Ticks vs Bed Bugs: Differences & Similarities

Bed bugs and ticks may both be pesky pests, but they have many differences. Here’s how to tell this insect apart from this arachnid.

Written by Brenda Woods Updated 05/02/2024

If you’re suffering from nasty bites and worried you may be dealing with bugs, you first have to identify what you’re dealing with. Ticks and bed bugs look somewhat similar and will bite both humans and animals. However, these parasites behave very differently and require different treatments and prevention strategies. We’ll help you tell the difference between ticks and bed bugs and recommend some top pest control companies to help you get rid of them.

What are the Differences Between Ticks and Bed Bugs?

There are a number of differences between ticks and bed bugs, but here are three of the main characteristics:

Ticks have eight legs, whereas bed bugs only have six legs.

Ticks prefer feeding on animals over humans, whereas bed bugs prefer feeding on humans over animals.

Ticks live primarily outdoors, whereas bed bugs live primarily indoors.

Differentiator	Ticks	Bed Bugs
Size	3–4 mm	8 mm
Color	Dark Brown	Reddish Brown
Number of Legs	8 legs	6 legs
Host Preference	Animals	Humans
Habitat	Outdoors	Indoors
Disease	Can spread disease	Do not spread disease

Ticks vs. Bed Bugs: Differences in Appearance

When discussing ticks versus bed bugs, it’s true that these blood-sucking pests may look similar—and you rarely see them side by side. But there are several key distinctions in the appearance of ticks and bed bugs.

To the naked eye, ticks and bed bugs are a similar size when they haven’t fed, though bed bugs are larger. Ticks are roughly the size of a sesame seed—yet this depends on the species, and they can swell up after feeding. Bed bugs, on the other hand, are usually the size of an apple seed. A sesame seed is about 3 to 4 millimeters in length, while an apple seed is about 8 millimeters long.

Bed bugs are reddish- to deep brown, but turn a richer red hue after feeding. While ticks are typically dark brown or reddish-brown like bed bugs, depending on the species, they could have tan stripes, a white spot, or darker legs and a light body.

Ticks and bed bugs are both flat, oval- or seed-shaped, and wingless. Ticks’ bodies are marginally narrower than bed bugs, so there’s not as much of a difference between the width of their top and bottom half. Both types of pests become engorged after feeding, though ticks will have a greater change in size than bed bugs.

Ticks and bed bugs belong to different classes, each with a different number of legs. Ticks are actually arachnids, like spiders, and have eight legs. Bed bugs are insects, and have six. It’s not always easy to count the legs on a living insect, but this is the most reliable indicator of which pest you’re dealing with.

Ticks vs. Bed Bugs: Differences in Feeding Habits

Both ticks and bed bugs are parasites, sucking blood for nourishment. Looking only at the bites they leave behind is not a good indicator of which pest you’re dealing with. However, their feeding styles are quite different.

Differences in Host

Ticks tend to prefer feeding on animals, but they can bite humans if no animals are available. Bed bugs prefer to feed on humans and will only go after your furry friends if they’ve been crowded out by other bed bugs.

Differences in Bites

Ticks bury their head into their victim when getting their meal, latching on until they’ve had their fill. If they don’t get interrupted, ticks will hang onto their host for a day or so. Bed bugs will sit on the surface of your skin and expose a small area by scratching. Then, they’ll drink through a straw-like protrusion, never burying their head. If the insect is still attached to the point of the bite, it is a tick.

Additionally, ticks prefer warm, damp parts of the body, including the armpits or the groin, and will travel to these locations before latching on. Bed bugs, on the other hand, feed on any exposed skin, and may bite several times in a line along the edge of a sheet or hem.

Differences in Time of Day

Bed bugs will bite a snoozing person, feed for several minutes, then move on. The same bed bug might bite them in several places over the course of the night. Ticks aren’t so simple—soft ticks are nocturnal, while hard ticks are somewhat diurnal, meaning they can feed during the day. Bed bug bites and tick bites don’t look all that different, so the easiest way of telling the difference is by attempting to determine whether you got bitten at night or after time spent outside.

