Bed bugs are something that we have all heard of and many may have dealt with in real life. That being said, even if you have dealt with bed bugs, you may not know what the life cycle of a bed bug is and how long you are going to have to deal with them if you end up getting an infestation.

Life Cycle of Bed Bug

There are 7 stages of a bed bug from egg to adult bed bug. Knowing about the bed bug life span and what to expect from adult bedbugs can help you learn how to deal with them.

The stages of a bed bug are as follows:

Egg Stage:

Bed bugs start their lives in eggs, which are milky white in color. Eggs are likely to be laid in dark areas that are hard to spot. They are no larger than the head of a pin and are very hard to spot if you are not trained to see them and do not know what to look for. The bed bug egg is going to be pearl white until it reaches the 5th day, then it will develop an eyespot that means it is likely to hatch soon. The timing of these bed bug stages does depend on how often they can feed.

1st nymph stage:

The next five stages are different stages of nymphs. These bugs are going to be very small, they are going to grow gradually as they age. 1st stage nymphs are 1.5 millimeters in length. As soon as the eggs hatch, they come out and start feeding immediately.

2nd nymph stage:

It will go through its first molt before becoming a 2nd stage nymph, which is almost 2 millimeters long.

3rd nymph stage:

Then they grow around 2.5 millimeters long, after molting again. That’s the 3rd stage nymph.

4th nymph stage:

This is the second last nymph stage, in which, they grow up to 3 millimeters.

5th nymph stage:

And finally, at the last nymph stage, they grow and can reach up to 4.5 millimeters long, before being an adult.

Adult stage:

It takes around two to seven days for a nymph to go from one stage to another. They do have to feed on blood to molt and then lead to the next stage. Bed bugs can go weeks between feeds which means that they can live, even if you go on a trip and are going for a time where they cannot feed on you. It takes around a month for a bed bug to get to the adult stage where it can start laying eggs depending on how often it can feed and has access to blood.

How Fast are Bed bugs Able to Breed?

An adult female bed bug can lay 5 to 10 eggs per day. This does not mean that they are all going to be fertilized, but just as fast as the eggs are laid, the male bug can fertilize them. You can start an infestation with a couple of bugs and in a matter of weeks, you can have hundreds of bugs to deal with. They feed and then lay eggs, so the more they can feed, the faster they can lay eggs.

How Often Do Bed Bugs Feed?

Adult bed bugs do not feed every day, they can go weeks between feeds depending on the availability of food. If they can feed every day, they will, if they are not, they can survive for up to a year between meals in some cases.

Even after keeping the house clean, Bed Bugs continue to enter the house?

Bed Bugs are well known for hitchhiking i.e., they can travel long distances. Bed Bugs can stick to any item like furniture, clothes, etc, and enter the house. Bugs can easily spread from room to room in your house. Bed Bugs do not have wings to fly but they can move as fast as 4 feet per minute. So, after knowing there are Bed Bugs in home, first of all, pest control treatment should be done.

What do Just Pests do?

Just Pests has the ability to fully treat your home or space and get rid of any infestation that you might be dealing with. They can quickly and professionally get rid of your pests so that you can get back to living your life without worrying about bed bugs. To find out more, contact us today!