How Quickly Do Bed Bugs Spread?
Bed bugs, contrary to popular belief, do not discriminate between a clean and filthy environment. They can live anywhere as long as they have access to food! Claims that bed bugs are attracted to dirt and debris are simply false and deceptive. However, clutter makes it easier for these insects to hide, which may contribute to such misconceptions. Their ideal environment is one that is warm and offers them access to a human blood meal.
Given those circumstances, you may be wondering how quickly bed bugs spread. Let’s take a look at some of their travel habits and what you need to know about how quickly they can settle in.
How Quickly Can Bed Bugs Spread?
Bed bugs do not have wings, but they travel quickly by hitchhiking and are agile and fast-moving once inside your home. When you visit a home or hotel that already has a bed bug infestation, you are likely to pick up one or more of these unwanted guests. Bed bugs hide in your clothing, luggage, furniture, and other items, and when you return home, you unintentionally introduce them into your own home.
How Far Can Bed Bugs Go?
Bed bugs are often found within 8 feet of a person’s sleeping area. What’s more troubling is the distance that bed bugs travel from the infestation site to the infestation site. Because bed bugs can survive without food for extended periods of time, this distance is nearly endless.
Adult bed bugs can live without food for more than a year, according to research. This means that bugs can hide on furniture, worn products, clothing, footwear, luggage, and other materials carried with you. They can then wait until they have gone long miles just to be unpacked and introduced into a new home with a fresh supply of food.
How Quickly Can Bed Bugs Travel From One Room To Another?
It only takes minutes to move from room to room, and infestations can expand in a matter of weeks or months. Bed bugs can lay between one and twelve eggs per day, and up to 500 eggs in their lifetime.
If you’re wondering how long it takes to get a bed bug infestation and how quickly those bed bugs spread, those stats should speak for themselves. It doesn’t take long for a problem to spiral out of control, so the sooner you call a pest control professional for an inspection and treatment, the better.
Bed bugs must feed on blood from warm-blooded hosts, especially people, to survive, and they will hide near their sources until they are ready to feed. The speed with which bed bugs travel from room to room is determined in part by the time it takes to move an affected piece of furniture, clothing, luggage, or other household objects from one room to another.
They can also move around the house looking for additional hosts. They will continue to breed wherever the object (or items) is transported if the conditions are favorable.
How Can Bed Bugs Spread From One Home To The Next?
The more time you spend traveling or inviting people over to your home, the faster bed bugs move from house to house. Bed bugs are excellent hitchhikers, and hotels, hostels, aircraft, cruise ships, and public transit are all excellent venues to pick up these unwanted visitors.
- Bed bugs can transfer from one location to another by traveling on luggage, clothing, bedding, cartons, and furniture. They’re common in places with a high number of overnight visitors, such as universities and hospitals.
- Bed bugs do not fly, but they can crawl quickly with six legs. They can move at speeds similar to an average adult sprinting compared to their size, traveling three to four feet per minute on most terrain. This allows bed bugs to easily move across floors and rooms and rapidly tuck into a new hiding area before being noticed.
- Bed bugs return to their hiding places after feeding to digest and procreate. If the conditions are favorable, an egg can develop into an adult in as little as a month and a half, and each bed bug can live for four months to more than a year. Bed bugs are preoccupied with eating and reproduction, and as a result, they will penetrate and multiply at breakneck speed.
How Do Bed Bugs Move From One Person To The Next?
Bed bugs require blood meals in order to survive and reproduce, but they do not physically stay on human hosts. In fact, how bed bugs travel from person to person has little to do with humans and everything to do with the movement of infected items. Houseguests, for example, may accidentally bring them into your home from their vacations, and children may carry them back on their backpacks after school.
Bed bugs can hide in the tiniest places and are only waiting for an opportunity to feed. If you’ve already noticed signs of a bed bug infestation in your home contact Bama Exterminating right away. Our team can help prevent early signs of a bed bug infestation and we’ll offer you treatment plans that will be within your budget.