
Babies are adorable and lovable … most of the time. Baby bed bugs, not so much. They are creepy and crawly and inspire dread and revulsion because, when they appear, there’s a good chance they’re not alone. But before you panic and throw the whole house out, make sure the bugs you found are actually bed bugs. To do that, you’ll have to know what baby bed bugs look like.
Identifying Baby Bed Bugs
Adult bed bugs are about ¼ inch long, round, flat, and brown. They have two antennae, a head, a thorax, six claw-tipped legs, a feeding tube called a proboscis that extends from under the mouth, and vestige wings called wing pads. Bed bugs can’t fly or jump, only crawl. They live in the crevices of furniture, primarily your bed, not on your body, hair, or in the bathroom.
Baby bed bugs, or nymphs, mostly look and behave like adult bed bugs, but there are a few key differences.
- Nymphs are smaller than adult bed bugs.
- Nymphs are much lighter in color, a light yellowish brown.
- Nymphs are nearly translucent, so you can see their meal as a dark mass inside their thorax.
- Nymphs don’t lay eggs.

Each stage of nymphs is called an instar and lasts about five days in ideal conditions (70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit and close to a food source). They need to take a blood meal to transition to the next instar. They molt after each instar, which takes a day or two, leaving behind a translucent shell. The instar progression lasts about 37 days.
Each egg produces one bed bug, and newly hatched bed bugs need to take a meal within a few weeks. As they transition to the next instar, they’ll be able to last longer without a blood meal. A fifth instar nymph can last a few months without a blood meal.
There are quite a few bugs that look like baby bed bugs, including:
- Head lice
- Mites
- Baby cockroaches
- Booklice
- Fleas
- Scabies
Let’s look at each stage of a bed bug’s ife cycle to get a closer look at what baby bed bugs look like.
Bed Bug Life Cycle
Bed bugs have seven life stages: egg, five nymph or larvae (baby) stages, and adult. Let’s take a closer look at the 7 stages as well as their unusual reproduction method.
Eggs

Eggs are pearly white, pill-shaped, and about the size of a pinhead (about 1 mm). They’re coated in a sticky substance that lets them attach to the surfaces they were laid until they hatch. Halfway through the egg stage, which is about 10 days in total, they’ll develop a black dot on one end that looks like an eye.
First Nymph Instar
The first instar begins when the baby bed bugs hatch from their eggs. They measure 1.5 mm long, and they’re a translucent sesame seed color until they take their first blood meal. Due to their translucence, the blood turns their abdomen red. Their bodies are more oval than an adult’s, their thorax is less defined, and their antennae are longer compared to their body.
First instar nymphs are the most vulnerable. Like adults, baby bed bugs move quickly, but because they’re so small, they can’t travel as far. If their host is too far away, they’ll dehydrate before ever getting their first meal. Thankfully for them (not so much for us), their moms are smart and about 80 percent of first instar nymphs survive to the next instar.
Second Nymph Instar
Once the bed bug completes their first molt, they begin the second nymph instar. They measure 2 mm and darken to a light orange-brown. They’re still translucent, and their blood meal can be seen in their abdomen. Their bodies are rounder and wider than they were in the first instar, the thorax is slightly more defined, and their antennae are a little more proportional to their body.
Third Nymph Instar
After the second instar’s molt, they’ll begin the third instar. Similar changes occur in the third instar including a slight darkening, rounder and wider body, more definition in the thorax, and more proportional antennae. In the third instar, they measure 2.5 mm, and they’re halfway to adulthood.
Fourth Nymph Instar
After the nymph completes their third molt, they enter the fourth instar. Like the third instar, the fourth instar has comparable changes. Their bodies are bigger, measuring 3 mm. They darken just slightly, their antennae reach adult-proportional length, and the body reaches adult-like roundness.
Fifth Nymph Instar
After another molt, bed bugs enter the last stage of nymph-hood: the fifth nymph instar. The biggest change is their size, jumping from 3 mm to 4.5 mm. That’s a 50 percent gain in size! The only other notable change is the thorax continues to mature and looks close to an adult’s. It’s still lighter than an adult with a translucent caramel color, and blood meals are still visible.
Adults

