How Long Do Bed Bugs Live Without Blood?
WouterThe question of how long do bed bugs live without blood has far-reaching implications, including the difficulty of eliminating them. The answer depends on various factors, including the age of the bed bug, the environment it lives in, and its activity level. For example, baby bed bugs are less developed, so they have a smaller area to cover. Another factor is the temperature of the habitat.
Bedbugs are oval and wingless insects, measuring approximately one fifth of an inch in length. They have flat bodies and two maxillary cells to deliver saliva. This saliva causes irritation and can even cause infections in humans. The symptoms of a bedbug bite will take up to a day to appear and may look like mosquito bites.
Bedbugs survive for about two weeks when they do not receive blood from a host. However, this time frame differs from strain to strain. Some are more sensitive to starvation than others, which is why some strains are more susceptible to death than others. The most susceptible ones are the first and second instars.
Bedbugs are flattened insects that feed on human blood. Although their numbers declined during the 1940s and 1950s due to the widespread use of insecticides, bedbug populations have resurfaced in recent years. An outbreak in Sydney after the 2000 Summer Olympics acted as a sign of things to come. Bedbug resistance to insecticides has also increased.
