, where a stable room temperature is maintained and a person is resting nearby. If suddenly the room becomes significantly colder or the source of food disappears, then the bedbugs seem to freeze, falling into a state similar to suspended animation. They can remain in this state for up to 1.5 years.

House bugs hide during the daytime and only come out to investigate at night. It is from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m., when people are fast asleep, that bedbugs emerge from their hiding places and set out in search of fresh blood.

Bedbug nests can most often be found:

• behind baseboards and ceiling panels;
• in bed and on the sofa, as well as behind them;
• behind pictures and in sockets;
• under the mattress;
• under the carpet and in the crevices of the parquet;
• behind cabinets and among clothes in closets;
• inside household appliances.

This is where you need to look for domestic bedbugs for the purpose of extermination. It is worth considering that bedbugs are not afraid of many poisons known to us.

Types of bedbugs with photos and names

The habitat of insects determines the characteristics of their structure and behavior. Bedbugs are divided into 2 large groups: ground and water. There are also intermediate options: the water strider family lives on the surface of water bodies, and representatives of Leptopodomorpha live in the tidal zone and can submerge in water for a long time.

Water bugs

The inhabitants of stagnant bodies of water have adapted to life in the water column. They grew elongated rowing limbs for fast movement. Some individuals preferred to move slowly along the bottom, grabbing onto vegetation. Almost all aquatic species are predators; depending on their size, their prey is caviar, fry or fish. Insects use atmospheric air to breathe. Most have retained well-developed wings, which help them move in search of comfortable habitats. Common types:

Water scorpion

The Nepidae family includes 230 species. The length of insects is 20-45 mm. Their forelimbs have become grasping, their structure reminiscent of claws. The abdomen ends with a respiratory tube. The body color is brownish. Representatives of the family prefer to hunt from ambush, catching crustaceans and tadpoles.

Water scorpion

Water strider

The water strider family (Gerridae) has 700 species. Insects live on the surface of reservoirs during the warm period. The special structure of the legs, covered with non-wettable hairs, allows them to glide across the water surface. The front legs are short and are used to capture prey. Adults reach 30 mm. Insects receive information using compound eyes and sensitive limbs that detect fluid vibrations. Predators catch invertebrates that have fallen into a body of water.

Water strider

Belostoma

The giant water bug has become a rare inhabitant of Russian water bodies. The insect has a flat, streamlined body, the forelimbs are thick, and perform a grasping function. Large (up to 15 cm) individuals attack frogs, salamanders, and fish. Adults can bite a swimmer. The male takes care of the offspring; he carries the clutch on his back until the nymphs appear.

Giant water bug with eggs on its back

Gladyshi

The genus Notonecta comprises large freshwater bugs. Insects have convex elytra. The color of the body depends on the color of the bottom. Adults spend most of their time at the surface, holding onto the water film with their feet. They overwinter on the forest floor and fly well. Predators feed on insects and fish fry.

Information. Smoothies bite painfully, they are nicknamed “water wasps.”

Gladysh

Flat

The names of such bugs are flat or subbark pine. They got them thanks to the color of the cover, which resembles pine bark. Such insects are not dangerous to people or animals, since they are not interested in them. Insects prefer to feed on sap from tree bark. They overwinter at the base of trees, and in the spring they move under the bark of trees, where they lay eggs.

Flat representatives live in different parts of Russia and other countries.

The largest concentrations of them are:

• in Eastern Europe;
• the European part of Russia and Western Siberia;
• Crimea;
• Georgia;
• Armenia;
• In the northern part, the distribution range of insects extends to the Baltic States.

Underbark bugs cause severe damage to coniferous trees.

As a result of their active life, the movement of juice and nutrients along the trunk is disrupted. As a result, the needles begin to turn yellow and fall off, and the tree may eventually dry out and die.

Woody

Wood bugs are a type of bug that belongs to the group of stink bugs, which includes about 4 thousand subspecies of insects. They prefer to live in vegetation, feeding on leaves, plant juice, fruits, and berries. They can often be found in raspberry bushes.

The green tree bug is disgusting to many, and its unpleasant smell can cause horror. It is this that insects secrete in moments of danger, as they try to protect themselves. They have a body flattened in the upper-lower direction, which is divided into 5 segments.

The upper part is divided into:

• triangular head;
• prothorax, which has triangular projections;
• shield;
• two pairs of dense elytra;
• membranous wings.

The lower (abdominal part) is divided into 6 segments at the edges. Between the second and third pairs of shoulder blades there are glands that secrete a specific odor. It is because of this that insects are called stink bugs. The edges of the chitinous cover of the segments protrude, this is what gives these representatives a relief frame.

Green stink bugs rarely live in apartments, but can sometimes be found. In these places there is no usual food for them; they can fly in by accident - during the breeding season, during the development of new territories, or during a sudden change in weather conditions. They do no harm; insects can only emit an unpleasant odor.

You can eliminate it in two ways:

• mechanical. The inhabitants can simply be collected, but you should not touch them to avoid an unpleasant odor. After this, they should be thrown out onto the street;
• chemical The room can be treated with insecticidal agents. Raptor, Clean House, Get, Raid and others have a good effect.

Soldier bug

The soldier bug, unlike other types of insects, is the most harmless. Representatives have a small body with a black and red color. Their length is 10-12 cm, their shape is teardrop-shaped. Their bright colors are used to scare away enemies.

