Bugs That Look Like Bed Bugs: How to Tell Them Apart

Quick answer: Bugs commonly mistaken for bed bugs include bat bugs and swallow bugs (close relatives that look almost identical), ticks, carpet beetles, young cockroaches, fleas and spider beetles. A bed bug is flat, oval and reddish-brown, about the size of an apple seed, with no working wings. It can't jump, and it doesn't stay attached to your skin. If a bug fails any of those tests, it's probably something else.^1,2,3,4

Found a small brown bug and not sure it's a bed bug? Lots of insects get mistaken for them. Use the quick checks and comparison table below to narrow it down, then jump to the bug that matches. For photos of bed bugs at every stage, see our bed bug pictures gallery.

Is It a Bed Bug? Four Quick Checks

• Shape: flat and oval like an apple seed when unfed, not round, long or shield-shaped.^1,2
• Wings: no working wings. Bed bugs have only tiny wing pads and can't fly.^1,14
• Movement: it crawls. Bed bugs can't jump.²
• On you? Bed bugs feed and leave. A bug living on your scalp or stuck in your skin is more likely a louse or a tick.^2,15,6

Bugs That Look Like Bed Bugs: Comparison Table

Bat Bugs vs. Bed Bugs

Bat bugs are close relatives of bed bugs and look nearly identical to the naked eye.^21,3 The reliable difference takes a hand lens or microscope: on a bat bug, the fringe hairs just behind the head are longer than the width of its eye; on a bed bug, they're shorter.^5,3

Where you find them is a strong clue. Bat bugs turn up near bat roosts, often on upper floors or near attics, chimneys and wall voids, and usually one at a time rather than in clusters. They bite people occasionally, especially when bats leave or are removed, and they can survive months without feeding.^3,22

What to do: get a positive ID, then deal with the bats. Don't handle bats, because they can carry rabies, and if anyone may have touched or been bitten by one, call your health department. Some bats are endangered and local laws may protect them, so hire a professional to seal entry points while the bats are gone (about October through early April) or to install one-way exits in early spring, before pups are born.^3,23 Treating only your bed won't solve a bat bug problem; the roost has to be dealt with.^2,13

Swallow Bugs and Other Bird Bugs

Swallow bugs live in cliff swallow mud nests and can wander indoors, especially in late winter and spring before the birds return and in fall after they leave.^3,22 To tell one from a bed bug, look at the antennae under magnification: in swallow bugs the last two segments are nearly the same length, while in bed bugs the last segment is about half the length of the one before it.^5,3

Other bird bugs in North America include the chimney swift bug and the poultry bug, and both can bite people now and then.^24,22 None of these bat or bird bugs can reproduce on human blood.³

What to do: have an entomologist or pest professional confirm the bug, then treat the nest site and keep the birds out.^2,13 Swallows are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act: an active nest with eggs or chicks can't be removed without a permit, but an empty nest can. Pigeon, starling and house sparrow nests aren't protected. Check with a wildlife professional before you remove a nest.^25,20

Ticks vs. Bed Bugs

The quickest test is to count legs. Tick nymphs and adults have eight legs; bed bugs have six. Newly hatched "seed ticks" have six legs, but they're pinhead-size and pale.^7,26,27

The other giveaway is attachment. A tick buries its mouthparts in your skin and feeds for days, swelling up as it does. Bed bugs feed for a few minutes and then go back into hiding.^6,2 Most ticks live outdoors, but the brown dog tick can live and breed indoors and crawl up walls and curtains.^6,26,27

What to do: remove an attached tick with fine-tipped tweezers close to the skin and pull straight up with steady pressure, without twisting. See a doctor if you get a fever or rash in the weeks after a bite.^6,7,28 For brown dog ticks indoors, treat your dog through your vet and treat the cracks where ticks hide.²⁶

Carpet Beetles vs. Bed Bugs

Adult carpet beetles are small, round beetles, like tiny lady beetles, about 1/10 to 3/16 inch long. They're black or mottled with white, brown and yellow scales, and they have hard wing covers and fly, often gathering at windows.^8,4 Bed bugs are flat, oval and wingless.¹

Carpet beetle larvae look like small, hairy caterpillars, often striped light and dark brown with tufts of hair. They live in dark spots and feed on wool, fur, feathers, pet hair and lint, and they leave behind brown, bristly shed skins.^8,4

Carpet beetles don't bite, but in some people the larval hairs cause an itchy rash or welts that can feel like bites.^9,4

