We want to create a quick guide with photos of real-life bed bug shells. Bed bugs shed their exoskeleton (aka shell) 5 times during their growth phase. You can find these shells (aka casings, cast skins, or exoskeletons) around where the bugs are living.
The main reason for this guide is that bed bug shells are often the number one misidentified piece of Bed Bug evidence sent to us. Often, people find the outer shells of Carpet Beetles, other bug shells, food particles, or other debris and think it’s a piece of a Bed Bug shell.
All of these photos are real-life examples of shells we found during an inspection.
Real Images of Bed Bug Shells
So, here are 10 Real Images of Bed Bug Shells, that you can compare to what you found. As you can see, they are pretty much the same size and shape as the bed bug, and they’re always a tannish color.
These 3 shells above were found after we arrived to the clients home for an inspection. The first was on a mattress seam, the 2nd was under a metal headboard, and the 3rd was on a piece of paper near the nightstand.
We found this bed bug shell right near the seam of the couch. Because the shells have some texture to them, sometimes they will stick on fabric and not fall straight off. It’s also important to mention that you can see the head of a bed bug also peaking out of the couch seam.
This bed bug shell was on the outer edge of a mattress. Then, right next to it, are 4 dark spots; these are bed bug droppings (aka fecal stains).
This bed bug shell was tucked deep within a bed frame joint. We used sticky packing tape to get capture it. This was discovered after our dog alerted to the presence of bed bugs.
When a bed bug removes its exoskeleton, it looks very similar to the bed bug itself, only a different color and crunchier. If you browse around our website, you’ll find many more opportunities to learn more about bed bug shells and what they look like. Use mattress encasements certified for Bed Bugs, because they help minimize hiding spots and make evidence visible.
Rick found this bed bug shell while doing an on-site consultation and K9 inspection. He used a microscope to enlarge the image. You can see that the shell has spiky areas on the legs and some texture, which helps it stick to fabric surfaces.
These images were submitted by one of our clients whom we were counseling via text before making an appointment. They had been noticing bite-type reactions every few days for a few weeks. I instructed them to set out sticky traps under and around the bed, and sure enough, less than a week later they found this Bed Bug shell. Finding this confirmed Bed Bug casing will allow them to get treatment and solve the Bed Bug issue.
A landlord hired us to inspect a small 3-family rental property. One tenant suspected bed bugs but wasn’t sure because they didn’t react to the bites. In this case, we didn’t need to use the dog for the inspection because, once I started looking around, I found evidence of bed bugs in all rooms. The Bed Bug Shell images above were stuck to the bottom of the couch. Once we flipped the couch on its back, we saw dozens of bugs and shed skins.
We were inspecting a home out on Long Island and the resident had been getting bites for months. She hired an exterminator to do a visual but it came back negative. Since she kept getting bites, she decided to go with a certified Bed Bug dog inspection and called us. Our dog, Goosey, alerted near her platform bed frame, which was one of those electronic bed frames that raises up. But since it was covered in black fabric stapled to wood, there were a lot of hiding spots. We did keep searching for evidence, and lo and behold, we finally found a bed bug shell. It was tucked into an area that was not visible, without turning the entire frame on its back.
We were doing a K9 inspection because the resident in this apartment building in Queens, NY, was complaining of bites. She also said she saw a bug but killed it and flushed it. So when we arrived, there were no samples for us to look at. Our Bed Bug dog found a few spots with live bed bug activity. Above her bed was a tapestry hanging on the wall and when I took it down, I found this Bed Bug shell stuck to the back.