How long can bed bugs live without food in an empty apartment? According to official data from vreditelparazit.ru, without blood, bedbugs can live for about one year. Scientists came to this conclusion after conducting numerous experiments.
The maximum lifespan of a bed bug without food is 14 months.
Read the article to the end and you will find out how long a bedbug lives without human blood in an empty apartment where bedbug eggs can be laid, and also whether bedbugs can disappear on their own, and what means are best to use to get rid of them.
By following simple recommendations, you can destroy insects that have already settled in the house, as well as prevent their appearance in the future.
Feeding features of bedbugs
To get rid of pests once and for all, you need to find out what bed bugs eat and how many years they live without food. Bed bugs feed on human blood, and for this reason, bloodsuckers settle in those places where a person spends the most time - for example, in the bed.
The life of bedbugs depends on the sleep phase of a person. Apartment bugs eat when a person is in deep sleep - from 3 am to 8 am.
The process of feeding with blood is very important for the insect and has a direct impact on growth, development and reproduction. A number of processes in the body of a female parasite are impossible without a person.
The most significant factor is temperature; bedbugs can reproduce regularly if they have access to a warm, humid environment. Insects are able to drink blood when a person is calm and motionless, that is, in the stage of “long” sleep.
The pest easily climbs onto the body and bites through the skin. While feeding, the insect injects an anesthetic substance under the human skin and calmly drinks blood for 10 minutes. Women and children are known to be particularly susceptible to bites due to their thin skin.
Wikipedia characterizes bedbugs as extremely tenacious pests. A bug that has drunk blood goes into a state known as bedbug suspended animation.
Signs of a parasite bite:
- Itching and scratching;
- Swelling of the skin;
- A path of red spots on the skin due to the fact that insects move along the skin, making several bites;
- Soreness.
Reactions to stings may vary from person to person. Some people don’t even notice the marks, but people with sensitive skin can suffer greatly not only from visual discomfort, but also from severe hyperemia.
When a bug bites, a red dot is often visible on the skin around the bite - this is dried blood.
Having noticed red spots on the skin, you need to carry out treatment in the apartment in the following sequence:
- Find a nest of bedbugs, inspect all upholstered furniture and cracks in the floor and walls. To make it easier to understand where bedbugs have settled, you need to look for their traces - most often these are small black dots;
- Select the treatment method - chemical;
- Carry out a complete treatment of the room.
The main factor in which the insecticide will work is a complete change of bed linen and the absence of a person in the room.
Impact of temperature
Climatic conditions are extremely important for synanthropic parasites. At a certain temperature their activity decreases to a minimum. Insects stop reproducing and rarely move. Their offspring do not develop. Metabolic inhibition is observed at temperatures close to zero. Parasites have a high survival rate in the cold. Reducing the temperature to -17° kills them only after 24 hours. Eggs at -7° remain viable for up to 1.5 months. Getting rid of pests by freezing is quite difficult.
Bed bugs are more sensitive to elevated thermometer readings. Insects have adapted to living in temperate climates, so temperatures within 25-30° are comfortable for them. The lifespan of a bed bug in hot weather is reduced by 1.5-2 months. At 45°, adults and larvae live no more than 45 minutes, at 70-80° they die instantly. Boiling water and steam have long been effective methods of exterminating pests. Clothes and bedding are washed at 90°, furniture is poured with boiling water. The use of a steam generator is effective. The device quickly destroys nests of parasites. Its use is effective and safe for apartment residents.
Information. The peak infestation of indoor bed bugs occurs in the summer months.
How long does a bed bug live?
A domestic parasite can live for about a year (10-12 months) by feeding regularly, provided that the environmental conditions are suitable. In this case, normal growth and development of insects is ensured.
The average lifespan of bedbugs is one year, with a maximum of up to 14 months, but provided that they have regular food and a favorable environment for this insect.
They multiply rapidly, which contributes to an increase in the size of the bedbug population. The norm is for an adult insect to eat once every few days. The bug bites a person several times in one approach, which allows him to get enough food and save energy for reproduction and survival.