What to do: vacuum thoroughly, remove lint and pet hair, wash or dry-clean infested items and store woolens in sealed containers. A few adults at a window aren't cause for alarm, but act if you find larvae. See a doctor about a persistent rash.^8,9

Baby Cockroaches vs. Bed Bugs

Young German cockroaches are wingless like bed bugs, but they're longer and more cylinder-shaped than a bed bug's short, oval body. Look for long antennae, a pair of short "tails" at the rear and, on young German cockroaches, a light stripe down the middle of the dark back.^4,10,11 They run fast when disturbed.^10,11

Cockroaches live mostly in kitchens and bathrooms near food, water and warmth, and usually turn up in bedrooms only when an infestation is heavy or food is scarce. They don't feed on blood, but their droppings and shed skins can trigger asthma.^10,4

What to do: clean up food and grease, seal cracks and use gel baits or bait stations rather than foggers.¹⁰

Fleas vs. Bed Bugs

Fleas are smaller than adult bed bugs (up to about 1/8 inch) and reddish-brown, but they're flattened side to side, so they look like they're standing on edge. Bed bugs are flattened top to bottom.^12,1 The surest sign: fleas jump, and bed bugs can't.^2,12

Fleas usually come from pets or wildlife and bite mainly around the ankles and lower legs.^13,12

What to do: treat pets with a vet-recommended flea product, vacuum often and wash pet bedding weekly.¹²

Spider Beetles vs. Bed Bugs

Spider beetles are about 1 to 5 mm long, with a round, shiny, hard body and long, thin, hairy legs that make them look like tiny spiders. Some are reddish-brown and can look like a bed bug that has just fed.^4,29,16 They're found near stored food such as grain, seeds and dried fruit, and they don't bite.^29,16,4

What to do: find and throw out infested food, vacuum shelves and keep dry goods in sealed containers.²⁹

Kissing Bugs

Kissing bugs (also called conenose bugs) belong to the assassin bug family, not the bed bug family, but they also feed on blood at night. They're much bigger, about 1/2 to 1 inch long, with wings, a long cone-shaped head and red, orange or yellow markings along the edge of the abdomen.^17,18,30 They live in wood rat and other animal nests, and adults are drawn to outdoor lights at night and can fly into homes.¹⁷

Some kissing bugs carry the parasite that causes Chagas disease, which spreads through the bug's droppings rather than the bite itself. The CDC says these bugs don't regularly spread Chagas in the U.S., though it estimates about 280,000 people in the country have the disease.^17,31 A 2025 article in the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases reported kissing bugs in 32 states.³²

What to do: don't touch one bare-handed. Trap it in a container or bag, freeze it and note where and when you found it. Texas A&M University's kissing bug program accepts specimens from across the U.S.¹⁸ See a doctor if you think you were bitten and feel unwell.³¹

Booklice, Bird Mites, Lice and Other Look-Alikes

• Booklice: 1 to 2 mm, soft and pale tan or gray. They live in damp places and feed on mold on books, paper and windowsills. They don't bite. Lowering humidity usually gets rid of them.^19,4
• Bird and rodent mites: specks about the size of a period, with eight legs, usually near a nest by a window or wall. They move indoors when a bird or rodent dies or leaves the nest, and they bite people while looking for a host. Bird mites can't reproduce on human blood.^20,13
• Head and body lice: lice live on the person: head lice on the scalp, body lice in the seams of clothes worn every day. Bed bugs don't stay on people.^15,33,2
• Flour and grain beetles: about 1/8 inch, narrow and reddish-brown, found in flour, cereal and other dry foods. They don't bite.^34,35
• Stink bugs: shield-shaped and much bigger, and they smell when disturbed. Adults gather on houses in the fall to overwinter but don't breed indoors.³⁶

Getting bites but can't find a bug? Other causes, from fibers to skin conditions, can feel like bites. See our guide to itching in bed with no bugs.¹³

How to Get a Bug Identified

1. Save it. Drop the bug into a small, leak-proof vial or pill bottle of rubbing alcohol. Don't tape it to paper or mail it loose in an envelope. Or seal it in a zip-top bag and freeze it overnight.^21,37,38
2. Note the details: where and when you found it, and how long it is.^21,39
3. Send it to an expert. Your county Cooperative Extension office can identify insects or tell you where to send them.^39,40 University labs also accept samples; the Cornell Insect Diagnostic Laboratory charges $30 for a personal sample.³⁸
4. Or call a pest professional who can identify the bug and inspect your home.²

If it's confirmed as a bed bug, see how to check for other signs and our guide on how to get rid of bed bugs. For a closer look at bed bugs themselves, see what bed bugs look like.