Bed Bug Infestation – Control the Pest & Bed Bug Issue
There is no exact number that determines whether you have an infestation. However, even one pregnant female can lay 500 eggs, resulting in an infestation.
Bed bugs are only concerned with two things: feeding and reproduction. The feeding part is taken care of if they have constant access to a blood meal (you), and a blood meal is required on a regular basis so they can reproduce.
If the female has had a blood meal, she will lay 5 eggs per day for 10 days. She will then take another blood meal to feed and begin another egg-laying cycle until her next feed.
The eggs hatch in 7-10 days and reach adulthood in about 5 weeks. When they reach sexual maturity, they will mate and reproduce. You now have an infestation that is beginning to grow and will become out of control if not treated.
As if that weren’t bad enough, the female can mate with her offspring once they’ve matured and become adults. Despite all of the media coverage of their resurgence, many people are unaware of how a bed bug infestation can begin in their home.
They enter your home in the same way that many other pests do: in luggage, clothing, used furniture, public transportation, and even from having a friend stay with you.
Bed bugs can be found wherever people congregate or spend extended periods of time, and travel is the most common way we bring these parasites into our homes.
I always advise my customers to check their hotel room and inspect the bed as soon as they arrive. If bed bugs are hiding in your bed, they will soon be hiding in your bags and suitcases and traveling back home with you.
As previously stated, the female bed bug lays approximately 5 eggs per day (various studies have differing amounts, but it’s around this figure) and between 200-500 eggs during her life cycle, but it’s more likely 200-250.
These eggs hatch in 7-10 days (7 days in ideal conditions) and are so small and translucent white that they are difficult to see.
A newly emerged nymph (baby bed bug) will seek out a blood meal and feed. Before they reach adulthood, the nymphs molt (lose their exoskeletons) five times.
Bed Bugs and how Bed Bugs Lay Eggs – Reproduction Methods & Infestation
Compared to other insects, bedbugs have a very slow reproduction rate. Each adult female can lay approximately one egg every day, whereas a common housefly lays over 500 eggs over the course of three to four days. To be clear, each bedbug egg takes ten days to hatch, and then the offspring will require an additional five to six weeks to mature into an adult.
As one group of scientists stated, there is not unanimous agreement on this point, but the data indicates that bedbugs only survive two to three months without a blood meal at room temperature, which is 23 degrees Celsius. This is an important difference to bear in mind, however, as they are cold-blooded, their metabolism slows in colder climates, and they can go for over a year without eating.
The Bed Bug and its Bite
However, each molt requires a blood meal.
The nymphs can reach adulthood in as little as 21 days under ideal conditions of 70-80oF (21-27oC) temperatures and constant access to a blood meal, but it usually takes around 5 weeks, and this is when you’re likely to notice the infestation.
Whatever time it takes, a female bed bug can lay eggs every day for 10 days if she has a mate and a blood meal. There is another issue, however, and that is that there is usually more than one bed bug, so multiply the 50 eggs by 2 or 10 or more, and this becomes concerning when you consider how many eggs can be laid in just 10 days.
Although bed bugs do not reproduce as quickly as other pests and their infestations take time to develop, this does give you an idea of how long it takes bed bugs to multiply and how quickly an infestation can significantly grow within one month and beyond once the eggs have hatched.
Contact Pest Control Help! – ATAP Bed Bug Extermination
Bed bugs have a rapid mating cycle and natural speed, yet it can take as little as three weeks for an infestation to begin and spread in anyone’s home. ATAP Pest Exterminators must be contacted immediately if you suspect that you have a bed bug infestation. Our pest control services are by far the best in the city. Do not hesitate to contact us today to learn how we can assist you.