Bed Bug Eggs * Pictures * (Flea Life Cycle)
Upon mating with a male bed bug, the female bed bug lays oval, white eggs about 1/16-inch long. You’ll find the eggs hidden in crevices & cracks.
In its lifetime, an adult bed bug lay roughly 200-250 eggs. The eggs will also hatch in 6-10 days, and the baby bed bug immediately starts hunting for a blood meal. Notably, the egg is the most challenging stage in the life cycle of bed bugs to control.
So, in this guide, we delve into the details of what the eggs look like and how to treat these bed bugs on your clothing, yard, and house. Also, here’s a guide on how to kill those bed bug eggs.
[amazon bestseller=”Best Bed Bugs Killers” items=”2″ template=”table”]Bed Bug Eggs * Pictures * (Appearance and Life Cycle)
What do bed bug eggs look and smell like? They are off-white or semi-transparent in color and measure about 2.5 mm or 0.1 inches in length (relatively tiny!). You might confuse them for a pinhead, uncooked white rice (grain), or a grain of salt.
The eggs have a sticky surface that makes them stick together in a cluster. Further, the oval-shaped eggs have round ends that are elongated. When they’re over five days old, they’ll have an evident dark mark that makes them look like an eye.
The rice-like eggs have a “wet spot” on its surface – the sticky/ glue-like (but relatively invisible) substance allowing the eggs to stick together. You can find them using a flashlight or magnifying glass.
Adult bed bugs will lay about 200-250 eggs, and, when exposed to the right conditions, they’ll put in 6-10 days. Further, the bed bug nymphs will go hunting for a blood meal.
Can you see bed bug eggs?
Despite that bed bug being 2.5 mm in size, you can see them with your naked human eyes. You’ll notice that the adults anywhere near red, brown, or tan. Check here for what bed bugs look like.
However, the eggs and nymphs are tiny, and they’ll be more challenging to see with your naked eyes – not unless they appear in clusters – one of them is anywhere like a pinhead-sized.
Eggs are generally off-white of pearly whites, and they mainly exist in clusters of many eggs that’ll ultimately measure about 1 millimeter in length.
Common Areas Where Bed Bug Eggs Are Found?
So, where do bed bugs lay eggs? Well, adult bed bugs won’t move far from their hiding place to feed and lay eggs. Therefore, you’ll mainly find bed bug eggs in protected areas – near the food source.
For example, the bugs will sneak into cracks and crevices – even as thin as your business card – to lay their eggs. Check mattress joints and seams for the eggs. Don’t forget the behind headboards or in the box spring when touching or fixed to the wall.
Further search for the eggs near or around your bed because the bed bugs and bite mainly suck blood while their host is sleeping. Thus, here’s where you’ll mostly find the eggs – as the bugs primarily feed at night.
Check for black “specks” or red marking – bed bug feces since they have semi-digested blood. These could also have a sweetish or pungent odor that comes from the bed bug’s scent glands.
Where Can You Pick Up Bed Bugs Eggs?
These bed bugs will live in clusters – that’s the only way you can see them since they’re too tiny for the naked eye when separated. So, here’re the signs of bed bug eggs – particularly in the areas you rest or sleep.
Bedroom: In the bedroom, check especially around or on –
- Mattresses buttons and folds, tufts, bed frames, mattresses, and box-springs.
- Examine furniture, including chairs and desks – avoid second-hand furniture like the plague.
- Check behind pictures, clocks, and wallpapers for bed bug eggs.
- Examine under your carpet and wooden floors – especially in any cracks that you may find.
While traveling: You can carry off pick-up bed bug eggs while you’re traveling from one town or country to the other. Therefore,
- Keenly inspect your new room when you’re allocated as you start your vacation or even a short stay.
- Check that you don’t set your luggage on the hotel room floor and don’t carry it into the house directly when you come from your travel.
- Don’t forget that bed bugs can also hide in other rooms such as laundry rooms, living rooms, and bathrooms.
Check smears and spots: Check for brownish or dark reddish smears or places that are fecal deposits of the bed bug’s digested blood.
