You’ve got the familiar marks on your skin, and you swear you’ve seen bed bugs crawling through your sheets. But are you 100% sure you’ve identified the pest correctly? Do you know your black carpet beetles from your lice? Your fleas from your spider beetles? Most of us don’t – and they’re easily confused. Let us guide you through the common pests which are often confused for bed bugs, and how to distinguish their differences.

What Does a Bed Bug Look Like?

These nocturnal critters are normally copper-brown when mature and about a quarter of an inch big. They have flat, oval-shaped bodies, a four-sectioned antenna and their mouths are shaped like tubes. When the only thing you eat is blood, you don’t need to worry about chewing

Other important things to remember are that bed bugs don’t have wings and therefore cannot fly. They aren’t known for jumping large distances either, and upon closer inspection, you’ll discover that they crawl and run rather quickly. These are the key differences to remember when comparing them to other similar pests.

Insects Similar to Bed Bugs

The first insect often confused with bed bugs is the flea. These pests are smaller than bed bugs at only a few millimetres long, but they too are wingless. What distinguishes them is their powerful hind legs, suited for jumping distances up to an incredible 30cm high. They’re similar in colour, feed on blood from both humans and animals, and also have itchy bites – but look out for their impressive jumps, compared to the bed bug’s fast crawl.

The black carpet beetle should be easier to identify. Although they are a similar size, these insects are black, have a more distinguished head shape and wings. Unlike the bed bug and flea, they do not feed on human blood.

Another one of the easier insects to establish is the spider beetle. It gets its name because of its resemblance to – you guessed it – a spider. These bugs are also small but have an obviously large, rounded body and long thin legs. Once again, these insects aren’t keen on biting humans, but let them through the door and they’ll happily infest your home and feed on just about anything they can find.

Head lice, on the other hand, are easier to confuse as bed bugs. They have a similar colour, however, they’re much smaller than bed bugs and are a different shape. Head lice are roughly the size of a sesame seed when mature, and they are only found on the human head.

Truly Nolen’s Four Season’s Protection

Having a pest infestation is stressful enough, but if you’re unsure what type of insect you’re dealing with, it can make matters worse. That’s why calling in pest control experts is your best option for removal. Truly Nolen has been an industry leader since 1938 and our technicians are trained to handle all forms of infestation.

Our Four Season’s approach is a tried and trusted method which guarantees success: it’s so effective that we provide a full guarantee of our services or you receive a full refund. This unique approach uses several steps, equipment, and the highest quality materials to identify and remove your pest problem efficiently.