How Bed Bugs Look For Food

Bed bugs are small flightless insects, their colour varies from dirty reds to murky brown. Upon feeding however their bodies bloat and swell, usually reverting to a deep red colouring. 

Bed bugs hide-out in dark and enclosed spaces during most daylight hours, this could either be under or in the mattress, within closets or drawers, even in bags or clothes where they might’ve nestled after sneaking into your home. Suffice to say they can get just about everywhere that’s cosy, warm and very out of sight. 

They’re particularly attracted to warmth, it’s essential to their life-cycle. They also use warmth to track their host, usually emerging in the very early morning as opposed to night, their activity ranging from midnight to five o’ clock in the morning. During these hours they locate their sleeping host via the heat they exert and the carbon dioxide, both of which they’re attracted to.

They look for openings in the clothes, usually around the ankles or wrists to reach the skin, they don’t carry disease but do impart saliva into the bite’s area. This saliva acts as an anticoagulant, alongside a localized anaesthetic to prevent the host from waking up and interrupting feeding time.