What are bed bugs and their life stages?

Bed bugs are those deadly insects that live in our beds and feed on our blood. However, bed bugs hunt other warm-blooded animals too. Their other qualities are nocturnal, wingless, reddish-brown insects. Their small and flat body gives them the ability to hide in tiny gaps like bedding corners, mattress encasement, etc.

Bed bug life span

Bed bugs' life starts with the grain-sized milky white egg. Bed bugs go through 5 stages before reaching the adult stage. The female bed bug can lay 500 eggs in its lifetime and 5 to 12 eggs in a day.

The first-stage bed bugs are called nymphs. Nymphs look similar to adult bed bugs but they are different in color. Nymphs are somewhere between yellow to white on the other hand adult bed bugs are reddish brown. Nymphs depend on the blood meal to grow to adult age.

Nymphs grow in the adult stage in just five weeks. Room temperature is in their favor to grow. Bed bugs commonly live from 4 to 6 months, but they can live more than a year. Bed bugs can also live months without feeding at all.

How to identify bed bug existence?

Bed bugs are small in size but they are not invisible, you can spot them with the naked eye if look carefully. On the other hand, if your home has infested with bed bugs they are easily visible in bedding corners. One thing that makes them less terrifying is they don’t have wings and can’t fly.

Bed bugs leave clues on your body and the place where they live.

If you encounter a sudden appearance of red, sometimes itchy bumps you should consider checking for bed bug existence. Bed bug usually bites in a cluster of many bites, or a group of bites in a zigzag sequence.

If you have bed bug infestation small black spots on the bed, pillow cover, and mattress are common to find. They also leave a lot of droppings such as dead skin, eggs, dead bed bugs, etc.

Where does a bed bug hide?

• First bed bug hides in a place like a bed, sofa, or couch where they can easily reach human to get a blood meal. But as the infestation grows the number of hiding places ranges widely.

• They start hiding in switchboards, carpet, curtain, other furniture, drawers, etc.

• The bottom of the mattress, bed springs, and chairs, are also their second favorite place.

• Their small size allows them to stay in cracks in plaster, wood, and floor too.

• They also hide piles of newspapers and books like clutter.

Precaution

1. Clutter is a big invitation to all types of pests. Also, they provide the perfect place for them to hide.

2. Bed bugs travel through luggage, clothes, etc. If another person has a bed bug infestation they can to your house if you bring something from them or by attaching it to your clothes and luggage.

3. Second-hand furniture clothing can be a big source of bed bug existence in your house. Inspect all second-hand things properly before bringing them into your house.

4. Also properly check the all used items before taking them to your house.

Bed bugs are indeed difficult pests, and their living habit (living in our beds) makes them extremely creepy as well. But no problem can’t be solved if proper methods and precautions are used.