Bed Bug Photos

This page contains photos of signs you might find when looking for bed bugs (bed bugs, eggs, feces, cast skins, blood stains on sheets, etc.). You can click any of the photos and you will be taken to the flickr page. Click “all sizes” and then “large” to get the best view.

Obviously, you might find bed bugs themselves! But they can look vastly different based on life stage (there are 5 nymph stages and one adult stage) and whether they’ve fed recently or not. For reference, see Stephen L. Doggett’s bed bug life cycle photo, posted with his permission:

Note the life stages, the transparency of unfed nymphs, and the difference between the just-fed adult (top, elongated), and the not-just-fed adult next to it on the right.

Here are some even better photos of bed bugs feeding, including adults and nymphs (from L. Sorkin and R. Mercurio.)

Nymph photo from OfAlltheBeds:

Unfed first instar nymph (approx. 1 mm or 1/32″ long; taken by Sorkin and Mercurio, American Museum of Natural History):

This is the same first instar once it has fully fed (it will be larger now; taken by Sorkin and Mercurio, American Museum of Natural History):

To get an idea of the size, this is a 1st instar nymph feeding on Lou Sorkin’s finger. You can see them, but they are small:

Bassommeijer’s photo of an Argentinian adult bed bug in a book:

Waiting in Manhattan’s photo of an adult bed bug:

Several people have mistaken booklice for bed bug nymphs. Click here to see a comparison.

Other signs of bed bugs:

Cast skins: bed bugs cast their skin each time they grow. So you might find cast skins from a 1st instar nymph or a 5th instar nymph and the size will vary a great deal.

This is a cast skin (from Wikipedia).

This is a cast skin sitting on S’s arm when she tested her sensitivity to one. Note, it looks a lot like an actual bed bug.

The following photos can be enlarged for better viewing. Click on any of them, and you will be taken to the flickr page. Then click “all sizes” and then “large” to get the best view.

You might find blood stains on bed sheets or clothing you wear to bed. They can be as small as pinpricks or think streaks, or larger spotches (where a bug was squished or where a lot of blood was lost). This is an example, Lou Sorkin’s photo of a blood stain:

blood smears on pillow

Originally uploaded by louento.pix

Lou Sorkin’s photo of a chair with bed bug nymphs, eggs, and fecal spots:

close up of lounge chair staples

Originally uploaded by louento.pix
Click the photo to get all sizes of the photo, and then select “large” for the best view.

Those are large furniture staples on a lounge chair. The eggs are 1/32 inch long.

Tape with bed bugs, eggs, and fecal spots, removed from a mattress (credit: Lou Sorkin):

Bed bugs on tape

Originally uploaded by louento.pix.

Bed bugs with fecal spots (credit: Lou Sorkin):

Bed bugs in a group

Originally uploaded by louento.pix.
Click on photo, then “All sizes,” then “Large” for the full glory of bed bugs, eggs (full and hatched) and feces.

Click here to see photos of bed bugs on a popcorn ceiling, underneath wooden furniture, on a wooden screw, under a sofa, and a bed bug nest behind wooden trim (all courtesy of reader Angie). Thanks Angie!

Click here for all entries on Bedbugger tagged “photos of bed bugs” (including bed bugs, nymphs, eggs, feces, etc.) Note: you have to click each individual title to see the photos.

All Rights Reserved by the photographers.

Thanks to Lou Sorkin & Randy Mercurio of the AMNH, S., Bassommeijer, and Waiting in Manhattan, for allowing us access to these photos which I am sure will help so many to find and identify bed bugs in their homes.

If you have suggestions for additional photos or information to be added to this page, please email me: nobugs at bedbugger dot com!