Why are bedbugs dangerous?
It has already been proven that the bug is a carrier of many infections, in addition to bites, itching, and allergies. The result is lack of sleep, irritability, and decreased performance. Here are a few factors to start exterminating this insect in the early stages. After all, a person can endure up to 500 bites per night from these bloodsuckers. And if you have young children, how they suffer, scratching and itching from bites. There are many methods to deal with bedbugs yourself. The main ones include mechanical treatment in the early stages, temperature and chemical insecticides. Carry out timely prevention.
What affects the lifespan of a bedbug?
Before carrying out treatment, you need to understand how long bedbugs live and what they eat in the absence of access to human blood. The exact period depends on the total lifespan of bedbugs, depending on their stage of development.
Researchers have found out how long bedbug eggs live in hibernation - the average period is up to 132 days, depending on the stage of development of the larvae.
In 2011, a scientific study was published on the topic “Survival of bed bugs during starvation” (material in English). Scientists studied four strains of bed bugs, and, according to the data obtained, the average survival rate was 13.8-36.3 days.
Several factors influence life expectancy:
- Room humidity level. If the air becomes drier, bedbugs literally “dry out” but do not die. A simple decrease in humidity is not enough to completely destroy them;
- Temperature rises to +45 degrees or drops to -25 degrees.
- Treatment with insecticides. Some powerful chemicals can kill parasites in a few seconds.
Bedbugs cannot live next to ants, spiders or cockroaches - these predatory insects eat small bedbugs, however, breeding some parasites in your home to kill others is not a good idea.
In hardware stores you can find budget and effective products, using which you will be able to clear the room of unwanted guests.
Despite the fact that the criteria listed above depend on how long bedbugs can live in an apartment, in general these factors have very little effect on the population.
The main reason that answers the question of why bedbugs die is temperature and lack of humidity.
Scientific research on the survival rate of bedbugs at different temperatures
Scientists - entomologists have conducted a huge amount of research and found out how long bedbugs live without food, what feeding habits exist for bedbugs and how insects digest blood, whether bedbugs live in an apartment without people, and also what affects the lifespan of a bedbug.
Some studies have been devoted to studying and describing the thermal tolerance of bedbugs.
Particular attention was paid to questions about how to actually destroy bedbugs by hunger and cold. The results of the study showed that the lack of food for most individuals is not a problem; bedbugs can easily tolerate hunger for a long time.
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However, the survival of insects in residential areas was greatly affected by frost; when exposed to it, the life cycle was reduced to a minimum - this has been noted in many scientific works.
The American scientist entomologist Benoit JB especially delved into the research. He used several temperature regimes to influence pests, and came to the conclusion that animals that were subjected to short-term freezing not only survived, but were also “hardened.”
This is very important to consider when dealing with household pests - in order to destroy them, it is necessary to use sub-zero temperatures for a certain period of time.
A household freezer is suitable for killing bedbugs if they have infested bedding or clothing. The ideal option is a combination of two methods: cryotreatment and heat treatment using a steam generator.
Other scientists conducted a study, the result of which was the establishment of an optimal combination of temperature and exposure time to parasites. They determined at what temperatures insects die - this indicator is around -30 degrees.
If you cool the room to this temperature, you can only put the bedbugs into suspended animation, from which they will emerge as soon as the temperature returns to normal.
Results of a study of the effects of different temperatures on bedbugs
Bedbugs at different stages of development were placed in a special chamber where it was possible to accurately calibrate the air temperature
As a result, all the bugs died at temperatures of 48, 49, 50 °C and above (see diagram No. 1 below), then for the remaining periods of temperature exposure (see diagram No. 2), except for 10 minutes at 48 °C in this case 90 were destroyed % bed bugs.
