Bat bugs (Cimex Adjunctus)

Bat bugs (Cimex Adjunctus)

In the same family of as bedbugs (cimicidae), bat bugs are closely related but primarily feed on bats.

Some believe bed bugs descended from bat bugs. Cave man and bats lived in close proximity to each other and it’s when bats abandoned the cave that the bugs made the jump to humans.

Bat bugs are rare in the sea to sky (more common in midwest) but have been found in area’s w/ significant bats.  Otherwise microscopic examination is needed to distinguish them.

Like bed bugs, bat bugs have not been found to transmit any diseases and have a crazy form of reproduction. Males inseminate the female by piercing the female’s abdomen and depositing sperm directly into her bloodstream.

In response to thistraumatic insemination, female bugs have evolved a spermalege, a paragenital structure on their abdomen that limits the damage by guiding the male’s sharp penile prong into a spongy area full of immune cells.

Controlling bat bugs requires humane elimination of any bats that are present in the home or building.

This is accomplished by exclusion techniques also known as “building them out” (i.e., sealing entrance cracks and holes) and they cannot be killed. Vacuuming, steaming, residual spraying and a few other options can be used in area’s where the bats were roosting (shake tile and wood sidings, light fixtures, window casings, and other area’s) to help control any surviving bat