Bed bugs are parasites/pests that survive with human blood as food. Although their survival depends on the human body, they like hidden places and live even in areas with no blood.
In a long-abandoned home, these bugs may still be alive. Surprised? But true. They can hide there and survive for long without dying. So now the query is, how long can bed bugs live in an empty house?
We will discuss this subject in detail. We will also look at some practical pest control techniques. But before discussing the matter directly, you have to understand the bed beg lifespan and its behavior.
Last update on 2022-12-06 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Bed Bug Behavior (Lifespan)
Although bed bugs are pests of people, these insects can survive for months without food. Some bed bugs last 6 to 12 months even without receiving blood from the human body.
These insects are very harmful to us. They eat blood for two to five minutes and then quickly move to their hiding place. They are very fast.
Bed bugs pass their whole lives mainly in 3 steps: Egg, Nymph Stages (1 – 5), and adulthood. As they are bad for our health, we have to respond fast to completely get rid of bed bugs. But for that, we have to understand where bed bugs live and what determines their lifespan.
Will All Bed Bugs Die if I Leave My Home?
Technically, yes. If you leave your home, all the bed bugs will die because they will starve. But the question is how long they can survive.
Remember that how long they can live without food is not specified. It varies depending on age and other factors. Also, keep in mind that such parasites can hibernate. So, a small number of bed bugs without adequate food may die, but maximum will survive longer than expected.
If you want pest control in an empty house, primarily bed bug infestation, you must stay out for many months. Whenever you come back earlier, you may see they reproduced and become numerous even though they were only a few bugs.
Whenever you come back earlier, you will see that they have reproduced and turned into Innumerable even though they were only a few bugs.
Factors That Determine the Lifespan of a Bed Bug
Many things like the house’s condition, temperature, bug metabolism, stage, etc., directly affect the lifespan of a bed bug. For example, a bed bug egg develops within only a month if it gets 28®C room temperature. On the other side, whenever it gets 18° C, egg to egg development takes up to 4 months.
For example, a bed bug egg develops within a month if it gets a room temperature of 28° C. On the other hand, in 18° C, egg-to-egg development takes up to 4 months.
Bed bugs spread fast as the adult bed bugs lay 200 to 250 eggs in her life and bug eggs take only 6 to 10 days to hatch. Their principal living place is close to humans living spaces. They mainly hide during the day and are active at night.
How Long Can Bed Bugs Live Without a Host?
As discussed earlier, bed bugs can survive without food for a long time. But how long, varies on many things.
The first factor is age. Some bed bugs persist for over ten months; others can only last for a month or two or even less. Old bed bugs feeding healthy cannot survive the past six months.
Old bed bugs that have been healthy (been eating well) cannot survive the six months. However, it is because they are old and used to the food, so they will not be able to live for long.
Young bed bugs that are subject to areas where blood is scarce cannot live that long, and most of them end up dying within the first few weeks.
If young ones are well fed, they grow too quickly and multiply quickly.
Last update on 2022-12-06 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Where Do Bed Bugs Hide in An Empty House?
Commonly bed bug lives where? Where there humans spend most of their time. For example, our bed is their favorite 😛
They also like to live in couches, other furniture, mattress, wall crack, box spring, bed frame crake, etc.
So, if we leave the house for a few months, they can live in our bed, even on a mattress. But if somehow we can keep our house empty, they can even live wall cracks, light switch cracks, trim, floor moldings, etc.
What can we learn from this? An empty house will not be a bedbug infestation solution. But somehow, you have a schedule to keep your house empty for a few months; you can do something for bed bug treatment.
How to Monitor Bed Bugs?
In an empty house or with no people, bed bugs will be inside their hiding place. So, the question is how to monitor bed bug infestation in an empty house.
Bed bugs sense carbon dioxide breathed out by the parasites. So, if they don’t detect it, they know there’s nobody there.
You can use artificial bed bug monitors to monitor bed bugs quickly. Other tools detect manifestation apart from tracking the number of bed bugs in your area.
If you have to follow home, do it at reasonable intervals because you may not find significant results if you do it frequently.
Keep treating your home while at the same time monitoring it.
The more they reduce, the more positive results you get from the bedbug monitoring tools. There are plenty of those tools in online shops, so you don’t have to worry about that.
Treating Bed Bugs in an Empty House
You will find the bed bugs hiding in the crevices. In this issue, it is hard to treat as an insecticide cannot reach such enclosed places easily.
If you have to be effective in evacuating bed bugs, make sure your house is clean. In a clean place, bed bugs, cockroaches, mice, etc., are found hardly. Even if you clean your house regularly & adequately, the home environment will remain safe. So, you will have a healthy life.
In the case of bugs, be careful of the clutters in the house, so make sure they are all dismantled or cleaned. Cleaning must be a careful process to avoid transmitting the bed bugs to the nearby environment.
If you dispose of the cleaned materials nearby, you will have them back into your house, which is not good.
Use heat treatment because bed bugs cannot survive in extreme heat. Temperatures of around 119 to 125 degrees are dangerous to such animals. If you can get hot water or steam, you can be able to deal with these creatures once and for all.
Note: We suggest using the steamer for bed bug control. If you have a multipurpose steam cleaner at the house, you can perform pest control efficiently.
Last update on 2022-12-06 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Conclusion
Bed bug infestations have a direct impact on human health. Bed bug bites cause allergic reactions and other skin diseases. That’s why we do many things to eliminate the bed bug problem.
You may want to keep your home empty to kill the pest, and that’s why you are here.
If you have to vacate a house to wait for bed bugs to clear, you need to stay for up to 12 months. To shorten that duration, come and monitor the home after six months. Treat the remaining bed bugs so that you clean everything at once. But the fact is, is it possible to follow this only for pest control?
It is actually not possible. So our suggestion is to follow this guideline and kill all bed bugs & bed bug eggs instantly. Treating involves using heat and insecticides, which can be obtained from physical and online stores.
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