How Often Bed Bugs Reproduce
Bedbugs reproduce in five stages. Each stage involves a molting of their shell. Adult bed bugs are brown and oval in shape. They can lay up to 200 eggs in a lifetime. Once an egg hatches, it takes between three to 10 days for it to develop into an adult bed bug. Once the adult stage is reached, the bedbug must feed for at least three days to lay more eggs.
Bedbugs feed on humans at night by piercing the skin with a long beak. They are transparent and straw-colored, but turn red-brown after feeding. They go through five nymphal stages before reaching adulthood, and shed their exoskeleton after each stage. They bite humans during the night and engorge with blood. The bite is usually painless, although some people may develop an allergic reaction. Once the bite is complete, the bugs will crawl to a secluded location to digest their meal.
Female bed bugs tend to lay eggs in cracks and crevices of your house. This way, they can avoid breeding with other adults and begin new infestations. While the bedbug doesn’t like to live on you, it’s important to keep your home free of bed bugs. The presence of these bugs can spread throughout your home, as they are attracted to the chemicals and carbon dioxide in your skin.
Female bed bugs only have to mate once every six to eight weeks to produce viable eggs. Once they have finished feeding, they will be slow to move, which makes them easier to catch. During mating, the female bed bug will show off her spermalege. It is also important to remember that bed bugs do not have social structures like humans, so they will happily mate with offspring.