Do Bed Bugs Stink?

The short answer is “yes.”  Pest management professionals who have experience in bed bug abatement will tell you (without seeing a single bed bug) if bed bugs are present based on a particular “smell” they detect in the room.

The same professional can tell you if you have a cockroach infestation or a rodent infestation all based on odor.

Bed bugs and cockroaches and rodents are living things.  They eat, digest and eliminate waste.  These biological processes are critical to the survival of these animals.  Typically, these life-sustaining chemical reactions generate by-products in many forms such as liquids, solids and gasses.  Specific odors are associated with these biological processes and after having been exposed, the pest management professional is able to associate a particular odor / smell with a particular type of pest.

Bed bug detection dogs can “smell-out” bed bugs; live, dead and even the caste “skins”.  Clearly, the K9 is responding to some type of odor given off by the bed bug.

The scent gland of bed bugs produces a musty odor that is often described as smelling like coriander. The smell is not pleasant. If you have an infestation of bed bugs you may begin to notice your home smells like moldy shoes or wet moldy clothes.  Although it’s often stated that bed bugs have a telltale “buggy” odor, the smell is seldom evident except in extreme infestations and should not be relied upon for detection.

All insects produce some kind of chemical substances that are used for communication.  Bed bugs produce a wide range of chemical substances.  Some are aggregation pheromones some are sexual attractants and some are defensive chemicals.  All together, these substances are released into the environment.  When there is a large, long-standing bed bug infestation, the odor of these chemicals is most definitely detectable by humans.  So to answer the question as to whether bed bugs stink, we can say without hesitation, they do!

If you need help with bed bug removal, contact Arrow Exterminating Company. Call 516-593-7770 to schedule an inspection.