Giant Bed Bug

The location where you found this critter would be indicative that they might have been bed bugs but if you are certain the insects on the christmas tree are identical then we can rule out bed bugs.

Giant bed bug.

Adult bed bugs are wingless insects about one quarter of an inch long and oval in shape. Bedbugs are drawn inexorably toward any warm bodies but since they can t jump or fly their mobility is actually pretty low. Generally the only consequence of being bitten by a bed bug was the discomfort associated with the itching and inflammation. And though they live about a year they could go for months without biting they seldom spread diseases to humans.

Like a bedbug on steroids. Bed bugs are very shy and were rarely active except at night. Live christmas trees often carry living creatures and one of the most common insects found on live trees is the giant conifer aphid. Their color is nearly white after molting then ranges from tan to burnt orange.

No one believed me when i told them how big it was. By alisha montreal quebec canada picture bed bugs before and after feeding. Giant conifer aphids often are not noticed until the tree begins to dry out and the aphids begin to die. Vaseline may as well be quicksand for them so a common survival tactic for the afflicted is to create isolated beds using vaseline the way you d use garlic as a vampire repellent you smear the stuff on the bed frame and the legs of the bed to create an impassible.