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Does anyone know what kind of bugs these are? I have only seen them twice on my bed but it only happens to be when I bring my dog inside.

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3 Answers 3

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I suspect that these are likely to be Ticks.

You don't describe where in the world you are, or the size of the animal in question, but based off the threads in the background I would estimate about 3-5 mm long. They have no obvious dividing line down the scute, so unlikely to be beetles, and there is no obvious division of head, thorax and abdomen, as you would see in an insect. This leaves the Acari (mites and ticks).

Check your dogs for more - behind and in the ears as well as in the "armpits" at front and rear are common sites for them to attach, but they may be found anywhere on the animal. Tick nymphs are particularly hard to see and can be pale white and less than 1 mm in length. Also check yourself, particularly if you live in an area where tick-borne diseases are common.

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  • Wow Bob, incredible answer. Upvoted. You might be a person with enough knowledge to answer this question: biology.stackexchange.com/questions/103239/… Sep 20, 2021 at 12:19
  • @RockPaperLz-MaskitorCasket check out the comment from Polypipe wrangler on your question... temperature will almost certainly be the reason, though I am no entomologist of any sort nor am I familiar with the life cycles of most insects beyond the general egg, larva, pupa, adult sort of thing.
    – bob1
    Sep 20, 2021 at 19:58
  • Thank you for your thoughts Bob. You may not be an entomologist, but you are quite knowledgeable on the topic! :) Sep 21, 2021 at 8:40
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If I'm not wrong these are Bed Bugs. They are very sensitive to heat.

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It would be helpful to know where you live.

I tend to disagree with @bob1 here. From my knowledge ticks are identifiable for the average person by the visible small legs, in all its stages. Also, unless they are not some very specific type, they don't tend to be this shiny. Again, they don't flock together like this, they can be found in groups only right after hatching (but these look bigger than the smallest tick I've ever seen with the naked eye). Check the way they move, watch their legs and speed. Also (as bob1 pointed it out), if you check your dog, it should have ticks stuck in places where the skin is thin, usually around the eyes and ears.

tick stages

From the shine and the size I first thought of fleas, but they are not so easy to get rid of (dogs tend to have them for a long time -- has your dog scratch itself like crazy recently?). Also, I've never seen them to be so many in such a group. If they jump then they are most probably fleas.

Third guess, like @Mehdi Abbassi said, are bed bugs, but those have a more prolonged shape

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  • They look like engorged ticks to me - these are less identifiable because the abdomen swells so much that it can obscure the legs. The ones in your photo are not engorged.
    – bob1
    Sep 30, 2021 at 20:30
  • yes, but what is the probability of having 10 ticks engorged to the same size? and they haven't engorged that much as other ticks do, if we compare to the woven fabric under them
    – Akabelle
    Oct 1, 2021 at 10:54

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