What is a bed bug?
A bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is an efficient and resilient parasite. Bed bugs are small, flat, oval-shaped, and wingless insects that live in cracks and crevices. A bed bug is an insect that feeds on human blood. They have flat bodies that are reddish brown to black in color. They can be found anywhere, but they like to hide in close proximity to humans.
Bed bugs are common in most countries around the world, including the United States. They rarely go farther than 100 feet from their hatching place and thrive in close proximity to humans.
What do bed bug eggs look like?
The eggs of the bed bug are very small, white translucent dots that look like grains of rice. They are usually grouped together in clusters or even strings. The mother bed bug lays her eggs in cracks and crevices where she will feed on you later.
Life cycle of a bed bug?
A female will lay 100 eggs in her lifetime and the average lifespan is 10-12 weeks. The life cycle of a bed bug begins with an egg stage. Eggs are laid in clusters, usually at the rate of three or four a day. The eggs hatch in six to 17 days and the newly emerged nymphs seek a blood meal.
The egg develops into a nymph that resembles an adult but lacks wings. Nymphs are smaller (about 1/32 inch) than adults and do not feed on blood or host feces. They are considered less dangerous than adults in terms of transmitting the disease to humans or dogs. Who may come into contact with them while hiding within furniture or other areas around your home.
Bed bugs life span
Adult bed bugs live an average of 10 months but can survive for up to 18 months under ideal conditions.
A bed bug infestation starts when the bugs enter a home. They can be transported to your house by pets and furniture. Once inside, they head for warmth, food, and blood. As adults, this creepy crawlies typically live for about 10 months without feeding. By hiding in cracks and crevices during the day and emerging at night to feed on their unwitting hosts. During this stage, they shed their shells and develop into adults with a lifespan of up to 18 months.
As mentioned, these pests thrive on warmth. About the 6-week hibernation period, these small bugs will return to the surface, they’ll probably want something warm-blooded nearby so they can keep warm.
Bed bugs nymphs to adult.
The nymphs pass through five molts before reaching maturity. They shed their skins through ecdysis. Under favorable conditions the bugs can develop fully in as little as a month, producing three or more generations per year.
Moulting is the process of shedding the old skin. The bugs undergo five moults throughout their lives, each time growing larger and shedding the outer laye of their bodies.
The adults reach maturity in two to five weeks under fine conditions. They can go for up to a year without feeding or just consume a few blood meals throughout that time. Adult bed bugs can survive for up to 18 months without a blood meal and reproduce at a high rate. Laying 200-250 eggs per female over her lifetime (one generation).
Bed bugs are attracted to?
Bed bugs are attracted to warmth, blood, and carbon dioxide. Once they’ve found a host, they pierce the skin and drink the blood of humans and animals.
Bed bugs can live anywhere in your home, but they usually prefer sleeping areas with lots of warm air. They also like dark places where it is cool during the daytime hour. This helps them hide from predators such as birds or other insects that might be around at night time too.
Bloodsucking arthropods are another name for bed bugs. In order to pierce human skin while sucking blood, they have sucking mouthparts.
When you think of a bed bug…
There are many different life cycle stages of bed bugs, including adults, nymphs, and eggs. The stages vary in length depending on the species and environmental conditions. Bed bugs can live for one year or more without feeding or only taking a limited number of blood meals during that time.
When you think of a bed bug, the word gross probably comes to mind. That’s likely because no one likes to imagine these creepy creatures feeding on their blood while sleeping. But despite the discomfort they can cause, there are circumstances in which it is beneficial to know more about bed bugs and their differences. Inquire a bed bug professional to know more and how to identify if you have bed bugs infestation.
