Do Bed Bugs Have Wings? Can They Fly?

Do bed bugs have wings? So, what bugs can be mistaken for bed bugs? that also have wings. Insects with wings can fly in search of food or escape from their predators or bed bug spray. 

Pre-historic bed bugs had wings, while current-day ones only possess under-developed wing pads that don’t allow bed bugs to fly. 

Thus, bed bugs can only crawl or climb while moving – they can’t jump or fly. Read also, diatomaceous earth to kill bed bugs plus vinegar to kill bed bugs. 

[amazon bestseller=”Best Bed Bug Killers” items=”2″ template=”table”]

Do Bed Bugs Have Wings? Can They Fly?

Bed bugs have un-developed wings that can’t be used for flight. These wings (wings pads), even for mature bed bugs, aren’t suitable for flying. 

Bed bug’s wings pads are tiny, plus they’re located slightly above their abdomen. However, baby bed bugs won’t have wing pads or wings. 

Bed bugs can’t fly, and so their movement is mainly through crawling or hitch-hiking on humans. Read also, Differences in Scabies Vs. Bed Bugs. 

So, don’t confuse bed bugs with bugs that can fly. But equally important is that bed bugs, even without flying, will cause massive problems for pets and humans. 

How to Identify Bed Bugs? 

From the onset, bed bugs are brownish, tiny ( 1/4 inches) and oval-shaped insects feeding on a cat or dog blood – but also humans’ blood. But the adult bed bugs are about the apple seed but a flat body. 

Following a full blood meal, the adult bed bugs will become reddish in their color and a swollen body. The bugs will be moving quickly around the ceilings, walls, and floors. 

Further, you’ll notice females as they’ll lay eggs – look anything like dust specks. The eggs are off-white in color, have sticky skin & exist in clusters – can be confused with dandruff. 

However, the baby or immature bed bugs (1 millimeter) will take a blood meal each time to progress past each of their 4 life stages – as they also shed skin when molting.

Notably, with high humidity, bed bugs will develop to full adults within a month and get 3+ generations every year. However, bed bugs don’t carry diseases but will cause anemia. 

Bed bugs have long antennae plus their characteristic six insect legs. These blood-suckers will look swollen after taking a blood meal. So any small bugs that’ll be jumping around could be fleas. 

Bed bugs will be hiding in dark areas like crevices and cracks. Bed bug bites are very painful but won’t cause the spread of any diseases – but you’ll require to treat bed bug-infested areas.

What Looks Like a Bed Bug with Wings?

Fleas, particularly Ctenocephalides felis, are comparable bed bugs, but they have no wings. Fleas are reddish-brown, with a round head, plus equally long legs. 

Fleas will also bite humans but are ⅛ inches in size with a segmented and flattened body. Flea bites are itchy and will carry different vector diseases, particularity from wild animals. 

2. Bat bugs 

Bad bugs are brown-colored insects that are highly comparable to bed bugs – but also have no wings. Also, bat bugs have heads that are covered with long hairs. 

Nasty bugs are oval-shaped and ¼ inches in size, looking like the apple seed. Equally, bat bugs only have wing pads, and hence their “wings” are not functional. 

Further, bat bugs don’t bite humans, but they do bite on bats. You’ll mainly get these bugs on or around the areas that bats live – these include the attic or similar dark areas. 

3. Carpet beetles 

Carpet beetles have red or orange scales on their black-patterned body. They have short antennae emerging from their hidden heads – when viewed over them.

These oval-shaped bugs 2 to 4 millimeters, which is about  1/16 inches. However, carpenter beetle, as opposed to bed bugs, has wings but will only take flight in the daytime.

However, carpenter bees don’t bite like bed bugs but will trigger allergies and dermatitis on the human skin. You’ll find them on carpet fabrics and flesh flowers.

4. Booklice

Booklice are creamy and brown-colored bugs that look like bed bugs or termites (top termite killers), plus they have a soft body. They measure about 1 to 6 millimeters in body size or about 1/32 inches. 

Booklice have a body and head being separated on their segment body parts. Some Booklice have wings that look like roofs, but dead Booklice can cause asthma. 

Booklice will mainly be hiding around damp places or high humidity since these bugs tend to be dehydrated easily. Further, spider beetles are black or reddish-brown with long antennae plus thin legs.

Can Bed Bugs Fly into your House?

Bed bugs will move into any house, including those that are super clean. Even though bugs enter the house via windows and doors, they will fly since they have no wings.

You’ll mainly find bed bugs in areas like schools, households, motels & hotels, homeless shelters, and dorm rooms. They’ll hide inside fabrics and move around the house.

You may find bed bugs inside public transportation, rental cars, and taxis – in the indoor spaces, you’ll find the bugs moving between rooms or attaching to carpets or household objects.

• So, bed bugs can’t fly – they have no wings. You’ll mainly find them on beds, mattresses, and mattress seams but will also be on headboard, bed frame, cracks, and box spring.
• Old or second-hand furniture can also hold bed bugs – particularly on the seams of couches and chairs, curtain folds, and on cushions. 
• Bed bugs will feed when they’re hungry as opposed to just eating only at night. Therefore, the bugs will also bite your skin during the day when you get near them. 
• As compared to fleas and other similar insects, bed bugs can’t jump around the house, and spray won’t be enough to kill all the bed bug stages, including eggs, nymphs, and adults. 

Can you squish a bed bug? Well, YES, it’ll burst, leaving red bloodstains. Bed bugs will move over distances by hitchhiking on human beings, clothing, or send-hand furniture – particularly around mattress or couch seams.

Conclusion

Do bed bugs have wings? No – bed bugs have no wings – but you can identify them with their oval, flat any tiny body measuring about 1/4 inches but have wing pads as opposed to having fully-functional wings.

Adult bed bugs can be seen with your naked eyes, but babies and nymphs will mainly exist in clusters – you’ll find both on crevices and cracks.

Bed bugs measure roughly the size of an apple seed or a pinhead. However, bed bug eggs are off-white in color and only exist in clusters.