Bed bugs, contrary to popular belief, do not discriminate between a clean and filthy environment. They can live anywhere as long as they have access to food! Claims that bed bugs are attracted to dirt and debris are simply false and deceptive. However, clutter makes it easier for these insects to hide, which may contribute to such misconceptions. Their ideal environment is one that is warm and offers them access to a human blood meal.

Given those circumstances, you may be wondering how quickly bed bugs spread. Let’s take a look at some of their travel habits and what you need to know about how quickly they can settle in.

Bed bugs do not have wings, but they travel quickly by hitchhiking and are agile and fast-moving once inside your home. When you visit a home or hotel that already has a bed bug infestation, you are likely to pick up one or more of these unwanted guests. Bed bugs hide in your clothing, luggage, furniture, and other items, and when you return home, you unintentionally introduce them into your own home.

Bed bugs are often found within 8 feet of a person’s sleeping area. What’s more troubling is the distance that bed bugs travel from the infestation site to the infestation site. Because bed bugs can survive without food for extended periods of time, this distance is nearly endless.

Adult bed bugs can live without food for more than a year, according to research. This means that bugs can hide on furniture, worn products, clothing, footwear, luggage, and other materials carried with you. They can then wait until they have gone long miles just to be unpacked and introduced into a new home with a fresh supply of food.

It only takes minutes to move from room to room, and infestations can expand in a matter of weeks or months. Bed bugs can lay between one and twelve eggs per day, and up to 500 eggs in their lifetime.

If you’re wondering how long it takes to get a bed bug infestation and how quickly those bed bugs spread, those stats should speak for themselves. It doesn’t take long for a problem to spiral out of control, so the sooner you call a pest control professional for an inspection and treatment, the better.

Bed bugs must feed on blood from warm-blooded hosts, especially people, to survive, and they will hide near their sources until they are ready to feed. The speed with which bed bugs travel from room to room is determined in part by the time it takes to move an affected piece of furniture, clothing, luggage, or other household objects from one room to another.

They can also move around the house looking for additional hosts. They will continue to breed wherever the object (or items) is transported if the conditions are favorable.

The more time you spend traveling or inviting people over to your home, the faster bed bugs move from house to house. Bed bugs are excellent hitchhikers, and hotels, hostels, aircraft, cruise ships, and public transit are all excellent venues to pick up these unwanted visitors.

Bed bugs require blood meals in order to survive and reproduce, but they do not physically stay on human hosts. In fact, how bed bugs travel from person to person has little to do with humans and everything to do with the movement of infected items. Houseguests, for example, may accidentally bring them into your home from their vacations, and children may carry them back on their backpacks after school.

Bed bugs can hide in the tiniest places and are only waiting for an opportunity to feed. If you’ve already noticed signs of a bed bug infestation in your home contact the Local Exterminator right away. Our team can help prevent early signs of a bed bug infestation and we’ll offer you treatment plans that will be within your budget.