Editing Bed bug (section)

===Detection===
Knowing that symptoms are caused by bedbug bites rather than other causes requires seeking and finding the insect in the sleeping environment, as symptoms are not [[Sensitivity and specificity|specific]] to bedbug bites.<ref name=GP2009/> Bites by other arthropods cause similar symptoms, even the linear pattern of bites known colloquially as "breakfast, lunch and dinner bites".<ref name="Parola" />

Bed bugs can occur singly, but tend to congregate once established. Although strictly parasitic, they spend only a tiny fraction of their lives physically attached to hosts. Once a bed bug finishes feeding, it follows a chemical trail to return to a nearby harborage, commonly in or near beds or couches, where they live in clusters of adults, juveniles, and eggs. These places may include luggage, vehicle interiors, furniture, bedside clutter—even inside electrical sockets or laptop computers. Bed bugs may also lodge near animals that have nested within a dwelling, such as bats, birds,<ref name=avianadvice.uark.edu/> or [[rodent]]s. They can also survive by feeding on domestic cats and dogs, though humans are the preferred host of ''C.&nbsp;lectularius''.<ref name=WoodwardQuinn2011>{{cite book |author1 = Susan L. Woodward |author2 = Joyce A. Quinn |title = Encyclopedia of Invasive Species: From Africanized Honey Bees to Zebra Mussels: From Africanized Honey Bees to Zebra Mussels |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KOGfKRZ0YFIC&pg=PA124 |access-date = 15 August 2013 |date = 30 September 2011 |publisher = ABC-CLIO |isbn = 978-0-313-38221-5 |page = 124 |archive-date = 14 January 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230114141615/https://books.google.com/books?id=KOGfKRZ0YFIC&pg=PA124 |url-status = live }}</ref>

A severe bedbug infestation can be detected by their characteristic pungent sweet smell, which has been described as like rotting [[raspberry|raspberries]].<ref>{{cite journal |last = Anderson |first = AL |author2 = Leffler, K |title = Bedbug infestations in the news: a picture of an emerging public health problem in the United States |journal = Journal of Environmental Health |date = May 2008 |volume = 70 |issue = 9 |pages = 24–7, 52–3 |pmid = 18517150 |url = https://www.neha-ecommerce.org/imispublic/members/pdf/JEH/archive/2008/4.May.08/JEH5.08_Feature_Bedbugs.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120426075229/https://www.neha-ecommerce.org/imispublic/members/pdf/JEH/archive/2008/4.May.08/JEH5.08_Feature_Bedbugs.pdf |archive-date = 26 April 2012 |df = dmy-all }}</ref> [[Bed bug detection dogs]] are trained to pinpoint infestations, with a possible accuracy rate between 11% and 83%.<ref name=Dog2012 /><ref name=Ib2017/>

Homemade detectors have been developed.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://abc7ny.com/archive/7212643/ |title = 7 On Your Side: Get rid of bed bugs for less than $15 |access-date = 1 December 2016 |archive-date = 2 December 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161202165313/http://abc7ny.com/archive/7212643/ |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/fs1117/ |title = Detecting Bed Bugs Using Bed Bug Monitors (from Rutgers NJAES) |access-date = 1 December 2016 |archive-date = 2 December 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161202040225/https://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/fs1117/ |url-status = live }}</ref> Bedbug detectors, often referred to as "monitors", "traps" or "interceptors",<ref>{{cite web |author=[[US EPA OCSPP]] |date=2013-03-07 |title=Do-it-yourself Bed Bug Control |url=https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/do-it-yourself-bed-bug-control |access-date=2022-10-01 |website=[[US EPA OCSPP]] |language=en}}</ref> use the  lactic acid or carbon dioxide associated with the presence of a human body, or [[pheromone]]s, to attract and trap bugs in a container. Bedbug detectors can confirm an infestation, but do not trap enough for eradication.<ref name="Parola">{{cite journal |last1=Parola |first1=Philippe |last2=Izri |first2=Arezki |title=Bedbugs |journal=New England Journal of Medicine |date=4 June 2020 |volume=382 |issue=23 |pages=2230–2237 |doi=10.1056/NEJMcp1905840|pmid=32492304 |s2cid=219315855 }}</ref>
<gallery>
File:Bedbugs1.jpg|Eggs and two adults found inside a dresser
File:BedBugFeces.jpg|Fecal spot
File:Bed Bug On Carpet.jpg|Bed bug on carpet
</gallery>

====Differential detection====
Other conditions which produce symptoms similar to bedbug bites include [[scabies]], [[gamasoidosis]], [[allergic reactions]], [[mosquito bites]], [[spider bite]]s, flea bites ([[pulicosis]]), [[chicken pox]], and bacterial skin infections.<ref name=GP2009/>