Sightings of bed bugs elicit an understandable mix of horror and disgust. These little critters have an uncanny ability to infiltrate perfectly clean homes and make themselves at home. Your best bet is to get rid of them as soon as possible, but what if they've already begun laying eggs?
We addressed the common questions about how these pests get into your home in the first place and the best ways to get rid of bed bugs a while back. In this post, we'll look at a bed bug's life cycle and breeding habits. With this information, you'll be able to determine how long the bed bugs have been in your home and how severe your infestation is. When Do Bed Bugs Lay Eggs?
The Life Cycle Of The Bed Bug
When you see an unwanted critter in your home, your first reaction is probably not to investigate further. Most bugs make us want to kill them, get rid of them, and forget they were ever in our house in the first place. Unfortunately, bed bugs rarely travel alone, and ignoring a bed bug sighting may allow the infestation to spread unhindered. It may not sound appealing, but taking the time to examine any potential bed bugs you find in your home can provide you with invaluable information about the extent of your infestation. Contact A-1 Pest Masters for bed bug removal.
Phase 1: Bed bug eggs and the initial infestation
The majority of bed bug infestations begin with a few hitchhikers. They could attach themselves to your luggage in an infested hotel room or ride in on the clothing of a houseguest. If you live in an apartment or duplex, bed bugs from another unit may enter your home through any shared walls. No matter how the bed bugs got there in the first place, they make themselves at home quickly. A female bed bug will look for a hidden crack or crevice to lay her eggs in and deposit them with a cement-like adhesive matter into the crack or onto a rough surface. If the infestation contains multiple generations of bed bugs, the females will lay their eggs near the hiding places of adult bed bugs.
Female bed bugs typically lay their eggs in clusters. The eggs are pearl-white and about 1 mm across. A small black spot will appear on the egg if it is more than five days old. It takes about seven to ten days for bed bug eggs to hatch.
Phase 2: The nymph stage and the expansion of the bed bug population
When bed bugs hatch, they immediately begin looking for food. Unfortunately, if the bed bugs cannot find a human host, you and your family members (including your warm-blooded pets) will become dinner for these pests. Bed bugs that have just hatched are known as "nymphs," and they are translucent or straw-colored. They will turn a reddish-brown color after their first meal. Before reaching maturity, bed bugs go through five different nymphal stages. Bed bugs shed their exoskeleton after each nymphal stage as they grow.
Bed bugs typically feed at night, and you are unlikely to feel yourself being bitten. Your skin will experience a minor allergic reaction caused by proteins in bed bug saliva following a bite. A bed bug bite can cause your skin to become red, inflamed, and itchy. Bed bug bite reactions typically last one to three days.
Phase 3: Next Stage is the next generation of adult bed bugs
The newly hatched bed bugs are mature enough to lay eggs after four to five weeks. When an infestation reaches this stage, it has the potential to spread exponentially. This new generation of adult bed bugs can quickly increase the pest population in your home, with female bed bugs laying three to five eggs per day.
Adult bed bugs have brown, flat bodies and can reach a length of about a quarter of an inch. They are oval, and their bodies can swell after feeding. Bed bugs only require three to ten minutes of feeding every few days to stay healthy and satisfied, though they can go for longer periods without eating if food is unavailable.
Bed bugs can live for 12 to 18 months, which means a female bed bug can lay 200 to 500 eggs in her lifetime. Remember that each egg only takes six to eight weeks to hatch and mature into a fully matured adult. Each female bed bug can spawn multiple generations of pests in your home throughout her life.
Adult bed bugs congregate in clusters that can be found in small crevices, often near your home's beds. Bed bugs, because they are so thin, can easily slip through cracks and spread throughout a house or multi-family unit. If you see more than one cluster of adult bed bugs in your home, you have likely had bed bugs for a long enough period for multiple generations to reach adulthood.
Will Bed Bugs Go Extinct on Their Own
The global population of bed bugs has been increasing since the late 1990s. These bugs are notoriously difficult to eradicate, and the total population of these pests is estimated to be increasing by 100-500 percent each year, owing to increased global travel and trade or an ever-increasing number of insecticide-resistant bed bugs.
Unfortunately, bed bug populations are designed to thrive, and they are almost impossible to eradicate on their own. Even if you leave your house for two or more weeks, depriving the bed bugs of their only source of food, they will almost certainly be waiting for you when you return. Bed bugs in the nymph stage are thought to be able to go up to three months without eating, though this may slow their development. Adult bed bugs may be able to go a year without eating.
Typical bed bug hideouts
If you suspect you have bed bugs, there are a few things you can look for to determine the extent of the infestation. Aside from seeing live bugs, other signs of a bed bug infestation include:
Molted bed bug skins—
These skins, which are shed by growing bed bug nymphs, can be a clear indication of an expanding bed bug infestation. Because all growing nymphs must shed their skin five times before reaching maturity, molted skins can be one of the first signs of bed bugs. These skins will resemble live bed bugs but will be translucent empty casings.
Bed bugs will excrete- digested blood as waste after feeding. These small spots are black and are frequently found in groups of ten or more. However, if you have a new bed bug infestation and the population is still small, you may only see a couple of these dark spots at a time.
Aggregations of bed bugs—
Aggregations of bed bugs can indicate a more advanced bed bug infestation. They may resemble mold spots or dirt accumulated in your home's crevices. These swarms contain live bed bugs, fecal spots, molted skins, egg casings, and unhatched eggs.
These signs may sound unpleasant, but making the effort to look for evidence of bed bugs around your home is critical in identifying a growing bed bug population before the infestation worsens.
Molted skins, fecal spots, and aggregations are commonly found in the following locations:
⦁ near or within mattress seams
⦁ The mattress tag can be found on or beneath the mattress.
⦁ tucked behind headboards
⦁ Behind the pictures, on the loose wallpaper, or the chipped paint
⦁ around the baseboards and carpeting's edges
⦁ At the intersection of the walls and the ceiling
⦁ In any small, dark cracks or crevices, particularly in bedrooms
⦁ If you live in an apartment, notify your landlord right away if you suspect a bed bug infestation. They may be required by state or local law to assist you in pest extermination.
The thought of a bed bug infestation is unsettling, but it does not have to prevent you from feeling at ease in your own home. The importance of early detection and action cannot be overstated. If you suspect you have bed bugs, especially if you have noticed any of the symptoms listed above, the best course of action is to contact an A-1 Pest Masters who will inspect your home and exterminate the bed bugs. The sooner you take control of the situation, the sooner you will be able to relax knowing that your bed bug problem is over.
A-1 Pest Masters are the best bed bug exterminators in Chicago. You can call us at (312) 647-2630 for information and insight on Can Bed Bugs Eat Through Plastic and more.