Ticks vs. Bed Bugs: Differences in Habitat

Bed bugs’ chosen habitat is in a bed or mattress, close to sleeping human hosts. However, they can also live in couch cushions and other furniture. You can trust bed bugs to always be indoors, as they like to be close to their food source.

Ticks, meanwhile, live outside in grassy, wooded areas. Unlike bed bugs, they do not infest buildings and will wait in the wild for a host to pass by. They typically won’t come indoors unless attached to a human or animal host.

Ticks vs. Bed Bugs: Lifestyle Differences

While bed bugs reproduce rapidly and can quickly overtake your bedroom with clusters numbering in the thousands, ticks are solitary creatures. If you find multiple bugs crawling around your home after getting tons of bites, they are definitely not ticks.

Ticks vs. Bed Bugs: Differences in Disease

A major difference between ticks and bed bugs is how much harm they can cause. No one wants any type of parasite to chow down on them, but ticks can carry serious diseases.

Ticks are known to carry diseases like anaplasmosis, tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Lyme disease. Bed bugs are not known to spread any diseases.

Ticks vs. Bed Bugs: Prevention

Prevention is your best bet for avoiding the problems ticks and bed bugs can cause. The key to keeping these pests away is understanding their habitats and behaviors, so you know what to avoid.

For ticks, pay close attention to outdoor prevention strategies.

Remove hiding places from your yard, including wood piles, tall grass, and leaf litter.
When possible, stick to paved areas or walk in the center of trails.
When you enter environments where ticks are likely to be, wear long sleeves, pants, and tall boots. For extra protection, treat your clothing with repellent products containing 0.5% permethrin.
On your skin, use insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol, or 2-undecanone.
Give pets flea and tick preventative medication as recommended by your veterinarian.

For bed bugs, you should think very carefully about what you bring indoors.

Be very wary of bringing home second-hand furniture, and never take a mattress that you find left out on the street.
When you return from traveling, check your suitcase for bed bugs, and vacuum it thoroughly if you have any concerns.
Be careful if using shared laundry facilities, and transport laundry in plastic bags. Note that drying items on high heat will kill bed bugs.
Purchase a protective encasement for your mattress and box spring.

Professional Pest Control

Finding one tick is not typically cause for alarm, though you should remove it carefully if it has attached to a host. However, if you spot many ticks in your yard or you suspect you have any bed bugs at all, we highly recommend skipping DIY treatments and calling professional pest control companies for a solution. We recommend Orkin and Terminix.

Orkin

Orkin offers several approaches to bed bug control after a thorough inspection and assessment of the situation. Your customized solution may involve conventional pesticide treatments or heat treatments. Orkin also offers key follow-up visits.

To control ticks, Orkin will assess the situation, implement a solution, and monitor the results. If you’d like a free quote from Orkin, call 877-868-1416, or fill out this simple form.

Terminix

Terminix provides customized bed bug treatments, including an extensive inspection of your home, removal of visible bed bugs, and treatments to eliminate any hidden bugs and eggs. Terminix bed bug control is backed by the Bed Bug Guarantee. With it, if bed bugs are discovered in the treated room or areas within the next 30 days, Terminix will come back for additional treatments at no extra cost. If you purchase mattress encasements for all mattresses and box springs in your home, Terminix will extend the guarantee to 90 days.

Terminix also provides both monthly tick control and one-time tick treatment applications, using a combination of liquid and granular treatments. You can reach Terminix at 866-569-4035, or use this form.

FAQ About Ticks vs. Bed Bugs

Do bed bugs burrow like ticks?

No, bed bugs do not burrow—they sit on the surface of your skin and feed through a straw-like protrusion. If an insect is attached to the point of the bite, it is not a bed bug, but it may be a tick.

Can ticks be in your bedroom?

While ticks live outside and will not infest your home, they can hitch a ride inside on a human or pet and end up in your bedroom. Ticks are solitary creatures, though, so you will likely only have one tick in your bedroom to deal with.

How do I know if it’s a tick or bed bug?

Three main differences between ticks and bed bugs are that ticks live primarily outdoors, whereas bed bugs live primarily indoors; ticks prefer feeding on animals over humans, while bed bugs prefer feeding on humans over animals; and ticks have eight legs—bed bugs only have six.

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