Do Bed Bugs Need Blood to Live?
WouterIf you’ve ever wondered, “Do bed bugs need blood to live?”, you’re not alone. It’s a question that has far-reaching consequences. If you’ve ever lived with a blood-eating pest, you know the implications of bed bugs not being able to survive without human blood.
Although bed bugs have been known to feed on animal blood in the past, it’s more convenient for them to feed on human blood. This is because they can easily crawl on your skin compared to fur. They focus on feeding around your hands, neck, and back, which are easy to access.
Female bed bugs lay two to five eggs per day, depending on their temperature range. They lay these eggs on rough surfaces near their hosts and can lay hundreds of eggs in one lifetime. Their eggs hatch in about ten to fifteen days at room temperature. In addition, each egg is a tiny dust spec that is sticky and whitish. After hatching, bed bugs have five progressively larger nymphal stages, each of which requires a blood meal to reach adulthood.
When a person is infested with bed bugs, they often pick them up on furniture, infected mattresses, and on bedding. If you have a bedbug infestation, you should get it treated as soon as possible. This will prevent the bugs from becoming a bigger problem, and will also protect your bed and your furniture.