Adults are dark brown, flat, and oval. After a blood meal, they’ll turn reddish-brown but unlike in the nymph stage, they’re no longer translucent and you can’t see the blood inside them. They also elongate after eating, somewhat resembling a German cockroach. Typically, adults live for 99 to 300 days.
Mating
Bed bug mating style is called traumatic insemination, and it’s shocking. The male bed bug pierces the female’s body cavity with his external genitalia. He inseminates into her body cavity, and the sperm travels through her insides until reaching the ovaries and fertilization begins. After a meal, she lays one to seven eggs for ten days. She can lay over 113 eggs in her lifetime.
How to Get Rid of Baby Bed Bugs

Baby bed bugs don’t require a separate treatment to get rid of them. Thankfully, the same treatment that you use for adult bed bugs will work on nymphs.
Here’s how to get rid of bed bugs:
- Do a deep clean: Deep clean your home to prevent them from spreading. Take apart your bed and scrub and vacuum every square inch. Use a stiff brush to remove eggs. Wash clothes and bedding on high heat. Throw out any infested furniture. After, use bed covers. Repeat at least weekly until you’re sure your infestation is gone.
- Choose an extermination method: Heat for things that can fit in your washing machine. Cold for three full days for things that can fit in your deep freezer. Steaming that reaches 130 degrees Fahrenheit for furniture, DIY or store-bought traps for under your bed and near baseboards, silica gel or diatomaceous earth for most other places.
- Exterminator: If the infestation is established or you can’t (or don’t want to) get rid of the bed bugs using a DIY method, call an exterminator. Otherwise, you could be dealing with this problem indefinitely.
- Prevent: Once you’ve gotten rid of the bed bugs, protecting against future infestation is crucial.
Important note: Over 90 percent of bed bugs have a mutated gene, making them resistant to pesticides. Most professionals use a combination of heat, pesticides, and natural methods. After a treatment, it’s common to find dead baby bed bugs as well as adults. Unfortunately, eggs can survive the barrage, and another visit may be necessary.
FAQ About Baby Bed Bugs
Are baby bed bugs visible?
Yes, you’ll notice baby bed bugs crawling around. Late-stage nymphs are slightly smaller than an apple seed, so you’ll definitely notice them if you uncover their hiding spot. However, hatchlings are small enough to crawl through a mattress stitch. So, while young nymphs are visible, there’s a very good chance you won’t notice them unless you’re searching for them.
What do baby bed bug bites look like?
Baby bed bug bites are similar to adult bed bug bites. The bites are small, red, raised bumps that form in clusters or straight lines. However, the younger stage bed bugs don’t inject as much anesthesia and anticoagulation, so the bites won’t be as severe.
Is seeing baby bed bugs worse than seeing adult bed bugs?
Seeing baby bed bugs or adult bed bugs is a bad sign. Usually, an infestation starts from a pregnant female hitching a ride, so baby bed bugs could mean the beginnings of an infestation. However, it’s more likely that you’re seeing the results of months of reproductive cycles. Under ideal conditions, bed bugs double their infestation after only 16 days.
Do Baby Bed Bugs Require a Professional?
Baby bed bugs normally mean a moderate to severe infestation. You can try a variety of DIY methods, but bed bugs are notoriously difficult to get rid of. Plus, DIY bed bug elimination requires a ton of work, being vigilant, and no guarantee of success. With over 20 percent of homes reporting bed bug problems, homeowners nationwide are bringing in professionals.
But finding an affordable, effective, professional pest control company is incredibly frustrating. Arguably more so than dealing with the bed bugs yourself. That’s where Pest Gnome can help. We’ve researched and vetted tons of bed bug professionals and will connect you with the local expert that’s right for you. Soon, you’ll be free of those pesky parasitic pests.
Main Image Credit: CDC/ Harvard University, Dr. Gary Alpert; Dr. Harold Harlan; Richard Pollack. Photo Credit: Piotr Naskrecki / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain