What do bed bug bites look like?

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Bed bug bites have a recognizable pattern: small, red, itchy bumps, often with a darker dot in the center, arranged in lines or tight clusters of three or so, the wryly named "breakfast, lunch, and dinner" pattern, because a bug feeds, gets disturbed, and bites again a step over. Location does half the diagnosing: they bite whatever skin is exposed during sleep, so face, neck, arms, hands, and shoulders, while body areas covered by pajamas are spared. Timing does the other half: bites appear in the morning (they feed at night), not after daytime activities. The wild card: people react differently, from nothing at all (a large share of people show no reaction, which is how infestations grow unnoticed) to itchy welts to, rarely, larger allergic reactions, and bites can take up to 14 days to appear after the actual bite. The lookalikes: mosquito bites (daytime exposure, more random and scattered), flea bites (ankles and lower legs, pets in the house), and scabies (finger webs, burrow lines, night itch, household spread). Finding the bugs confirms it: check the mattress seams and headboard cracks for the insects themselves (apple-seed sized, flat, brown), black pepper-like droppings, tiny blood specks on sheets, or shed skins. Care for the bites: wash with soap and water, cold compresses, oral antihistamines or hydrocortisone cream for the itch, and do not scratch (bitten-open skin is how secondary infections start). The real fix is the infestation: professional extermination or a meticulous DIY protocol, high-heat washing and drying of all bedding and clothing, vacuuming seams, and mattress encasements, because bites stop when the bugs die, and see a clinician only if bites get infected (spreading redness, pus, fever) or reactions are severe.

What do bed bug bites look like?

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