Bed Bugs: What to know

UC Riverside takes a proactive approach in addressing the issue of all types of household pests, including bed bugs. It is our goal to maintain the highest quality living environment for our residents. Housing Services has no prior knowledge of a bed bug infestation or has not professionally treated the room for bed bugs. Any Resident who suspects they may have bed bugs in their room is required to notify their Resident Services Office to report the problem immediately. An inspection will be scheduled, and treatment will be done if bed bugs are present. Residents may be temporarily transferred to another space while their room is being treated and re-inspected. Residents will be asked to seal all bedding, clothing, and drapes/curtains in plastic bags. This helps prevent bed bugs from spreading to other spaces. Sheets, pillows, and clothes can be washed in soap and hot water. Items that cannot be washed should be dried in the dryer at a high temperature for at least 30 minutes. Residents will leave all furniture and approved belongings in the room for treatment while they are relocated. Resident-owned belongings that are found to have bed bugs must be permanently removed and re-inspected by a trained professional before being returned to the room.

1. Appearance: Bed bugs have six legs. Adult bed bugs have flat bodies about 1/4" of an inch in length. Their color can vary from red to brown to copper. Young bed bugs are very small. Their bodies are about 1/16" of an inch in length. They have almost no color. When a bed bug feeds, its body swells, may lengthen, and can become bright red, sometimes making it appear to be a different insect. Bed bugs do not fly. They can either crawl or be carried from place to place on objects, people, or animals. Bed bugs can be hard to find and identify because they are tiny and try to stay hidden.
2. Life Cycle and Reproduction: An average bed bug lives for about 10 months. Female bed bugs lay one to five eggs per day. Bed bugs grow to full adulthood in about 21 days. Bed bugs can survive for months without feeding.
3. Bed Bug Bites: Because bed bugs usually feed at night, most people are bitten in their sleep and do not realize they were bitten. A person's reaction to insect bites is an immune response, and so it varies from person to person. Sometimes, the red welts caused by the bites will not be noticed until many days after a person was bitten, if at all.
4. Common Signs and Symptoms of Possible Bed Bug Infestation: Small red to reddish brown fecal spots on mattresses, box springs, bed frames, linens, upholstery, or walls. Molted bed bug skins, white sticky eggs, or empty eggshells. Very heavily infested areas may have a characteristically sweet odor. Red, itchy bite marks, especially on the legs, arms, and other body parts exposed while sleeping, though some people do not show bed bug lesions on their bodies, even though bed bugs may have fed on them.