You may find these smears and spots around the bed, on mattresses, pillowcases, and bedsheets.
This shows that the beds were feeding around the bedding and sheets. In addition to fecal spots, also check for cast skins.
Are bed bug eggs hard?
So, are bed bug eggs hard? These nymphs are simple to squash because they’re soft – they’re sticky and smooth.
These eggs are hard to pick up because they’ll easily squash or smear on your hands – despite having an outer shell. In the eggs, you’ll find a fluid that eventfully develops into your bed bugs.
It is possible to squash the bed bug egg clusters using the nails or between the fingers. However, don’t crush the bed bugs, so hire an exterminator.
Where Do Bed Bugs Lay Their Eggs?
You’ll mainly find bed bug eggs in protected sites, including beds, different furniture, and mattresses. Most of these places will be near their host, and one with darkness, and given safety.
Also, bed bugs will lay their eggs in floorboards, baseboards, and wall cracks. Check how to check bed bugs on wood and fabrics, metal, bed-frames, or plastic. I’ve analyzed probable areas you’ll find bed bug eggs.
1. Bed Bug eggs in Beds
Bed Bug eggs will mainly be laid around mattresses and buttons – you’ll find them on rough surfaces. The bed is an excellent location because it’ll be near the bug’s host – i.e., humans beings.
Because bed bugs won’t get very far from your house, it’s possible to get the eggs in the bed – this is where you’ll see the bed bug nymphs and adults. So, inspect the open spaces and the non-flat spaces on the bed. Check the bed bug in the mattress.
Inspect the box springs, mattress edges or folds, and seams for bed bug eggs. Besides, check under the mattress and box springs, walls, floor, mattress encasements, and bed frame since they may contact the infested beds.
2. Flooring and Carpet
Sadly, you might not easily see the bed bug eggs when they’re hiding in the flooring or carpet. These tiny eggs are translucent, measuring about a sesame seed in size.
If you examine your carpet, ensure you check under the chairs and dressers, legs of your bed frame, and the flooring. Don’t just mop or sweep your carpet or floor, as this won’t kill bed bug eggs.
On the contrary, you are using an excellent-suction vacuum that’ll remove the bed bugs from your carpets, walls, and floors. Besides, dry/ heat treat the rugs or vacuum the bed bugs plus include a carpet shampoo.
The steam will instantly kill the bed bug eggs sitting deep into the flooring cracks and carpet fibers. Further, this will quickly kill the bugs in the mattress seams and furniture fabrics.
Further, examine around the baseboards and walls, in addition to joints and cracks in the hardwood floors. Remember to explore the wall-to-wall carpet – particularly along tack strips and edges.
3. Window Curtains and Windows
Do Bed Bug Eggs Survive after Spraying
A study by K. R. Hinson et al. shows that survival of bed bug eggs (Cimex lectularius L) or first-instar nymphs sprayed directly highly depends on bed bug spray used, life stage, and strain.
Notably, the study examined the insecticides’ efficacy against first-instar nymphs and bed bug eggs. The motivation for the research was because bed bug eggs tend to be highly resistant.
The outcomes were that Temprid SC (imidacloprid, beta-cyfluthrin) produced the best results as first-instar nymphs and bed bug eggs n- it prevented the hatching of the eggs – giving only a 13% hatch rate.
Metabolic Activity and Water Loss in Bed Bug Eggs
Water loss among different strains of bed bug eggs was not significant. But chorion water loss was significantly other between the field-collected bed bug eggs to your Harlan laboratory strain – Does Salt Kill Bed Bugs?
However, the bed bug eggs’ metabolic rate among Harlan strain rose with temperatures ranging from 15 – 35 °C. But this would decrease when the weather hits 39 °C – as seen in this study.
How to Kill Bed Bug Eggs?
Therefore, compared to the Epic Center, the Harlan strain of bed bug eggs showed a slight metabolic rate of 0.17 plus or minus 0.06 mL g−1 h−1. However, the Epic Center has a metabolic rate of 0.13 plus or minus 0.02 mL g−1 h−1.
