Bed Bugs vs Fleas: Which One Is Biting You?

Bed Bugs vs Fleas

Small red itchy bites, and no clear idea what caused them. Bed bugs and fleas are the two pests most often blamed, and they are treated in very different ways, so getting the identification right saves a wasted service. The good news is that the two leave different clues, and most homes can narrow it down before the inspection confirms it.

Start with where the bites land. Flea bites cluster around the ankles, lower legs and feet, because fleas jump from carpet and bedding to whatever passes and rarely climb much higher on a standing person. They also bite where clothing is tight, such as sock lines and waistbands. Bed bug bites appear on skin uncovered during sleep: arms, shoulders, neck, face and hands. They often run in a rough line of three or more, and they happen at night in bed rather than while you are up and moving.

Next, the insects themselves. A flea is tiny, dark brown, and built to jump. It is about the size of a sesame seed, narrow from side to side, and disappears in a flash when disturbed. You are most likely to see one on a pet's belly or in the fur near the tail, or hopping in carpet. A bed bug is flat, oval, reddish brown and about the size of an apple seed. It does not jump or fly. It walks, and it hides in mattress seams, the box spring and the joints of the bed frame during the day.

Then the evidence. Fleas leave flea dirt, tiny black specks of digested blood that turn red when wetted, in pet bedding and fur. Bed bugs leave dark fecal spots along mattress seams and behind the headboard, plus pale cast skins and pinhead sized white eggs glued into seams. A pet that is scratching tips the odds toward fleas. A home with no animals and bites that arrive overnight tips them toward bed bugs, though fleas do live in homes without pets, especially after a previous occupant's animals or from wildlife sheltering under the house.

Why it matters. Flea treatment works on the carpet, pet bedding and floor edges indoors, with the pet treated by a veterinarian at the same time and daily vacuuming for seven days afterward. Bed bug treatment is a liquid chemical treatment of the whole home on the first visit and then the active areas on follow up visits, with the bed and its surroundings as the focus. Booking one for the other wastes money and leaves the real problem building. A free inspection confirms which one you have, and if it turns out to be neither, you will hear that too.