In Russia, bedbugs begin to be active in early May. They keep in flocks with a large number of individuals. They are active during the daytime, but at night they hide under stumps, rotten wood, and various dark places with high humidity.

stink bug

When studying the varieties of bedbugs, it is worth paying attention to the stink bug. The insect received this name due to the fact that it is capable of emitting a strong unpleasant odor that can spread over long distances.

The main features of insects include:

• parasites have a characteristic green color, which is observed in them during the warm period of the year. But when it gets colder, it turns gray;
• the body is medium, can be 16 mm in length;
• have unusual shapes - they have a triangular head, sharp triangular protrusions are observed on the sides in the upper part, the abdominal area is divided into 6 segments, which give the insect an unusual appearance.

The parasite uses its unpleasant odor to scare away enemies. For many insects, it can be dangerous - it can cause severe damage to the nervous system, including paralysis and death. Insects also use it during the mating season to attract a partner.

Horsefly bug

Horse flies are a type of bug. But in appearance they look like strange flies or wasps. They have many subspecies, which may differ in appearance and lifestyle. These insects pose a high danger to gardeners. They swoop down on plants in flocks, eating everything they can - from flowers to fruit plants, buds, leaves, inflorescences, and seeds. They reproduce quickly.

Terrestrial species

Among the insects living on land, there are inhabitants of forests, fields, deserts, arctic tundra, and human buildings. One of the large superfamilies is shield insects. Bed bugs got their name from the large shield on their back. This is a triangular chitinous plate, starting at the pronotum and covering the main part of the abdomen. The size of the shield depends on the degree of development of the wings. In the harmful turtle, the flight organ is reduced, so the scutellum has developed over the entire back. The function of the chitite plate is to protect internal organs.

The largest family, true shield insects, includes 4 thousand species. The main part of them lives in Europe, a little less in North America. The insects are called tree bugs, although they live on bushes and herbaceous vegetation. Many species are agricultural pests. Representatives of the family have the same structure: the head is triangular, flattened, partially retracted into the prothorax. The eyes are bulging, the antennae are segmented. Wings with longitudinal veins, developed scutellum. Common types:

Forest bugs

Wood bugs are a general variety of bugs that can include different types of insects - wood scales, turtles and many others. These are often harmless parasites for humans, but not for gardeners. They prefer to eat plants, juice, and small insects.

Lined scale insect

The bright red insect with black longitudinal stripes is nicknamed the “Italian bug.” Its length is 10-11 mm, the antennae are black. Distribution area: Europe and Central Asia. Phytophages feed on shrubs and trees. They prefer young shoots of aspen, rowan, and berry bushes. Active from May to September. The larvae damage the inflorescences of parsley, dill, and carrots.

Lined scale insect

Shield berry

The species Dolycoris baccarus is a polyphage. Its representatives suck the juice of berries, ornamental, oilseed and fruit crops. After punctures, the buds and leaves dry out. The fruits are falling. The size of the pest is 12 mm. The color is reddish-brown. The body is covered with hairs. There is a black and white rim along the abdomen. Full information about the pest in the article “Berry bug”.

Shield berry

Marbled bug

A dangerous pest that spoils about 300 species of plants appeared in Southeast Asia. The bug was artificially introduced to the USA and Europe. In new habitats it has no natural enemies, its numbers are not controlled. The insects are prolific, laying 20-30 eggs. In a year they manage to produce 3 generations. For the winter they climb into heated buildings. The body of the pest is pear-shaped. The color is brown with light dots. Length 10-17 mm.

Marbled bug

Shield turtles

In Europe, the family is represented by 46 species, and in North America there are 37 species. The insects are small, oval in shape, with a convex body. The wings are reduced. Many species destroy cultivated plants, the most famous being the pest bug. The species Eurygaster integriceps specializes in cereal crops. Adult size: length 10-13 mm, width 6-7 mm. The body color is brown, the scutellum covers the entire abdomen. The turtle bug overwinters on the forest floor and migrates en masse to wheat fields in the spring. Adults and larvae use their proboscis to damage grain. Bedbugs live in the Caucasus, in the forest-steppe zone of Russia, in Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Greece.

Harmful turtle

Redbug

The soldier bug, the cossack bug, or the red bug is a frequent visitor to garden plots. Insects are clearly visible thanks to their red back with a black pattern. Adult length 11 mm. Soldiers gather in numerous colonies of 500 to 10 thousand individuals. Bed bugs feed on fruits, seeds, plant tops, and dead insects.

Soldier bug

Predatory bugs

Several families of bugs specialize in eating other types of insects. Predators are large individuals with a black or brown color. This is the largest family of hemipterans (97 thousand species). Insects have an oblong head, thread-like antennae, and an awl-shaped proboscis. They are distributed all over the world. Predators are active at night.

The hunting bug family is also ubiquitous. Small individuals (3-12 mm) live in gardens and meadows. They attack insects with soft body coverings.

Hunter bug

Description and features

A species typical of the stink bug, similar to insects of its genus. The pear-shaped body, slightly flattened, is 11-17 mm long. The color of a developed bug is brownish or gray.

Spots of contrasting shades are scattered across the head and back, which is why the characteristic “marble” is attached to the name of the bug. From a distance, color transitions of varying intensity have a copper, sometimes bluish-metallic tint.

