HOW DO BED BUGS REPRODUCE AND HOW OFTEN?
HOW DO BED BUGS REPRODUCE?
On average, female bed bugs lay about one to seven eggs per day after a blood feeding has taken place..
On average, a female bed bug with access to regular meals will lay anywhere from 200 to 250 eggs during her lifetime..
Pregnant female bed bugs are more likely to travel in an attempt to avoid being mated with again. A single pregnant female can cause an infestation of more than 5,000 bed bugs within a six-month period.
THE BED BUG REPRODUCTION CYCLE
Bed bug eggs take approximately six to 17 days to hatch. Hatched eggs are called nymphs. A nymph is not able to reproduce until it has fully matured. The length of time it takes for a nymph to mature depends on temperature. Eggs can hatch and become mature bed begs in as little as 21 days in warmer temperatures. It can take more than four months for the same process to occur in cooler temperatures. Nymphs can begin blood feeding as soon as they hatch. A single female bed bug can mate with any of her offspring after a nymph has fully matured.
The bed bug reproduction cycle is effective due to the large number of eggs a female can lay. An Essential Pest Control professional can provide the proper treatment to ensure that bed bugs get out and stay out..
How Bed Bugs Spread
The false assumption is that only dirty locations attract bed bugs and house bed bug populations. Although most dirty locations do attract a host of nasty insects that spread germs and contaminate areas, bed bugs can thrive with clean or dirty environments. Bed bugs are able to spread via human travel and movement. Their unique flattened and small round shape of the bed bug allows them to hide just about anywhere they can squeeze. Since bed bugs are hitchhikers, they travel commonly by luggage. in hotels and motels no matter how clean the environment is, it can be susceptible to bed bug infestations. Most often, people get bed bugs when the bed bugs hitch a ride back to the traveler’s home. They hitch rides onto the fabrics of furniture, mattresses, luggage, and even clothing where they ride until they find a suitable host area, like your bedroom. This is where bed bugs can establish populations, which they can accomplish fairly quickly.
In places that don’t generally have large established populations, bed bugs can be picked up and transferred from people resting in there. Since people are constantly rotating in these spaces, bed bugs can be deposited and picked up on clothing, bags, and purses and taken home.
Bed bugs hiding in furniture, mattresses, and other items you might bring into your home is another common way of picking up these little hitchhikers.
Steps to Prevent Getting Bed bugs
- Never bring in upholstered furniture, bed frames, mattresses, or box springs found on the street into your home.
- Check all borrowed, rented, or second-hand furniture for bed bugs before you bring them into your home. Check all cracks and crevices, even in wooden furniture.
- The best way to prevent the spreading of bed bugs when traveling is to check the rooms before you stay in hotels. The nicest and cleanest hotels can be infested. Don’t place luggage on the ground, and inspect mattress, box spring, headboard, etc., for bedbugs before spending a night in your room.
- If you suspect you’ve been around bed bugs, inspect your clothing and any items you had with you before entering your home. If bedbugs are found, launder items immediately or place in plastic bags until further treatment can be carried out with products like Sterifab.
- Even if you don’t have bedbugs, seal cracks and crevices in your bedroom with caulk. Door and window frames, baseboards, floorboards, etc., should all be sealed to eliminate bed bug hiding spots. You can even seal cracks and crevices in bedroom furniture. Consider using a bed bug mattress cover, a box spring encasement, and even bed bug pillow covers to prevent bed bugs from taking residence in these items.
- To do your part in preventing the spread of bed bugs, if you have to throw away any infested items, make sure to cover them in plastic if possible. Always place signs on the items stating that the items are infested in bed bugs. Never donate infested items.