Some facts about bedbugs:

  • Bedbugs feed on blood, emerging from hiding places at night to seek their meal. The warm blood of mammals and birds is sought when hungry.

  • Bedbugs are nocturnal. Bright lights and movements of the "host" (your guest) cause them to crawl away to hide. If hungry, they will forage during daylight, but only in dark areas.

  • Bedbugs can exist for extended periods of time without food. Adults can survive up to one year without feeding.

  • Females can lay up to 200 eggs in their lifetime at rates of up to five per day when food is abundant.

  • Eggs are attached to surfaces in cracks and crevices with "cement" produced by the female.

  • Eggs will not hatch in temperatures of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit and up.

  • Bedbugs are usually found within 4-8 feet of food source and generally are more horizontally mobile than vertically so they will look for hiding places at same level as food source.

  • Bedbugs are transported in furniture, baggage, and boxes, in suitcases and packed clothing and bedding.

 

Photo: kill hotel bed bugs