Fox Pest Control Long Island
Holbrook, Suffolk County
NYSDEC registration checked: #18576
Get a quoteBed bugs (Cimex lectularius) feed on blood and hide in the day close to where people sleep. A bite on its own does not prove you have them. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County notes that people react to bites very differently. The bug, its droppings or its shed skins are what settle the question.
What a bed bug looks like at each stage
| Stage | What you see | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | Reddish brown, oval and flat, 1/4 to 3/8 inch. Like an apple seed with legs. | CCE Nassau; Suffolk DHS |
| Adult after feeding | Swollen and blood red, fading to a dirty brown | CCE Nassau |
| Nymph | Same shape, smaller, nearly colorless when newly hatched | CCE Nassau |
| Egg | White, laid one to five a day, about 200 in a female’s life | CCE Nassau |
Nymphs shed their skins five times on the way to adulthood, and CCE Nassau says each molt needs a blood meal. Those pale, empty skins are one of the easiest things to spot.
The marks they leave behind
Suffolk’s health department lists the signs to check for:
- black or brown spots of dried droppings where bugs rest, often along a mattress seam
- eggs, eggshells and cast skins
- in a bad infestation, a sweet, musty smell in the room
CCE Nassau adds that fresh droppings right after feeding are sticky and semi-solid. Knockout Pest Control in Uniondale describes the spots on sheets as rust colored or tiny and black.
Where to look first
Start at the bed and work outward. Suffolk’s health department says bed bugs hide in the seams, tufts and folds of mattresses and in cracks in the bed frame. As numbers grow, CCE Nassau lists:
- box spring coils and the joints of the bed frame
- the headboard and other furniture by the bed
- baseboards, door and window frames
- behind pictures and under loose wallpaper
- furniture in the rooms next to where people sleep
Suffolk’s health department suggests a putty knife or a playing card to work bugs out of tight cracks, and packing tape or a paper towel to catch them.
How bed bugs get into a Long Island house
Knockout Pest Control lists the usual routes: hotels and vacation rentals, luggage and clothing after a trip, secondhand mattresses and couches, and in apartments, movement between units through walls and outlets. CCE Nassau says many infestations start in hotels and reach homes on clothes, luggage and furniture. Knockout also points out that bed bugs do not slow down in winter, because they live indoors with us.
Get the bug identified for free
Before you pay for treatment, Suffolk’s health department suggests putting a specimen in rubbing alcohol, taking a photo, and contacting Cornell Cooperative Extension or the county’s Bed Bug Information Line at (631) 852-4999.
When to call an exterminator
If you have found a live bug, cast skins or the dark spots along a seam, it is time. Suffolk’s health department warns against over-the-counter sprays, since bed bugs have built up resistance to many of them, and recommends a company with bed bug experience that uses an IPM approach. Our bed bug treatment page covers what heat and chemical treatment cost from Long Island companies and how to get the house ready.