Diagram No. 1. Bed bug survival rate based on temperature
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Diagram No. 2. Death rate of bed bugs based on temperature
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Bedbug eggs died completely at temperatures of 49, 50, 51 °C and above (see diagram No. 3 below), also with an exposure period of 5 minutes for a temperature of 51 °C, from 20 minutes for a temperature of 50 °C, from 40 minutes for a temperature of 49 °C (see diagram No. 4 below).
Diagram No. 3. Survival rate of bed bug eggs based on temperature
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Diagram No. 4. The rate of death of bed bug eggs based on temperature
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Links to articles on research data on the following topics (material in English):
- Cold resistance of bedbugs and practical recommendations for combating them
- Response of the bedbug Cimex lectularius to extreme temperatures and dehydration
- Mortality, fecundity and development of bedbugs (Cimex lectularius) exposed to long-term, intermediate cold stress
Although bedbugs hibernate and can survive a long period of suspended animation, exposure to certain temperatures is fatal to them.
| Temperature parameters in degrees Celsius | How long do bedbugs live after treatment? | Methods of influence |
| +110 | Die instantly | Using a hair dryer |
| +80 | Die in a few seconds | Steam generator treatment |
| +60 | Live up to 10 minutes | Washing bed linen and covers in hot water |
| -17 | Live up to 4 days | Freezing linens and covers in the freezer |
| -30 | They live for about a day | Taking things outside in winter, in severe frost |
Most types of bedbugs enter the phase of active growth and reproduction when the air temperature rises to +30 degrees.
Peculiarities of survival of bedbug larvae
This stage of insect development lasts from 35 to 55 days. If you are wondering how long bed bugs live as larvae, you need to take into account a number of parameters: temperature, humidity level, etc. Another important factor is the feeding intensity. The life cycle of a bedbug in favorable conditions is reduced to a minimum of 35 days. After its completion, the insect becomes sexually mature and immediately begins to reproduce.
The larvae are able to drink blood as soon as they leave their protective shells.
Places where bedbugs hide
As we already know, our blood is the main source of food for bedbugs, and since these insects are slow, they hide near our resting places:
- Sofa, armchair, bed - in frames, with folds of upholstery and mattress;
- Directly under the mattress itself in the bed;
- Pillows (folds of pillowcase);
- Bed linen (folds, seams, labels);
- Quilts and duvets;
- Paintings, books, wall decorative elements;
- The back side of carpets and rugs;
- In sockets and switches;
- Household appliances, heating panels, under window sills;
Usually insects hide in the bedroom and living room; you won’t find them in the kitchen, bathroom or toilet.
How long do bedbug eggs live?
The incubation period lasts from 6 to 17 days. The duration of this period of time also depends on environmental conditions. The eggs take 4-5 days to form in the female’s body. If the clutch is not exposed to the negative factors listed above, the larvae appear in 6-7 days.
Under the influence of extremely high and low temperatures, the insect inside the egg dies.
Favorable living conditions for bedbugs
The lifespan of a bed bug largely depends on the conditions in which it lives. The most important factors are:
- availability of food;
- temperature;
- humidity.
As for nutrition, people living in a house favored by insects provide them with constant access to blood. The optimal temperature is about +25… +28⁰С. As for humidity, bedbugs live longest at 45 - 55%.
Bedbug infestation
How long can bed bugs live without food or reaction to starvation?
It is important to know exactly how long bedbugs live without people in the apartment, how often bedbugs feed, and also where the sofa bug lives in order to get rid of parasites. The myth about the excessive vitality of insects is so widespread that many people think about whether a bedbug can live for 4 years, and also whether dry bedbugs can come to life.
Despite the fact that the body of bedbugs is adapted to survival, with a prolonged lack of nutrients they die.
What happens to a bedbug in the absence of food:
- Life processes slow down. The insect goes into suspended animation.
- The body dries out and becomes flat.
- The insect loses activity and does not reproduce.
- The growth of the body stops.
- The insect remains alive for an average of 142 days, depending on the species.
Bedbug hibernation continues until a person appears in the house. So, the question of whether dried bedbugs can come to life is really relevant.
