3/6/2024 0 Comments Mattress bed bugs![]() In temperature-controlled buildings, a more typical duration without feeding is about 1 to 4 months. The ability to survive without a blood meal is longer at cooler temperatures ― potentially up to a year or longer at 55☏ or less. Nymphs and adults can persist months without feeding which is unusual for most insects. Adults, nymphs, eggs, shed skins, and fecal spots on a mattress.īed bugs are resilient. Given adequate resources, the average lifespan of a bed bug is about 10 months. Cooler temperatures or limited access to a host prolongs development. Under favorable conditions (70-80☏) and a ready supply of blood, the bugs can mature in as little as a month and produce multiple generations per year. Adult females must also periodically feed in order to lay eggs. A blood meal is needed between each successive molt. As the nymphs grow, they molt, shedding their skin five times before reaching maturity. The newly emerged nymphs are straw-colored and no bigger than a pinhead. At room temperature, bed bug eggs hatch in about a week. When first laid, eggs are sticky, causing them to adhere to surfaces. The eggs are tiny (about the size of a dust spec), whitish and hard to see without magnification, especially on light-colored materials. Bed bugs don’t fly, or jump like fleas, but can crawl rapidly over floors, walls, ceilings and other surfaces.Īdult females lay their eggs in secluded places, depositing one, two or more per day, potentially hundreds during their lifetime. Immature bed bugs (nymphs) resemble the adults, but are smaller and lighter in color. The bugs are sometimes mistaken for ticks, cockroaches, carpet beetles or other household insects. Their coloration is similar to an apple seed although their size is closer to a lentil. Bed bugs depicted in a book published in 1485.Īdult bed bugs are about 3/16-inch long and reddish-brown, with oval, flattened bodies. It has done so since ancient times bed bugs are mentioned in medieval European texts and classical Greek writings back to the time of Aristotle. Although the common bed bug ( Cimex lectularius) prefers feeding on humans, it will also bite other warm-blooded animals, including dogs, cats, birds and rodents. Bed Bug Basicsīed bugs are small, brownish insects that feed solely on the blood of animals. They also occur in hospitals, nursing homes, libraries, theaters, offices, municipal buildings, and on public transportation- wherever there are people there can be bed bugs. Whatever the reasons, bed bugs are again part of everyday life, with infestations common in homes, apartments, hotels, dormitories, schools and shelters. The rebound in recent years was probably due to multiple factors, including less potent insecticides, global travel, and a loss of vigilance practiced in years past. The public experienced a reprieve from the pests after World War II, due in part to the widespread use of DDT. University of Kentucky College of Agricultureīed bugs have made a major comeback in the U.S. ENTFACT-636: Bed Bugs | Download PDF | En Español by Michael F.
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