Do Bed Bugs Fill Up With Blood?
WouterThe first question that may be on your mind is “Do bed bugs fill up with blood?” Bedbugs feed by piercing human skin. Their mouthparts are elongated and have four stylets. When they’re resting, they fold the stylets under their body, but they fully extend during feeding. The stylets have two canals-one is the salivary canal, which carries saliva into the wound. The other is the food canal, which takes in the body fluids.
In addition to feeding on blood, bedbugs can leave rust-colored blood stains on the bed. You can also find them hiding on the walls and under mattresses. They can also hide in your shoes and behind frames, metal brackets, or rubber moldings. If you find a large number of these insects, you may want to check your home for fleas.
Bedbugs are most often found in bedrooms, but they can be found in other rooms, too. They leave feces while feeding, and these appear as dark spots on surfaces. You may also notice dark spots on clothes, pillows, and other objects. Bedbugs can be easily detected by using a damp cloth soaked with water.
Besides a host bed, bedbugs can also live off the blood of birds. These insects live in homes when host birds are nesting nearby. If their usual hosts are not around, they will feed on humans. Typically, a female bedbug will lay about 200 eggs in her lifetime. The eggs hatch within six to ten days. The newly emerged nymphs look for a blood meal.
