This photograph depicts a frontal view of an adult bedbug, Cimex lectularius, as it is in the process of ingesting a blood meal from the arm of a “voluntary” human host.
Bedbugs are not vectors in nature of any known human disease. Although some disease organisms have been recovered from bedbugs under laboratory conditions, none have been shown to be transmitted by bedbugs outside of the laboratory. Bedbug bites are difficult to diagnose due to the variability in bite response between people, and due to the change in skin reaction for the same person over time. It is best to collect and identify bedbugs to confirm bites. Bedbugs are responsible for loss of sleep, discomfort, disfiguring from numerous bites and occasionally bites may become infected.