The lower side of the body is lighter than the upper. There are gray-black speckles. The legs are brown, with white stripes. The antennae, unlike their relatives, are decorated with light strokes. The membranous part of the forewings is marked with dark stripes.

Like other bugs of the numerous order Hemiptera, the marbled representative of the genus emits an unpleasant odor. The acrid stench conveys the “aromas” of skunk, a mixture of burnt rubber and cilantro. The appearance of a guest is immediately felt, it is difficult not to feel it. The stink effect is intended to protect the bug from birds of prey and animals.

Among gardeners and vegetable gardeners they called it the stink bug. The glands that produce a defensive substance are located in the lower chest, on the abdomen. The heat-loving insect feels great when the air is heated from 15°C to 33°C. The optimal comfortable environment is a temperature of 20-25°C.

Marbled bug is a big problem for farmers. The insect destroys crops, fruits, and many cultivated plants. The range of voracious bugs is constantly expanding. The origin of the harmful stink bug is associated with the region of Southeast Asia (Vietnam, China, Japan), where it was first recorded more than 20 years ago.

Then the bug was brought to America, Europe, distributed in Georgia, Turkey, Abkhazia, and penetrated into Russia. It is generally accepted that the settler was brought in with the supply of citrus fruits. Massive insect infestations are a serious threat to agricultural regions. The brown marmorated bug is on the Unified List of Quarantine Objects approved by the Eurasian Commission in 2021.

The migrant began to explore the southern regions of Russia 3-4 years ago. Residents of the southern regions of our country experienced a mass pilgrimage to homes and outbuildings with the arrival of autumn 2021.

Thus, the marbled bug in Abkhazia destroyed more than half of the tangerine harvest. Further insects were discovered by residents in the suburbs of Sochi and Novorossiysk.

It turned out that the harmful guest is dangerous not only for the crop, but poses a threat to the person himself. A bedbug bite is sensitive to people with weak immune systems. The appearance of swelling, itching, and other symptoms provokes an exacerbation of allergies.

It is difficult to resist the invasion of the invader due to its insensitivity to insecticides. The stink bug has practically no natural enemies, except for the parasitic wasp that lives in China and Japan. The object of her interest is insect eggs. But since the pest itself is invulnerable, the partial loss of offspring does not affect its spread across continents.

The fight against the marbled bug is only gaining momentum. The widespread spread of insects has already caused billions of dollars in damage to the US economy, for which the pest was nicknamed American. Scientists are developing means to destroy the malicious stink bug.

Bedbugs are parasites

Parasitic type bedbugs are blood-sucking insects that settle closer to people. The danger is that they can carry infectious and viral diseases.

Bed sheets

Bed bugs are the main species of house bugs that feed exclusively on the blood of mammals. They often live in the sleeping areas of humans and pets. When in danger, they emit an unpleasant bug odor.

Cimex lectularius

It is a wingless, flat-shaped insect. Adults reach a size of up to 8 mm. The exoskeleton of a hungry parasite is dirty yellow or brown. After saturation with blood, it changes color to black or dark red.

The eggs of the parasites resemble small grains of rice - up to 1 mm in length. Painted white. Due to the content of a specific secretion produced by internal glands, when crushed, eggs emit a sharp, unpleasant odor.

Attention! Types of bed bugs appear regardless of the sanitary condition of the apartment.

Cimex adjunctus

Alternative names: white, mouse bug. It feeds on the blood of bats and rarely lives in human bedding. In appearance it does not differ from Cimex lectularius. The length of the body is from 3 to 8.5 mm, depending on the degree of saturation of the parasite with blood. Females are larger than males. A distinctive feature of a mouse bug is the presence of white hairs near the head. Insects do not have fore or hind wings.

Cimex hemipterus

The bug Cimex hemipterus is a blood-sucking insect. Parasites prefer to settle closer to people. They actively displace the bugs Cimex lectularius, with which they are similar in appearance. Distinctive features are thinner, elongated limbs and a less rounded body. With the onset of dusk, the activity of parasites decreases. They are highly resistant to chemical insecticides.

Oeciacus

An alternative name is the swallow bug, which parasitizes the bird species of the same name. The rounded body is painted white. Distributed in the European part of Russia.

Triatomine bug (Triatominae)

Belongs to the family of carnivores and is nocturnal. The insect has an elongated body, about 2 cm long. The exoskeleton is black or gray, with orange or red spots on the sides. Adults have hard wings and 3 pairs of limbs. On the cone-shaped head there are long antennae and a piercing-sucking mouthparts. The parasite's diet includes only the blood of mammals and birds. The proboscis is sensitive to infrared radiation.

An alternative name is the kissing bug, because its mouthparts are not capable of piercing the thick skin of the body. To suck blood, the insect bites a person in the soft tissues of the eyes and lips.

Important! The triatomine bug is one of the most dangerous types of parasite, as it can infect humans with Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis.

Chicken bugs

The insects resemble chicken mites in appearance. They are brown in color and have a flattened body. They swell from drinking blood and change color to black or burgundy. They are nocturnal and hide in hard-to-reach crevices during the daytime. You can suspect the presence of parasites in birds by skin irritation and redness. Bedbug bites cause severe itching and pain, which is why the bird begins to peck at the affected area and injure itself with its claws.

What do bed bugs look like?

