Related : Plants that repel fleas. They have a segmented body composed of an oval shaped-body and a smaller head. When they are unfed, their body becomes flat. They are small, not half an inch at maximum. While ticks have eight legs, bed bugs have six. Ticks, however, are more dangerous than bed bugs because they can transmit infectious diseases like ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, and spotted fever. This is because ticks infest woodlands, weaving through tall grass, plants, and leaves or anywhere moist or shady.
They may attach to you in your casual walks or when your pets go outdoors. Ticks can be a serious problem when female ticks start to lay eggs in your home. This one is related to bed bugs. They get their name for leeching on swallows who might be nesting on your home.
When swallow hosts are not around, they would bite on any probable host including humans. They are similar to bed bugs in terms of their reddish-brown and dark brown color. Although smaller in size than bed bugs, they have longer and hairier legs and antennae. Like all the other bloodsucking insects featured here, their bodies become flat when they are underfed.
Swallow bugs like their swallow hosts are generally migratory. You can find them nesting in the hinges or overhangs of your home and even outdoors, particularly in the mud.
Itchy spots in the head and other parts of the body may be caused by head lice and not just bed bugs. While they are often confused with each other, you have to note that head lice are smaller than bed bugs and have a distinct red line running along its back.
Unlike ticks and bed bugs, head lice feed on specific hosts making them non-transferable. Head lice cannot fly or jump and they usually niche in the head area and by the ears. It is often improbable to compare mites with bed bugs because they are so minute, they cannot be seen fully by the naked eye. They are just at around 2mm in length, with an unsegmented body and like an arachnid, they have eight legs.
Most mite species live on animals but the rest are practically everywhere and fed on everything. They can be found in decaying organic matter. Aside from the ten bugs that resemble bed bugs along with their distinct behaviors, resemblances, and stark differences, there is other important information about them that you should know about. As such, here are some FAQs about bugs that look like bed bugs. Aside from mistaking bed bugs with other bed bugs, there are also misdiagnosed conditions that seem to look like bed bug bites too.
If you are not very familiar with this, then it is good to just know a handful of them like the most common ones:. When unfed, bed bugs will be too small and flat to even be visible with the naked eye. The following is a list of 10 look-alike bugs that are often mistaken for bed bugs:. Color: Beige or dark brown. Size: mm. Appearance: Easily mistaken for bed bugs as they are tiny, oval-shaped ectoparasites that appear flattened between feeds, the same as its close relative, the bed bug.
Habitat: Bat bugs are found close to their primary host, bats. Bats are found in various dark places inside buildings such as in the eaves, attic, chimney, and cellar. Bat bugs can be seen in homes, but this is mainly due to the host bats leaving the property so the bat bugs look for an alternative food source, such as human blood. Native to North America. It is highly recommended to use a trained pest control company to differentiate between the two bugs. Another difference between bat bugs and bed bugs is their habitat and diet.
Bed bugs need human blood to grow and reproduce and stay close to the bed area where their feeding source sleeps. Bat bugs feed primarily on bat blood but can be found in our living areas if they have to look for a different food source when bats have left or been removed from the property. Bites to people occur mainly in the spring and late summer towards the beginning of autumn because of the bats returning or migrating.
The good news is that unlike bed bugs, bat bugs cannot live on human blood and must have the blood of their primary host to be able to develop and reproduce, without which they will eventually die.
Pest control methods: It is easier to get rid of bat bugs than it is bed bugs. It is illegal in many areas to kill bats so contact a reputable pest control expert and find out what the correct requirements are. When the bats have been removed all access points must be sealed to prevent any bats from re-entering. A pest control company should be used to treat the harborage areas and eliminate the bat bugs.
Bed bug control differs from bat bug control. It can be extensive and requires interrupting the reproductive cycle over a period of time as well as using various methods such as heat treatment and insecticide treatments.
Color : Greyish brown. Size : 4 mm approx. Appearance: The swallow bug looks almost identical to the bed bug. They are wingless with the same oval-shaped flattened body and long 4-segmented antennae.
Habitat : Swallow bugs are found commonly in the nests of barn and cliff swallows and are found in buildings such as hotels and homes or where swallows nest. Swallow bugs will bite humans when their primary food source, swallows, are no longer around due to their nests being removed or destroyed. But a key difference is that the swallow bug has long, fine hairs covering its body.
The other distinguishing feature is its antennae, where the two segments at the end are the same length. Swallow bugs can bite us and this occurs mainly in the spring, late summer, and early autumn due to the swallows returning or migrating.
As with bat bugs, swallow bugs also cannot live on human blood and can only develop and reproduce on the blood of their primary host. Again, without this to sustain them, they will eventually die. Pest control methods : Swallows are federally protected and it is a violation of federal law to try and remove them when they are nesting and raising their young. Once the nesting season is over, the nests can be removed always check your local laws.
Contact a reputable and licensed PMP pest management professional to treat the swallow bugs and eliminate the infestation. Color : Clear when hatched and when fed they are reddish-brown. Appearance: Wingless, oblong bodies about the size of a sesame seed. They have 6 legs with claw-like features so they can attach to the hair. Habitat : Head lice are human parasites so they live on our hair and scalp and can only survive by feeding on our blood. They are mainly found at the hairline at the back of the neck and around and behind the ears.
Untrained eyes often confuse various species of ticks with bed bugs due to their similar rounded bodies and lack of wings. Unlike bed bug bites, tick bites could lead to various diseases since they attach themselves to their hosts by burrowing into the skin. They live in dense woods, on leaves, shrubs, or tall grasses. Prevention: Take proactive measures before adventuring outdoors by wearing protective long pants and sleeves, using tick repellent sprays, and checking yourself and your pets for ticks before heading back.
Swallow Bugs Most of the physical traits of swallow bugs and bed bugs are similar since both are wingless insects.
These insects are known to bite humans and swallows since they feed on the blood of swallows. They reside near swallow nests, on cliffs, or barns. Prevention: Keep up with home maintenance and use repellent products. Cockroach Nymphs Upon hatching, these carry a brownish color and size averaging to 3 mm in length, similar to bed bugs and lack wings.
Prevention: Routine pest control remedies and thorough cleaning for cockroach control. Head lice They are small, flat, and feed on human blood. Head lice also crawl like bed bugs. Their bites lead to severe itching and reside in human hair on the head. Prevention: Restrict their food source, i. Used Furniture?
Q To my knowledge, bed bugs don't just disappear, which is what makes me think that they may be bat bugs or bird bugs. Bed bugs or rat mites? Q How do we tell if we have rat mites? Brought home bed bugs from hotel. Q I have a suspicion that I brought home bed bugs from a hotel I was in for work a week ago.
Bed bugs in the mattress. Q My fiance and I were getting bitten on our legs a few months ago. Q What is the absolute worst case scenario for bedbugs? Bed bug chemicals: how safe and how often? Q What types of chemicals does your company use to help control bed bugs?
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