I know you think you have bed bugs, but…Are you sure? Knowing what kind of bugs you have is absolutely critical. If you don’t know exactly what you are dealing with, you will not be able to destroy the infestation.
Dr. Richard Pollack, of the Harvard Medical School, said recently "More than half the things submitted to our lab are not bedbugs…Many are simply carpet beetles that everyone has. Most of the rest are other common household bugs, many of which can easily be managed with a vacuum cleaner or bit of tissue paper.” Correct identification is also key to obtaining treatment. In fact, pest control companies are generally not permitted to treat for an infestation unless they are certain what kind of bug they are dealing with. Modern insecticides are generally intended to kill specific types of bugs – identify the bug incorrectly, and you are wasting time and money on the wrong treatment. So a pest control operator can’t just take your word for it. They need to find bedbugs themselves, see conclusive proof of an infestation, or you need to capture or save your squashed bed bugs for them to examine. There are a couple of different kinds of bed bugs. The one most common in the US and Canada is Cimex lectularius. This one is adapted for the temperate climates found in most of North America. There is another kind of bed bug adapted for tropical climates called Cimex hemipterus, which is found in Africa, Asia, Central and South America. In the US, the tropical bed bug is sometimes found in Florida. There are a few other bugs in the same family, and to the untrained eye, they can look very similar. These include bat bugs, chimney swift bugs, and swallow bugs. Some, like the bat bug, suck human blood just like the bed bug, but require a different treatment plan than the bed bug. Again, correct identification is crucial. If you capture or kill an insect that you think is a bed bug, don’t flush it down the toilet or throw it away. You will need to show it to your pest control operator for a positive ID. Anyway, I am going to assume you have the Cimex lectularius, the common bed bug. Most people do. Adult bed bugs are reddish-brown, oval shaped, and about 1/5 of an inch long. To give you an idea of the scale, pull out a penny. Bed bugs can be as small as the lettering on the front of the coin, and can grow as large as Lincoln’s head. After they feed, they become more elongated and swollen, with a dark red tinge. This is what they look like (photos courtest US Centers for Disease Control): For more images of bed bugs, visit the Harvard School of Public Health Flickr also has a lot of good bed bug photos : Also, check Google’s image search on bed bugs and Cimex lectularius For more sites with pictures of bed bugs, see the Links section of this website. Bed bugs emit a sweet, musty odor. But it is very faint, and very difficult for humans to detect. You will not be able to find bedbugs by their smell. Some researchers are experimenting with training dogs to recognize bed bug infestations, but the practice of using bug-sniffing dogs is not yet widely used. Insider Tip: Have Your Bed Bug Analyzed By An Expert
If you find an insect and are not sure if it’s a bed bug or not, the extension service of your state university will usually be able to assist you. In most cases, you can send in a specimen and they will identify it for you.
Or, if you prefer, the nation’s most prestigious university will examine your bug sample and identify it for you. Harvard University’s School of Public Health requires a small payment of $25 (as of this writing) and a sample bug. You can find the application form and instructions here:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/bedbugs/specimen.pdf
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