Knowledgebase

Bedbug vs Batbug Identification Request #875250

Asked June 29, 2024, 2:34 PM EDT

We recently found 2 insects in our four-season porch that appear to be bedbugs. We have asked two professionals about them and had an inspection for bedbugs done on our home which turned up nothing. The person who did the inspection looked at the insect in a Zip-Loc bag and said it was a bedbug. We took the second bug to a different company. That man looked at it under a microscope and told us it was not a bedbug but a batbug. We are more inclined to believe him because he looked at it under the microscope, but we would like to get another opinion on the insect. Is this something you could do for us?

Scott County Minnesota

Expert Response

https://lancaster.unl.edu/know-your-bugs-you-treat-bed-vs-bat

https://www.thespruce.com/bat-bugs-vs-bed-bugs-7104144

https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/bed-bug-lookalikes-bat-bugs-and-swallow-bugs-in-colorado-5-625/
The second person knew to use a microscope and I would believe them. The first person could not make a valid identification without a microscope. Also your pest isn’t behaving like a bedbug. See ref.
ask an expert is only an online group and the UMN no longer has a consumer entomologist on staff. 
Your phone or an iPad has a magnifier app and it might give you enough magnification.
https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/magnify-nearby-objects-iphe867dc99c/ios
Evelyn Locke, MN Master Gardener, Tree Care Advisor, Volunteer Replied June 29, 2024, 4:41 PM EDT

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