If food is supplied before the period of complete destruction of the insect, then it will indeed emerge from suspended animation and begin its main functions - nutrition and reproduction. This must be taken into account when starting to spray the poison.
In order for the problem to be solved, it is necessary to provide exposure to insecticides for 2-4 weeks. This is due to the fact that bedbugs do not disappear immediately; gradually new individuals will crawl to the surface, which will also be exposed to the poison.
Insecticide resistance
Modern entomologists have established the effect of insecticide resistance on the lifespan of insects. Bed bugs that have developed resistance to chemicals live shorter lives. Experiments have shown that adults are capable of fasting for only 11-80 days. Experts explain the situation by directing the parasites’ body resources to fight the poison. They have no strength left to cope with the long absence of blood.
After disinfestation, live bedbugs can be observed for some time. If the insecticide comes into direct contact with the body, they die within a few hours. Parasites hiding in the cracks will die gradually as the insecticide remaining on the treated surfaces enters their body.
Anabiosis as a means of survival without food
When a parasite remains without food for a long time, its body goes into an energy-saving mode. At the same time, all functions are reduced and processes are slowed down. This state is intermediate between deep sleep and suspended animation. The parasite does not die. However, he is in a state close to this. The veracity of these words is confirmed by the external similarity of the parasite in suspended animation and a dead insect.
The body of the bed insect is greatly flattened, reminiscent of the dried shell of the chitinous integument of the larvae, but is larger in size.
If you are wondering how long a bug can live without human blood, you need to consider that the parasite can be in a state similar to suspended animation for many months. However, insects quickly return to life as soon as a victim appears nearby. They are guided by the smell of carbon dioxide released by the human body.
Life expectancy without food
How long do bed bugs live when there is no food nearby?
It all depends on what conditions are maintained in the apartment where they live. For example, if the air temperature in the room does not fall below 25 degrees and does not exceed 30 degrees, an insect can live without food for 3-4 months. The larvae are not yet well developed. If the nymph does not eat, its life expectancy is only 1.5 months. When there is no person in the apartment, the parasites move to small animals (rats, cats), birds. Their skin is denser and thicker, but the bug can bite through it if necessary. When warm-blooded creatures are completely absent, the insect does not eat for a long time, so it will live in a state of suspended animation for up to 12 months. If there are small rodents in the apartment, the parasite feeds on their blood, so life expectancy increases to 2 years. When such conditions are maintained, it is difficult to say how long the pest will last.
You can expect that pests will die under a number of conditions: they find themselves in a cold climate: at a temperature of -22 or more; there is no food source; There are no small rodents or pets at home. Parasites move around apartments, looking for food. With a long hunger strike (more than 15 days), the speed of movement of bedbugs begins to fall. But as soon as a person is nearby, the parasite comes to life and continues to feed.
Bedbugs are a group of parasitic insects, which means they feed not only on human blood, but also on other warm-blooded animals and even birds. You can count on the death of parasites only if the house maintains a normal microclimate (+25...+30 degrees) and there is no access to small animals. Then the bug does not eat, but, being in the warmth, dies faster.
How long do bedbugs live without human blood?
If the victim is always nearby and regularly spends the night at home, the parasite can attack it at least every day. However, it is enough for the insect to feed once every 5-10 days. The parasite can exist for so long without the risk of developing a strong feeling of hunger. The lifespan of such pests without access to a food source depends on age:
- larva at the 1st stage of development (immediately after emergence from the egg): up to 38 days;
- parasites at stage 2: up to 74 days;
- bedbugs at 3 stages of development: up to 123 days;
- larvae at 4 stages of development: up to 132 days;
- adult insects – up to 142 days.
When studying the question of how long bedbugs live, without food, parasites can exist for the specified period only under normal conditions.
When the ambient temperature changes, the fasting period may increase.
How does the life cycle of bedbugs work?
Before delving into the survivability of bed bugs, it is important to understand how their life cycle works. After a bedbug egg hatches, the nymph goes through five instar stages before becoming an adult. Nymphs behave and feed like adult bedbugs, but they are much smaller and weaker. This affects their lifespan if they cannot feed.