The photo below shows a cluster of bed bugs:

You have probably noticed several very characteristic features of the appearance of these insects:

1. Their body is strongly compressed dorsally, that is, from the back, but quite wide horizontally. Simply put, they appear to be flattened on top;
2. House bugs do not have wings. This is a characteristic feature of domestic bed bugs - they do not need to fly, but at the same time they need their body to be as flat as possible and allow them to climb into even the narrowest crevices;
3. They have a simple and inconspicuous coloring. Adults are dark brown, older nymphs are also brown, but slightly lighter, and the smallest nymphs are generally pale yellow.

Here we see bedbugs in an enlarged form, at close proximity. Their actual sizes are 5-7 mm in length in adults and from 1 to 4 mm in length in nymphs.

Simply put, an adult bedbug is approximately the size of a small button and, by the way, has approximately the same body shape, flat when viewed from the side and rounded when viewed from above. In the video below you can get a good idea of ​​the size of the bedbug relative to your finger:

The largest adult bedbug easily fits entirely on the little fingernail of an adult. By this feature, it is easy to distinguish it from street stink bugs. They are larger and, at a minimum, will not fit on the little finger.

This is the most common characteristic of bed bugs in general - size, body shape and coloring. But there are features of their appearance depending on their age and some other factors. Moreover, sometimes the same bug can differ from itself in different states so much that it can be mistaken for different insects.

Bugs living in water

Water bugs have adapted to life in the depths and on the surface of stagnant bodies of water. These include:

• belostoma;
• smoothie;
• water strider

These types of bedbugs have elongated limbs that widen towards the end. They perform the function of rowing to quickly move through the water film. They prefer to live by attaching themselves to algae and muddy bottoms. All types of water bugs are predators. Depending on the size of the imago, their prey will be insects, eggs, eggs and fish fry.

Important! Insects need air to breathe. They have retained developed wings, necessary for flying short distances in search of a new habitat.

Water striders

In the warm season they live on the surface of standing water bodies. Limbs covered with hydrophobic exoskeleton hairs help make specific movements along the water surface. The front legs are short and are used to capture and hold prey. Adult water striders reach a length of 30 mm. Compounded eyes and sensitive receptors on the limbs allow insects to receive information about the surrounding world and detect the slightest vibrations in the water film. They feed on invertebrates.

Gladysh

Large freshwater bugs have convex elytra. The color of the exoskeleton depends on the color of the bottom of the reservoir where they live. Adults spend most of their time at the surface of the water, resting their limbs on the water film. Unlike water striders, the insect's body is immersed in the water column. Thanks to this, the smoothie catches small insects and fish fry. In winter, water bugs crawl under the leaf layer. When the reservoir dries up, they fly to a new habitat. The rest of the time the wings are practically not used.

Belostoma

An alternative name is giant water bug. It has a flat, streamlined body with thickened forelimbs that perform a grasping function. Adults reach up to 15 cm in length and feed on frogs, salamanders and small fish. They can bite through human skin, but are not considered dangerous to swimmers.

Reference! The male takes care of the offspring, and the female lays her eggs on his back.

Types of bedbugs

Bedbugs are divided into the following types:

• useful;
• harmful;
• harmless.

The soldier bug belongs to the last category. The insect wakes up in early spring. The peculiarities of these bugs lie in their numbers and bright colors. They feed on the sap of young vegetation, seeds and dead insects.

Another harmless bug is the alder bug. It lives on the leaves of birch or alder.

Beneficial bugs

Small ground bugs feed on eggs, larvae and small insects. These nutritional features are used in biological plant protection in greenhouses.

The bug Macrolophus nubilus is used against spider mites, aphids and whiteflies. This type is specially populated in greenhouses. During the breeding season of pests, bedbugs first eat insects of a given species, and then destroy others.

To control pests indoors, bugs from the genus Orius are used. The size of these small insects is only 2 mm. Orius breed equally well in wet and dry places. These bugs destroy thrips and spider mites, whiteflies and aphids.

Parasitic bugs

There are 2 types of bedbugs that parasitize people and animals, these include:

Types of bedbugs parasites.

• bed bug;
• kissing bug.

There are up to 100 types of bedding. The insect does not have wings, but has a good sense of smell, which helps to find blood vessels. If the pest has a choice between an adult and a child, it will bite the latter.

The kisser carries a mortal threat because it suffers from Chagas disease, which can only be cured at the initial stage.

The following species harm plants:

• the cabbage bug is an enemy of cruciferous plantings, sucking juice from the leaves;
• rapeseed - destroys radishes and radishes;
• light green shield bug - prefers berry juice and plant leaves, can feed on carrion;
• lined scale insect - loves the juice of parsley, dill and carrots;
• harmful bug - spoils wheat, barley, oats and corn;
• berry - lives on currant, raspberry, and gooseberry bushes.

The majority of bedbugs are herbivorous; pests include those that destroy agricultural crops.

Signs of the presence of bedbugs in the house

It is hardly possible to detect insects as soon as they appear. Linen bugs are nocturnal hunters. During the day they hide in furniture, mattresses, and cracks in walls. At night, the parasites go out hunting, accurately determining by thermal radiation where the prey is located.

Often the insect moves along the ceiling, hovering above the sleeping person in bed and falling from there onto the skin. At first, when a person sees a bite in the morning, he thinks that he was bitten by a mosquito. When the population has grown, it is no longer possible not to notice the aliens.

