Bat Bugs

APPEARANCE:
Bat bugs look very similar to bed bugs and are often mistook for them. A microscopic examination is needed to tell them apart. However, we have noticed that some colonies of bats that are located in attics throughout Wisconsin carry these bugs and after the exclusion they have been known to make their way into your home to feed on humans! Effective control for bat bugs requires pest control products being applied to their harborage areas (attic).

HABITAT:
Bat bugs feed on all of the common bats in Wisconsin, but they are most frequently associated with the big and little brown bats, which roost in colonies. Although bats are their primary host, they can also feed on alternative hosts including birds and rodents.

DIET:
Just like their insect friends the bed bug, bat bugs typically feed while the host is sleeping. Bat bugs pierce the skin with its extended mouthparts, and it injects saliva as it probes for blood vessels and feeds on blood.

LIFE CYCLE/REPRODUCTION:
Development from egg to adult may take from 2 weeks in warm, favorable conditions. Bat bugs can have multiple generations within a year. Adult bat bugs may survive for a year or more without a meal in cool environments, but blood feeding is required by the female in order to produce eggs.

TYPE OF DAMAGE:
Bat bug bites are reportedly more painful than that of a bed bug, although most humans don’t ever feel the bite. Many people develop an allergic reaction to proteins in the injected saliva from the bug.

Ocassional
Invaders
Ants
Silverfish
Spiders
Asian Beetles
Sowbugs
Centipedes
Box Elders
Earwigs
Millipedes
Bat Bugs
Bed Bugs
Springtails
Fleas
Fruit Flies
Clutser Flies