Under ideal conditions, the nymph will feed approximately once a week. With digested blood as food, they can evolve into the next stage. They must do this six times to become sexually mature. This means that each bedbug must eat at least six times before it has a chance to reproduce.
In general, younger nymphs starve to death faster than adults. First instar nymphs will starve 30-50% faster than adults in the same environment. This is another benefit of cutting off the power supply to the bed bug population.
Unfortunately, bed bugs live much better without food than humans and other animals. They have evolved to enter hibernation as a state when a food source is not available. To help cope with this hungry period, bedbugs form a “hunger bubble” that fills their intestines.
Will bedbugs survive in an empty apartment?
Bed bugs (in Latin: Cimex lectularius L.), which are also called house bugs, may not die for a very long time, even if a special substance was used to get rid of pests. The body of nymphs and adult bedbugs is able to withstand a decrease in temperature, a decrease in the amount of food, and other negative factors. At the same time, couch bugs quickly become active as soon as the victim appears nearby. In this regard, the question arises of how long bedbug larvae live, and also how long it takes for bedbugs to die without blood.
When leaving an empty apartment to destroy bedbugs, you need to take into account that their life processes slow down greatly at any stage of development. Even larval nymphs do not require food or water for a long time.
Adults of various species choose secluded places inside furniture, including on the outside and inside of the bed. Parasites can hide in cracks and cracks in the morning and return to the bed at night to drink blood.
Despite the fact that their viability depends on environmental conditions, the body performs all functions for a long time even in the absence of food, thanks to which bedbugs survive. Bedbugs can stay in an apartment for a long time if it remains warm enough.
Without food and water, bedbugs can remain alive for up to several weeks, even in an empty apartment. If the house is an apartment building, then, experiencing hunger, the bedbugs move to other rooms, where there are people.
Answers on questions
To understand how long bedbugs live without human blood, you need to know how their body works and whether they have other food sources.
Can bedbugs live without air?
These are hardy insects that adapt well to any conditions. However, in order to save resources, the body enters diapause when there is minimal oxygen consumption. Insects cannot fully survive without air.
Does a bug need water to live and eat?
Parasites do not need liquid. Their outer shells are well hydrated and they do not need to drink to stay alive. Insects are able to survive without water. They receive liquid food that satisfies several body needs at the same time. These include the need for moisture.
How long do bedbugs live under ideal living conditions?
When considering the most suitable environmental conditions, insects survive for 12 months (1 year) in the same environment. The slightest deviation and the reverse process will occur. The lifespan of insects will decrease or increase. Environmental parameters can be adjusted to influence the pests themselves.
Bedbugs, unlike cockroaches, can survive without water.
How long can bed bugs live after being treated with insecticides?
The duration of existence of parasites after treating an apartment with toxic substances is influenced by a number of factors:
- type of insecticide;
- poison concentration;
- duration of the break between processing and general cleaning;
- degree of sensitivity of insects to insecticides.
Most often, larvae and adults die during a period whose duration varies from 2 hours to 15 days. Moreover, it is important to take into account that most toxic substances have no effect on eggs.
For this reason, the treatment must be repeated after 1-2 weeks, depending on the environmental conditions inside the room.
Why is it so difficult to kill a bedbug?
With frequent use of toxic compounds, parasites develop resistance to them. For this reason, experts recommend constantly changing the type of insecticides used. For example, if a poison of the pyrethroid group was previously used, then it is better to use neonicotinoids or organophosphorus substances.
When the poison changes frequently, the bug does not develop resistance, so it dies on the first day after treating the object.
Structure
The parasite's body is flat, which allows it to crawl into the tightest crevices. The length of the body is from 3 to 8 mm, the color of the chitinous cover is from gray-beige to dark brown. On the head there is a proboscis with which the insect pierces the skin, and 2 channels for administering saliva and sucking blood.