The main signs of bed bugs appearing in a house:

• the bites are not single, but form a trail of small wounds;
• around the bug puncture on the skin a swelling forms with a lump in the center;
• toxins injected by insects into the blood of a sleeping person cause a typical allergic reaction in the form of burning and itching;
• Tiny blood stains often remain on the bed;
• places where insects accumulate (often under wallpaper on the walls) are contaminated with their excrement in the form of microscopic black dots;
• Pests can also be detected by the remains of the quinine coating, which they shed during molting;
• bedbugs have a specific smell - some call it cognac, while others think it is the aroma of rotten raspberries.

Bed bugs helpers

Of all the species of this insect, the majority are herbivores, but they can also be divided into beneficial and pests of farmland.

• Parasitic species - feed exclusively on the blood of humans or warm-blooded animals and birds, these include the bed bug and the triatomine bug, also called the “kissing” bug (bites in the area of ​​​​the lips and eyes).
• Herbivores - they feed on plant sap, but there are differences here too. So, for example, the harmful bug feeds on grain crops (barley, oats, corn, wheat).
• Cruciferous vegetables - prefer cabbage, radishes, radishes. The line bug will not refuse dill and carrots.
• The berry representative is a gourmet and has a sweet tooth; the best for him would be currants, raspberries, and gooseberries.
• Aquatic individuals - cope with small fish, frogs and snails.

Interesting fact: The water bug Micronecta scholtzi, living in the reservoirs of Europe, produces a very loud sound of up to 99.2 dB, which is comparable to the roar of a passing train.
This is a record in the animal kingdom in the ratio of body size and loudness. But we don't hear them because 99% of the volume is lost during the transition from water to air. If you ask yourself how long bedbugs live, then it also depends on the species. Some insects can go into suspended animation in the absence of food, thereby prolonging their days. They don’t care where to live, be it a person’s apartment, an animal’s hole or a bird’s nest. They live in the hollow of a tree, on the leaves of plants and buried in the sand.

Where can bedbugs live in an apartment?

Indoor bugs usually live in clusters, forming nests. These are peculiar colonies in which insects of several generations live. There are clutches, larvae, adults, remains of the chiton shed during molting, and excrement. Such clusters look terrible. They create a feeling of dirt.

Blood-sucking parasites prefer to settle close to food, so the bedroom is their favorite place. Bedbugs like to settle in colonies in the following places:

• Walls. If paper wallpaper is pasted on them, pests that appear in the house will definitely settle there. They choose places where the wallpaper has peeled off and live on poorly sealed seams. In old houses, where the plaster has not been removed for decades, insects settle inside cracks and cavities in them.
• Skirting boards. Gaps between walls, floors and baseboards are also their favorite places.
• Sleeping area. Bedbugs often settle in close proximity to their prey. They love folds, seams, creases - places where one layer of fabric overlaps another.
• Sockets. Sockets located next to the bed are a safe and cozy place for insects.
• Wooden furniture. Insect colonies are relatively rare in furniture, under veneer, and in cracks.
• Carpets on the walls are an ideal place for bloodsuckers to settle.
• Gaps in window sills and window frames if they are made of wood.

Bed bugs and their photos

NOTE! All photographs of bed bugs and foci of infestation are unique and were taken by our specialists during pest control activities. We hope that photos of bedbugs will help you identify these blood-sucking parasites in your home.

Bed bugs photo. How to get rid of bedbugs at home? No way. Just look at real photographs of bed bug infestations in apartments and houses. Without our experienced disinfector, it is very difficult to cope with such situations on your own. Below are the nests of domestic bugs in the apartment and their photos. If you notice in your apartment something similar to the photo below. There is no doubt that there are bedbugs in the apartment.

How can you tell if there are bedbugs in your house?

Of course, the obvious sign that you have bedbugs in your home is to see them. The photographs of bedbugs presented above clearly demonstrate the situation when bedbugs appear in the house. Carefully inspect your sleeping area; you can find them in the most secluded corners, in the joints of the frame, in the seams of the mattress and folds of fabric. Also, if the bed is light, then you will find the remains of bed bugs, many black dots. This is also a sure sign. Also, when changing bedding, you can find the remains of chitinous membranes after molting and dead insects. Has it happened to many people that when picking berries, such as raspberries, you accidentally crushed a bug? Remember this smell? So bed bugs smell the same, perhaps less intensely. The smell of bedbugs can also indicate their presence in the room. In America there are even services that search for bedbugs by smell using trained dogs. If you find brown spots, smeared blood and crushed insects on the bed. Then rest assured, these are bedbugs.

Where do bedbugs come from in an apartment?

These insects love to travel. They happily change from one home to another, and quickly adapt to new living conditions. Often people themselves help them in this, but they don’t even know about it.

• You can safely bring them into your home from guests or bring them back from vacation.
• Buy furniture infested with bedbugs. Not only consignment furniture can be infested with bedbugs, but also completely new furniture.
• Place furnishings in your home from the place where the insects lived. Before you bring anything into your home, it is advisable to inspect it.
• A pet can bring a bedbug into your apartment.
• There are times when they appear in the house thanks to birds and bats.
• Cracks in the walls and ventilation hatches open the way for insects from neighbors. In 1 minute, the bug crawls more than 1 meter. Capable of covering a distance of 30 meters. If there is an apartment with bedbugs in a multi-storey building, then there is a chance that they will appear everywhere.

