Giant Bed Bug

Bed bugs are very shy and were rarely active except at night.

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. Adult bed bugs are wingless insects about one quarter of an inch long and oval in shape. This one was really big. By alisha montreal quebec canada picture bed bugs before and after feeding.

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. And though they live about a year they could go for months without biting they seldom spread diseases to humans. Their color is nearly white after molting then ranges from tan to burnt orange. These things were a living nightmare.

No one believed me when i told them how big it was. Bedbugs are drawn inexorably toward any warm bodies but since they can t jump or fly their mobility is actually pretty low. Giant conifer aphids often are not noticed until the tree begins to dry out and the aphids begin to die. This was back in 2008 in montreal in a neighborhood in which i lived.