The body of a bedbug consists of several segments, due to which it has considerable flexibility; it is not so easy to crush it on the soft surface of a bed. At the ends of the legs there are claws, with the help of which it is held on the body of the victim.
On the abdomen there are glands that emit a special “bedbug” smell, reminiscent of cognac. This aroma serves to scare off enemies and attract sexual partners. In a room densely populated by insects, it is felt already at the entrance.
On the back there are the remains of wings; bugs used to be able to fly, but as a result of evolution they lost this ability. But even now they can accurately plan from a closet or wall to a bed.
Reviews
Tatyana L The apartment was closed for 2.5 years. They visited and at first the little ones ran around on the sofa, then disappeared. I don’t know what to do with the sofa, throw it away or disinfect it.
Georgy Samara It seems to me that it is completely impossible to get rid of them. They called the service for about 3 months there was a lull and here we go again.
Irina Podmoskovye We have been suffering for several years, apparently, they don’t give a damn about all the chemistry, they stupidly fall into suspended animation, and then they recover again and are happy to do their dirty work. We are already crying bitterly, but we can’t do anything. Friends say that even in the garage nothing kills them.
Will bedbugs go away if you deprive them of food?
From the above we can conclude that bedbugs adhere to the following positions during the absence of food:
- become suspended animation insects;
- migrate;
- self-destruct the population by eating each other.
To think that if you remove all living things from a room, the bedbugs will go away forever is a great misconception. These insects are too lazy to migrate in search of better living conditions. Migration can occur if the temperature in the living room drops to minus 22 degrees, or, conversely, rises above 50.
You should not hope that the pests will leave the apartment on their own or destroy the population by eating each other. This will take too much time, which people often don’t have enough. Of course, you can check how long it will take for insects to destroy each other if they do not go in search of a new home.
For these reasons, there is no need to delay calling the pest control service specialists. Professionals will be able to clean a room from bedbugs in a matter of hours, and the results of the work will be visible almost immediately.
Before carrying out work to destroy bloodsuckers, it is worth warning neighbors about this so that they spray all surfaces with a special-purpose aerosol that destroys pests. Otherwise, they will be the next victims of bedbugs.
Is it possible to kill bedbugs by starvation?
It is completely inadvisable to leave your home after learning how bed bugs live. Such a decision will most likely not contribute to a favorable outcome, because bedbugs hibernate between meals, and most of them reduce the amount of food they eat, and the process of digesting food stops completely.
Resistant bugs and eggs will survive even in the absence of humans for a long time, because they have developed suspended animation as a means of survival, and insects live for several months without food.
Another possible option is that under favorable conditions, the eggs hatch, and new bugs will “move” to live with the nearest neighbors, and then return again. Only the most sensitive individuals will die.
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Read further:
How to effectively and permanently remove bed bugs from your apartment
At what temperature do bed bugs and their eggs die?
What do bed bugs fear most: temperature, smells, what chemicals?
Bedbug bite in a child and an adult: what it looks like and how you can get rid of it
Means for killing bed bugs at home
Life cycle of bed bugs reproduction in an apartment
What you need to know to kill bed bugs
To effectively kill bedbugs, it is recommended to use hot fog technology. Hot steam kills not only adult insects, but also larvae.
You can also use cold fog; this technology is also effective for large concentrations of insects, but 2-3 treatments may be required to achieve a good result.
Under what conditions do bedbugs not survive?
The main way to create conditions incompatible with life for bedbugs is to use insecticides. Particularly effective are the methods used by professional exterminators, for example, the use of hot or cold fog generators.
Insects are also temperature dependent. At +45⁰C, irreversible processes begin to occur in the bug’s body and after a few hours it dies. When the temperature rises to +60⁰С (for example, when washing in a washing machine), the insect dies within 5 minutes, and at +100⁰С death occurs instantly.
The same goes for negative indicators. In a freezer or outdoors at -17⁰C, the bug dies within a day; lowering the temperature to -30⁰C kills the parasite within an hour.