Bedbugs are active at night. When visiting an infected premises during the day, you can rest assured that they will not move to you. In bright light, insects hide in secluded crevices and disguise their existence. If you had to spend the night in such a room, then during this time the female will have time to lay eggs in the folds of her clothing or settle there herself. By bringing them into your home, you will start a new population of bedbugs.

Where do bedbugs come from in a decent house?

An ordinary city dweller - an intellectual, a neat person, a smart person - when he discovers bedbugs in his apartment, he is perplexed: “Where did I get it from? I wasn’t homeless, I didn’t have suspicious guests.” However, the most super-decent lifestyle is not a panacea for insects.

Dmitry Gapon: “Bed bugs can appear in any human home, regardless of its initial sanitary condition. For them to live in residential premises, a certain temperature (in the range of approximately 10 to 40 degrees Celsius) and the presence of various shelters - cracks in furniture, under baseboards, spaces behind paintings, peeling wallpaper - in which bedbugs hide during the day are sufficient. Bedbugs can enter apartments with various interior items, books and clothes brought from the premises they inhabit.

Bedbugs are active at night and find their prey by smell; Thanks to this, they can get into clothes and luggage, for example in hotel rooms, and be carried with these things. In addition, in search of food, bedbugs are able to move quite significant distances compared to the size of their body: they migrate through the ventilation system from apartment to apartment, and in the warm season they can go outside and enter neighboring rooms through windows.”

Anna: “The presence of bedbugs is a consequence of the migration of things in the city. You can catch bedbugs not only from neighbors, but anywhere - in hospitals, in libraries: people like to read in bed - they read a book, return it to the library, another person takes it - and also brings these guests to themselves. There were cases - they brought it from the maternity hospital. You can catch it in transport. Ambulance workers often bring it. Children bring it from school in backpacks. There have been cases when bedbugs got into an apartment with new furniture or carpets. The scheme is simple: a person who has this problem works in production - he lay down on a sofa, the bedbugs migrated there, and then someone bought this sofa.

I always try to encourage residents to revolt against the apartments where the problem supposedly originated. There are many methods of influence: you can involve sanitary services and even the police. In law enforcement agencies, as a rule, they react very well to statements that are signed by the entire front door: the local police officer comes, has a conversation with the owner, and he does the sanitization.”

Igor Belov: “A littered room is not an environment for the development of a population of bedbugs; it is rather favorable conditions for cockroaches. The main source of bedbugs in prosperous housing is proximity to dysfunctional housing. Quite often, proximity to apartments rented by foreign workers, where sanitary and hygienic standards and rules are not observed, leads to dire consequences. That’s why new areas often suffer, where, it would seem, the situation should be qualitatively different: due to the low cost, migrants rent housing there. In communal apartments and older buildings, bedbugs exist permanently; it’s just that the residents, scaring them away, chase them from room to room - this ensures a normal life for a year or two. And the third category is rented housing, where bedbugs are often left behind by previous residents who decided to leave when faced with this problem.

You can find out that there are bedbugs in the house only by catching the insect. But there are a lot of secondary signs: specific marks (black dots) under the bed, on the walls along the wallpaper cracks, as well as a series of bites on the body - not located chaotically, but as if along a ruler. Doctors, as far as I know, easily diagnose “insect bites, presumably a bedbug.”

Harm of bedbugs to humans

Bedbugs do not transmit infectious diseases to humans, unlike mosquitoes. The harm caused by these parasites can be divided into:

• psychological;
• biochemical.

The psychological damage caused by these insects is enormous. A person sleeps poorly, he is irritated, his performance decreases, and sometimes the living conditions seem unbearable.

Biochemical harm is as follows:

• When a bedbug bites, it injects poisonous toxins into the sleeping person's blood. The body develops a response to them. Histamines are activated, antibodies are produced, and an inflammatory process occurs. The area around the bite turns red, swells, and excited nerve receptors cause a burning sensation and itching.
• In some people, the reaction may be several times greater than normal. An allergy develops that requires medication.
• When scratching bites, infection can easily occur and secondary inflammation occurs.
• A small child who is constantly bitten by bedbugs risks a decrease in blood quality, including the development of anemia.

How to recognize a bedbug bite and what to do?

Bedbug bites are easy to recognize and distinguish from mosquito or flea bites. The bug, unlike other insects, makes several punctures in the skin, leaving a characteristic trail of tiny wounds (see photo). The bite points are located 2–3 cm apart, as in the photograph. After some time, a small blister with a bulge in the center forms around the puncture. The photo shows what the bites look like enlarged.

As soon as traces of bites of blood-sucking insects are discovered, it is necessary to take the same measures as for a mosquito or bee bite:

• Do not scratch the bitten area, no matter how itchy. When scratching, an infection enters the bloodstream, and the antibodies in the affected area are concentrated on neutralizing the effect of bedbug toxins. The immune response to the introduced infection will inevitably be weakened. An infection may occur that will take a long time to treat.
• Disinfect the bite site. Iodine should not be used because it dries out the skin. Alcohol is suitable - it will somewhat soften the itching, as well as hydrogen peroxide.
• Cold compresses will help relieve swelling and reduce discomfort. To do this, you can use ice placed in a plastic bag and wrapped in cloth.
• If the wounds are very itchy, you can lubricate them with a solution of tar soap. The dried solution forms a crust, which after some time must be washed off to restore air flow to the skin.
• Take measures to clean your home from bedbugs.

