What is the Actual Size of a Bed Bug?
The size of a bed bug can be quite confusing as many tend to mistake this insect with others. Essentially, if you look at bed bug pictures, you'll notice that adult bed bugs are the same size as an apple-seed. They will come out at night and most likely hide in the morning. If you see any critters hiding in the creases of your bed and you have been getting red bite marks in the morning, this means that bed bugs are most likely infesting your home.
Bed Bug Size Reference for Different Phases of Their Life Cycle
The size of these insects will vary starting from the eggs to the adult stage. Throughout its lifetime, a bed bug goes through different phases. Below is a list of all the life cycle stages and the approximate size of the insect after it hatches.
- Eggs. Each bed bug egg size is about 1mm. It is semi-transparent or white. You can compare it to 1 uncooked rice grain. They are sticky and usually grouped together.
- Nymphs. Nymphs go through five stages and their size changes as it goes through these different stages. The size of each nymph starts from 1.5 mm on the first stage, 2 mm on the second stage, 2.5 on the third, 3 mm on the fourth, to as long as 4.5 mm on the fifth stage. Without feeding, these pinhead-like insects have a transparent body. Within six weeks of constant feeding, they can go through every stage and reach to an adult size in no time. Before they move on to a new stage, they will moult or shed their shells until they become adults.
- Adult Bed Bug. The average length of an adult bed bug may range in size from ¼ inch to about 3/16 of an inch. When unfed, their bodies are flat and wide. The bed bug size after feeding gets longer, larger and more cylindrical in shape.
Bed Bug Size Compared to a Penny
When comparing the bed bug size to penny, it may look something like the photo shown below.
By seeing the size of a nymph and an adult bed bug size compared to penny, you will have an idea of how small these bugs are. When searching for these insects, droppings or fecal matter are among the most common traces of them. The most common dropping size is that of a fine tipped marker or felt-tip pen.
Bed Bug Size vs Tick
Many will assume that bed bugs and ticks are virtually the same. This is due to the fact that these insects both feed on blood. However, when comparing bed bug size vs tick, an adult tick can grow up to about 6mm unfed while it can grow as big as 10mm when completely engorged. Furthermore, unlike bed bugs ticks are known to transmit certain diseases such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
