Why Are Bed Bug Infestations So Easily Spread?

Why Are Bed Bug Infestations So Easily Spread? Here’s All You Need To Know

Imagine that you are exhausted due to all the work you did during the day and can’t wait to get in bed and get a good night’s sleep. You lay down and cover yourself in a blanket and fall asleep. Then suddenly, you get bitten by a bed bug. Bed bugs create problems everywhere they go. They have an insatiable thirst for your blood, and they don’t stop until you get rid of them. Have you ever asked yourself why these bug infestations are so easily spread from one place to another? Today, we are going to answer that question.  

What are bed bugs?

Bed bugs are small insects that feed on human blood. They are referred to as ectoparasites as they suck your blood from outside, similar to hair lice and leeches. They usually feed at night. They are oval in shape and brownish in color. Adult bed bugs have a flat body and are about the size of an apple seed.

After consuming human blood, their bodies almost double in size and become red. Bed bugs cannot fly. They can move quickly on your sheets, walls, and floors. Female bed bugs can lay hundreds of eggs at once. This is one of the reasons why their populations double in a short time and spread easily. There are two species of bed bugs responsible for bug bites: the common bed bug and the tropical bed bug.

How do bed bugs reproduce? 

Bed bugs reproduce by mating and laying eggs. One female bed bug will lay five to seven eggs every week. Within her lifetime, she can lay hundreds of eggs if fed properly. Each bed bug egg takes ten days to hatch. After hatching, the newborn bed bugs pass through many stages before becoming adults. It takes around four months for these young bed bugs to mature into adults. 

What health effects be caused by bed bug bites? 

Even though bed bugs don’t spread any infectious disease to humans, they can cause the following complications: 

  • Skin rashes 
  • Allergies 
  • Blisters
  • Red marks 
  • Fever 
  • Itchiness 
  • Dead skin 
  • Vasculitis

How are bed bug infestations spread from one place to another? 

Bed bugs infestations are notorious for spreading quickly. It appears as if their populations arise from nowhere. Since bed bugs don’t have wings, they travel on foot. They move from one location to another by hitchhiking on different objects such as cars, clothes, humans, furniture, and mattresses.

You acquire these bed bugs when you live in a place with these bed bugs, such as a hotel room. When returning home, you unknowingly bring these bed bugs with you. When you get back home, these bed bugs quickly hide in the cracks of your ceiling, floors, and walls. From there, they begin to multiply and begin their feeding frenzy. 

1. Spreading from one room to another

A scary fact about bed bugs is that it only takes minutes for these bugs to travel to another room. They will be there before you even realize it. Their populations can double in size in mere weeks. As discussed above, female bed bugs lay hundreds of eggs in their lifetime. These small bed bugs grow relatively quickly when they have plenty of blood to feed on. 

They like move from one room to another by holding onto your clothes. Bed bugs can hitchhike on other personal belongings as well but clothes are the most common. They can also move through your house in their search for blood. They won’t stop breeding until you take action against them. 

2. Spreading from one house to another 

The more people that visit an infested house, the easier it will be for the bed bugs to infest another room. Bed bugs move by hitchhiking, and cars, bikes, public transport, ships, and airplanes are ideal for these bed bugs. The more people you invite to your house during a bed bug infestation, the easier it will be for the bed bugs to spread. 

If you are traveling with clothes, furniture, and other belongings that have bed bugs in them, the chances are they will spread to the areas you stay at. That’s why hostels, hotels, hospitals, and universities have so many bed bugs. 

Another method of spreading is crawling; bed bugs are snappy and can cover a distance of 4 feet in just 10 seconds. That’s why bed bugs might infest neighbouring houses by crawling into the house, searching for new hosts. Bed bugs are good at multiplying and don’t take long before finding new homes for mating and laying their eggs. 

According to research, bed bugs can survive a year without food in colder climates. So abandoning an infested location won’t kill them. They can patiently wait for new hosts to arrive for a year and latch on to the host’s belongings to begin the feeding process. 

3. Spreading from one person to another 

While it’s true that bed bugs need human blood to survive, they don’t live on humans, unlike lice. That’s why a person can’t spread bed bugs to another person on their own. Bed bugs are always infested by other clothing, luggage, furniture, and other belongings. For instance, a guest could bring bed bugs to your home by bringing infested items such as a bag. Bed bugs are always looking for opportunities to spread, so when they encounter an uninfested area, they quickly spread and begin laying eggs in the new location. 

Bottom line: Why Are Bed Bug Infestations So Easily Spread?

Bed bugs are a nightmare for every house. They can make life hell for anyone. If you are traveling to an infested place, you should take all the steps to ensure that no bed bugs hitchhike a ride to your home. Bed bugs are intelligent and know to infest your home. Their latching ability is so strong they can be hard to flick off your clothing. If you have bed bug problems, Bed Bug Heat Relief is here to help with top-notch K-9 inspections and heat treatments. We use heat to eradicate pests and guarantee to completely eliminate bed bugs in a single day with a 90 day guarantee.

 

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