Contrary to what you might think, bed bugs have no preference between a spotless room and a dirty environment. As long as they have access to a food source, they can live anywhere, so claims that bed bugs are attracted to dirt and debris are simply unfounded. Other than that, clutter makes it easy for these insects to hide, which can lead to misunderstandings. Their ideal environment is warm with access to a blood meal. Given these conditions, you may be wondering how fast bed bugs spread. Let's look at some of their travel habits and what you need to know about how quickly they can feel at home.
There is no escape from them. Bed bugs can be found in all 50 states, warns Oregon State University. And the news gets worse: Not only are bed bugs ubiquitous, but university researchers warn that these pests are "on the rise...and not just in unsanitary places."
Contrary to what you might think, bed bugs have no preference between a spotless room and a dirty environment. As long as they have access to a food source, they can live anywhere! Claims that bed bugs are attracted to dirt and debris are simply unfounded and misleading. Other than that, clutter makes it easy for these insects to hide, which can fuel misunderstandings like this. Their ideal environment is warm and gives them access to a meal of human blood.
Given these conditions, you may be wondering how quicklyBed bugs spread? Let's look at some of their travel habits and what you need to know about how quickly they can feel at home.
How easily do bed bugs spread?
Bed bugs spread so easily and quickly that theuniversity of kentuckyThe Department of Entomology notes that "bed bugs often seem to appear out of nowhere."
Bed bugs do not have wings, but they are quick hitchhikers to spread and are agile and fast once inside your home. Typically, you take one or more of these unwanted hitchhikers with you when you visit a home or hotel that is already infested with bedbugs. Bed bugs hide in your clothing, luggage, furniture, and other items, and you accidentally bring them into your own home when you return home.
"Once bed bugs are introduced, they can crawl from room to room or floor to floor through cracks and openings in walls, floors, and ceilings," University of Kentucky researchers warn.
How far can bed bugs travel?
Bedare are usually only found within about 8 feet of a person's resting place. What is of most concern, however, is the distance bed bugs spread from one infestation site to another. This distance is almost limitless due to the ability of bed bugs to survive for long periods of time without food.
studies showthat adult bed bugs can survive more than a year without food. That means pests can hide in furniture, used items, clothing, shoes, luggage, and other materials you carry with you. They can then wait to travel great distances only to be unpacked and taken to a new home with fresh food (meaning you and your family).
Way 1: How fast do bed bugs spread from room to room?
Ultimately, it can only take minutes to travel from room to room, and infestations build over weeks or months. Bed bugs can lay anywhere from 1 to 12 eggs per day.200 to 500 live eggs. These numbers should speak for themselves if you're wondering how long it takes for bed bugs to infest and how fast they can spread. It doesn't take long for a problem to get out of hand. So the sooner you contact a pest controller to have it examined and treated, the better for you.
Bed bugs must accept blood meals from warm-blooded hosts, preferably humans, to survive, and they hide near their sources until ready to feed. The speed with which bed bugs spread from room to room depends in part on how long it takes to move infested furniture, clothing, luggage, and/or other household items from one room to another. You can also move around the house looking for other hosts. If conditions are favourable, they will continue to spawn wherever the item (or items) is moved.
Way 2: How do bed bugs spread from house to house?
The speed at which bed bugs spread from one home to another increases the more time you spend traveling or inviting people into your home. Bed bugs are excellent hitchhikers, and hotels, hostels, airplanes, cruise ships, and public transportation are ideal places to pick up these uninvited guests.
- Movement of articles:Bed bugs can move from one place to another traveling with luggage, clothing, bedding, boxes, and furniture. They are widely used where there are many overnight guests, including universities and hospitals.
- Crawl:Bed bugs don't fly, but they can crawl pretty fast on six legs. They move at three to four feet per minute on most surfaces and are capable of moving.equivalent speedsof the average adult sprint relative to their height. This makes it easier for bed bugs to travel between floors and rooms, quickly hiding in a new hiding place before being seen.
- To create:After feeding, bed bugs return to their hiding places to digest and mate. Given the right conditions, an egg can mature to an adult in as little as a month and a half, and each bed bug can live anywhere from four months to over a year. Bed bugs are focused on feeding and reproducing, and as a result, they will invade and multiply at lightning speeds.
Way 3: How do bed bugs spread from person to person?
Bed bugs need a blood meal to survive and reproduce, but they do not physically live in human hosts. In fact, the spread of bed bugs from person to person has nothing to do with the people themselves, but with the movement of infested objects. For example, house guests can bring them home unknowingly from their trips and children can bring them in their backpacks after going to school.
Bed bugs are opportunistic, hide and wait until it is convenient to feed. And when their territories are disturbed, they find a way to move to a neighboring location, which can make the situation much more difficult to investigate and manage.Contact a Terminix® Bed Bug Control Professionalfor professional help to stop the spread of bed bugs in your home.
How to stop the spread of bed bugs?
Stopping the spread of bed bugs is about slowing and preventing the transmission of these pests as they migrate from one place to another.
Always examine everything you bring into your home first, especially if they are items from another household (for example, used books, used clothing, used furniture, used children's toys, etc.) in a hotel room, plane, train , cruise, etcbed bug signsYou should look to include:
- Shedding/shedding of bed bug fur (also called shedding, exoskeletons, or shells)
- Fecal stains on your mattress and bedding
- Blood stains on your sheets and pajamas
If you notice signs of bed bugs on your belongings, isolate the items and treat them for bed bugs before taking them home.
If you are trying to stop the spread of bed bugs in the midst of a current and ongoing bed bug infestation, theUnited States Environmental Protection Agencysays the following strategies are most effective in preventing the spread of an infestation:
- Place all infested household items in a tightly closed plastic bag and remove them from your home immediately. Use heat treatment, cold treatment, steam, or the help of a pest control professional like Terminix to treat these items.
- Vacuum places where bed bugs hide, including cracks and crevices in walls and baseboards, areas around electrical outlets and light switches, and seams on furniture and mattresses. Dispose of the vacuum bag in a sealed plastic bag.
- Seal all mattresses with plastic covers. Ideally, use a light-colored plastic cover to make it easier to spot bed bugs or bed bug eggs in your bed.
- Seal any gaps or holes in your walls, both external and internal. This includes gaps around plumbing or cracks between the floor and the wall. You can also install fitted door sweeps under each door. This will prevent bed bugs from spreading from room to room.
What should I do if I find bedbugs in my apartment?
A bed bug infestation requires immediate professional treatment and control to prevent these hardy pests from spreading throughout your home. Just one stray bed bug can lead to a reinfestation if you're not careful.
At Terminix, we can help you with on-site inspections and put together a bed bug treatment plan tailored to the severity of your problem, your home's layout, and your personal needs and lifestyle preferences.Contact the Bed Bug Experts at Terminix Today!