How to recognize bedbugs on your property

The choice of settlement sites for garden bugs is determined by the availability of familiar food in sufficient quantities. Considering that the vast majority of pests feed on garden plants, garden plots and summer cottages planted with different crops are optimal places for them.

The main task of owners of suburban areas is the timely detection of parasites in order to prevent their further spread. A systematic and careful inspection of the plantings will help to cope with this task.

The danger threatening the future harvest is indicated by the appearance of larvae or adults on the back of the leaves, small holes and brown spots on them. To choose the right method of pest control, you need to know what a particular subspecies looks like.

Bedbugs - symptoms of infection

House bugs are insidious insects. They do not give themselves away in any way in the first days of their existence. Bites on the body are mistaken for fleas, mosquitoes or other insects that are not so harmful. At this time, insects actively reproduce and colonize the territory at night. By the time you finally find them, they have already settled into your home. What should you pay attention to?

Bites on the body

The very first and main sign of the presence of parasites. Bedbugs on the human body leave a characteristic bite mark in the form of a path. This is explained by the fact that to obtain the required amount of food they need to make about 7 skin punctures. Bed bugs – and their bites cannot be confused with anything else. Look at the photo to see what it looks like.

They bite painlessly. An analgesic is administered to dull the pain. Choose places where the skin is most sensitive:

• neck;
• hands;
• legs;
• shoulders;
• face,
• less often the back.

The reaction to bites depends on the individual characteristics of the body. In 20% of people they do not manifest themselves at all. For others, it’s a series of pimples that itch a lot. Still others need urgent help due to a severe allergic reaction. In the photo you can see a clear example of a night attack.

Unpleasant smell

The sense of smell is a way for bedbugs to navigate in space, mate and notify their relatives of danger.

The aroma that these parasites exude is pleasant - sickly sweet, reminiscent of the smell of almonds or rotten raspberries. If there are a lot of insects in the apartment, the aroma becomes constant. If you smell this smell at least once in your life, you will no longer be able to confuse it with any other.

Traces of blood on the bed

Stains on bedding appear for two reasons:

• After the bite, the blood from the wound continues to bleed and smear the bed.
• Linen bugs, having had their fill, become clumsy and vulnerable. With your movements, you can crush them, and the blood can get on the sheet.

Black dots

Waste products. You can notice them due to their quantity, since they themselves are very small in size, 0.5–1 mm. Traces from bedbugs remain in places where they accumulate or in close proximity to them.

Many people recommend this remedy for bedbugs. Read >>>!

How it looks, look at the photo.

1. Traces of shedding

Bed bugs are susceptible to molting. Husks and skins remain near the insect nest. If you managed to see such a picture, you are on the right track. See photo for what it looks like.

The smell of bedbugs

When a room is heavily infested, a cloying, sweetish smell begins to appear. Reminds me of the smell of rotten raspberries or almonds. Furniture bugs have scent glands. They emit a scent to repel enemies and when reproducing. If you suddenly smell such a smell, it’s time to start searching in earnest.

What does a bedbug nest look like?

You can also see what a bedbug nest looks like. The video below shows several of these nests on the sofa:

Again, nest is not quite the right word to describe the places where they gather, since a nest is more often understood as some kind of organized and to some extent equipped dwelling, if not as complex as a wasp nest or an anthill, then at least reminiscent cricket hole. Bedbugs do not have this, because they do not exhibit any creative activity. But nevertheless, in the most suitable places they accumulate in large quantities, live here for a long time and such accumulations are clearly visible.

At a minimum, in these shelters there are a lot of bedbugs themselves of different ages, and due to the large number of them here it is easy to notice. There are also large quantities of skins shed during molting, the remains of dead insects, eggs and excrement. That is, this entire accumulation is quite motley, disgusting, and cannot be confused with anything else, since no other insects accumulate in such quantities on sleeping places and near them.

From experience, we will say that most often they either do not notice them at all, or they find them but do not mistake the smallest nymphs for bedbugs. Firstly, they can literally hide in the narrowest fold or near a seam on the fabric, and secondly, they are so different from adult bedbugs that they are not considered bedbugs.

We often have clients who see these larvae and say they are not bedbugs because bedbugs are supposed to be wide, round and brown. You need to understand that there should be no insects in the room in general and especially on the bed, no matter how they look. And most likely it will be bedbugs that live in the sleeping place, for which it is important to get to the sleeping person as quickly as possible. Therefore, if you find any insects on the sofa or bed, you must get rid of them as quickly as possible.

How to get rid

To decide on the method of destruction, you need to understand how many parasites live in the apartment. To get rid of bedbugs yourself, you can use insecticides, among which are the following:

• liquid Karbofos;
• liquid Executioner;
• spray Klopomor;
• pencil Mashenka;
• Get microcapsule product.

You can fight bedbugs in the following ways:

1. Freezing or heat treatment. At the same time, the heating system may suffer from the cold, and renting a heat gun is expensive.
2. Collection with a vacuum cleaner or by hand. This method is labor-intensive and not very effective.

The most reliable way to get rid of parasites is to call an exterminator. Specialists come with special equipment and products that are toxic to insects but safe for humans. Since these bloodsucking creatures quickly migrate from one apartment to another, it is advisable to simultaneously treat the entire entrance.

