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Typical Feeding Habits of Bed Bugs: The threat of bed bugs has many people concerned. As these pests have reemerged in North America, so has a desire to know more bed bug facts.
People want to know how bed bugs operate in order to prevent infestations. Bed bug facts are also important in identifying existing infestations.
Some of the most important and interesting bed bug facts relate to their feeding habits.
What do bed bugs eat?
Bed bugs can live for months without feeding. At temperatures below 55°F, they can potentially live longer than a year. In normal temperature-controlled conditions, they usually can go 2-6 months. So just because a house or apartment has been vacant, don’t assume it’s free of bed bugs.
Bed bugs feed mainly at night. Bed bugs typically feed on their victims while the victims are sleeping. This is so you don’t notice you’re being bitten because the bites are painless and won’t wake you up.
Bed bugs like to live near their food source. This explains why they like to live in beds so much that it gave them their name. But other nearby furniture, such as a nightstand, are also likely places for bed bugs to live. After they feed, they crawl to their nearby hiding place to digest their meal.
Typical Feeding Habits of Bed Bugs
Bed bugs use an elongated beak to pierce your skin when sucking blood. For some people, these piercings become itchy welts. For reasons not entirely understood, bed bug bites tend to be in patterns of three bites in a row, which is sometimes called their “breakfast, lunch, dinner” pattern.
three bites in a row, which is sometimes called their “breakfast, lunch, dinner” pattern
After feeding, bed bugs excrete on their way back to their hiding places.You can sometimes see this as dark spots on your sheets.
Left-out food doesn’t attract bed bugs. Although often taken as one of the most-obvious of bed bug facts, it’s simply not true that poor housekeeping leads to bed bugs.
