Appearance of Bed Bug Eggs

You are not likely to notice bed bug eggs unless you look very closely. They appear murky-white in colour and are roughly 1mm long, often clustered in cracks and crevices close to where bed bugs feed.

You may find eggs and shed casings in and around sleeping areas - inside headboards, along bed frame joints, behind skirting boards and in nearby furniture. Their pale colour makes them blend in with most surfaces, which is one of the reasons DIY pest control often misses them.

Where Eggs Are Found

  • Inside bed frame joints and screw holes
  • Behind headboards and inside upholstery seams
  • Cracks in skirting boards and floorboards
  • Inside electrical outlets and behind picture frames

Why Eggs Matter

  • Eggs are resistant to most chemical pesticides
  • A female lays 1-5 eggs a day, up to 500 in a lifetime
  • Eggs hatch in 6-10 days
  • Only heat treatment guarantees egg destruction in one visit

How Heat Treatment Beats the Eggs

Because bed bug eggs resist most chemical treatments, repeat visits are usually needed when relying on sprays alone. Heat treatment changes this - raising the temperature of the affected area above the kill threshold for long enough to destroy all life stages, including eggs, in a single visit.

Find out more about heat treatment for bed bugs or contact us for advice.

More About Bed Bugs