In order for pest control to bring maximum results, you should move the furniture away from the walls and free the edges of the carpets before the specialist arrives. All food, dishes and personal hygiene items must be removed from the house. After treatment, the apartment is wet cleaned and ventilated.

Prevention measures

Getting rid of bedbugs on your own is quite difficult. These are tenacious and rapidly developing insects. After the appearance of a female, within a week another full-fledged colony of parasites will be marching around the apartment. Even if the house is clean, preventive measures are needed in any case. Moreover, they do not require any excessive measures.

Redecorating

It is necessary to regularly inspect the walls, ceiling, doors and window sills for cracks. The sealed holes eliminate the possibility of parasites entering from the street and neighbors. Ventilation holes should be inspected carefully. There may be concentrations of a variety of insects.

The ventilation grille should have a fine mesh and fit tightly to the wall. It is best to go around the edges with silicone sealant. They should also treat plumbing cracks: the junction of pipes with the floor and on the walls. Such prevention will also prevent you from infecting others, especially if disinfestation is planned.

Inspection of things

At the slightest sign of the presence of bedbugs, bed linen, carpets and other interior items must be inspected. If excrement of parasites, legs or remains of chitinous cover are found on them, then take appropriate measures.

When buying upholstered furniture, be sure to inspect the seams and back walls. The presence of dark, dry spots indicates the initial development of a colony of parasites, and these are not always bedbugs, but clearly unwanted insects. Here it is enough to treat the problem area with insecticides.

Upon returning from trips, things should be washed in hot water (+60⁰С), and immediately, without leaving them in the laundry basket. The same goes for bags and hats.

How do bedbugs get into an apartment?

Mostly bedbugs appear from neighbors' apartments. Their frequent relocation can be observed in old apartment buildings. Despite the fact that bedbugs do not fly and are sedentary, they migrate over long distances. The fact is that they can live quite a long time without food. Thanks to this feature, they are characterized by high survivability.

Bedbugs enter an apartment in various ways, but it is worth noting the most common ones.

From neighbors

This is one of the most common ways bed bugs appear in an apartment. In reality, it is impossible to completely isolate one apartment from another. Bedbugs can squeeze into any cracks.

In such cases, bedbugs appear:

• Through the doors.
• Through the windows.
• Through sockets and switches.
• Through ventilation systems.

Parasites inhabit new territories one by one. They can be easily noticed if the owners of the apartment clean it regularly and the apartment is spacious and has little furniture. Bed bugs can move en masse into neighboring apartments if they begin to fight them. But if you do this efficiently and quickly, then the bedbugs are unlikely to have time to leave the apartment. This is possible if special services are involved in the fight against bedbugs. If you treat the apartment yourself with Dichlorvos, for example, or start repelling them, the bedbugs will move to the neighboring apartment.

From tourist trips

Quite often, apartment owners bring bedbugs back from tourist trips in suitcases, backpacks, folds of clothing, pockets and other things. They are mainly brought from India, Egypt, Turkey and other warm countries where there are countless bedbugs, since such countries are characterized by ideal conditions for the life and reproduction of such parasites.

If a bug gets into a bag, it will easily move to another, no less comfortable place for its life activities. Upon returning from a trip, it is better to carefully inspect all things for the presence of parasites. It would be a good idea to disinfect them.

Furnished

Quite rare cases when along with new furniture we managed to acquire bedbugs. In stores and furniture factories there are practically no conditions for their life and reproduction. But it’s easy to acquire bedbugs along with used furniture. They especially love sofas and beds, but they also feel great in furniture, especially in crevices. Therefore, when buying old, used furniture, it is a good idea to inspect it for the presence of bedbugs and other insects. Bedbugs are not the only insects that can get into an apartment with furniture.

On clothes

Although bedbugs bite people in places where there is no clothing, they can hide in clothing, choosing folds of clothing and seams for this. These parasites can get on clothes anywhere and in any room. There have been cases where they were found wearing new clothes in stores. This can happen when the clothes were tried on by a person who has a lot of bedbugs at home.

With household appliances

Bedbugs come out to hunt at night and bite a person when he is fast asleep. During the daytime, they sit out in warm places. Such a haven for bedbugs can serve as household appliances, and working ones, which are used by the owners. This could be a computer, tablet, laptop, microwave, etc. Often, bedbugs appear in an apartment after purchasing household appliances.

On animal fur

Bed bugs do not infest pets such as cats and dogs because they have thick skin and thick fur. But animals such as mice, rats, hamsters, which are distinguished by short hair, can easily become the culprits of the appearance of bedbugs in the apartment. Such cases do occur, although they are rare.

Conclusion

Any suspicion of a bedbug requires a thorough inspection. To carry it out, you need to know what the parasite looks like and how it differs from other insects. If it is confirmed that bedbugs live in an apartment or house, you must immediately contact specialists to carry out insecticidal treatment or carry out similar protective measures yourself.

Sources

• https://beetlestop.ru/raznovidnosty-klopov-foto/
• https://parazitdoma.ru/klopy/vidy-klopov
• https://masterklop.ru/opisanie-vidov-klopov-foto/
• https://VrediteliSOS.ru/klopy/foto.html
• https://deadbug.ru/foto-klopov
• https://lifeinsect.ru/vidy-klopov.html
• https://murashdom.ru/klopy/vidy-klopov.html
• https://Vladimir-SES.ru/klopy/kak-vyglyadyat-klopy

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