Bed Bug Life Cycle

7 Stages of the Bed Bug Life Cycle 

Bed bugs are an extremely problematic pest and difficult to treat effectively. Understanding the life cycle of bed bugs gives some insight into how to stage treatment in a way that effectively disrupts the life cycle to ensure that bed bugs do not come back after being exterminated. Also, be sure to look for the signs of bed bugs in the different stages of their life cycle when inspecting for these insects. If you find molted exoskeletons of bed bugs, it means that you have bed bugs developing through their nymph stages which means that you likely have a severe infestation on your hands. If you find bed bugs in different stages of their life cycles, then you likely have several generations of bed bugs which means your infestation has been going on for some time.

Bed Bug Lifespan

The lifespan of bed bugs typically ranges from 3 – 12 months. That being said, bed bugs have a unique capability of laying dormant in a state of “hibernation” for up to a year in ideal conditions when food resources are not available. This can extend their overall life span by a long time while they lay dormant. This ability explains why houses can remain without tenants for a long time and once a house has inhabitants, bed bugs come back. The bed bugs will become active when they sense the CO2 that their hosts exhale. 

Bed Bug Life Stages 

The different stages of the bed bug life cycle are shown above as the bed bugs develop from freshly hatched nymphs to mature adults. During this bed bug life cycle timeline, a bed bug will molt through 5 different nymph stages before reaching adulthood. 

Eggs

Every bed bug’s life starts as an egg. How many eggs female bed bugs lay daily is still up for debate, but it is said that they typically lay between 1 – 7 eggs every day. While this isn’t as big a litter as some other insects like fleas and ticks, bed bug populations can still get out of control because early signs of bed bugs are often overlooked until the infestation is out of hand. These eggs are the tiny and about the size of a pin head or grain of salt. They are milky white and are found in secure hiding spots like under the seams of mattresses and in the cracks of the bed frame. In a female bed bug’s lifetime, she will lay between 500 eggs and 1000 eggs if she lives to a bed bug’s average life expectancy. It will take these eggs between 7 – 15 days to hatch depending on the environment and they will produce the 1^st stage of nymphs. 

Nymphs

The different stages of nymphs are the 2^nd – 6^th stage of the bed bugs life cycle. After a bed bug hatches, it will be in the first nymph stage and measure about 1.5 mm. At first, they will be almost completely transparent, but they will grow in size and develop a reddish-brown color over the next 4 molting cycles. Each week, a nymph will feed which will allow it to grow and molt its exoskeleton as it grows.

• 1^st stage nymph is 1.5 mm
• 2^nd stage nymph is 2 mm
• 3^rd stage nymph is 2.5 mm
• 4^th stage nymph is 3 mm
• 5^th stage nymph is 4.5 mm

Each nymph stage under optimal condition should take only a week but if environmental conditions are poor, nymph development can last as long as 4-6 months. 

Adults

Upon reaching adulthood after the final nymph stage, bed bugs will continue to grow a little more before reaching their full size at 7- 8 mm. They will feed more frequently and regularly in order to maintain egg production now that they are able to produce eggs. The average lifespan of adult bed bugs can be between 4 – 18 months depending on available resources and environmental conditions. 

Bed Bug Reproduction Cycle

Bed bugs won’t be sexually mature until they reach adulthood. That being said, once they reach the stage where they can lay eggs, bed bugs will lay between 1 – 7 eggs in a cluster every day. Due to the bed bugs lifespan, this means that bed bugs can produce between 200 – 1000 eggs in their lifetime with several generations being produced before the parent bed bug dies. Since it takes bed bugs roughly 6 weeks to develop under optimal conditions, by the time that the first generation reaches maturity, up to 40 new bed bugs have been laid. When you start to account for the number of bed bugs that can potentially compound after reaching maturity, a small population of bed bugs can cause a full-blown infestation in a short time if not detected early. 

Will Bed Bugs Die Off on Their Own?

Bed bugs are not designed to die off and are one of the hardest bugs to eradicate completely. They are persistent and under optimal conditions are capable of surviving for as long as 12 months without a blood meal. This makes it extremely difficult to know when all bed bugs have been exterminated since it only takes a couple to rebuild a full-blown infestation. It also doesn’t help that bed bug infestations typically start slow while bed bug nymphs develop but once you have several adult egg bearing bed bugs, your problem is likely out of control.

How Long Will Bed Bugs Survive Without a Host?

Studies that have been conducted show that on average, bed bugs will survive for about 70 days without a blood meal. However, in the most optimal conditions, they have been known to go for up to a year or more without food. Bed bug nymphs are estimated to last roughly about the 70 days without food before perishing. In both instances, bed bugs will become dormant and rest in a state of hibernation until it senses the release of CO2 that indicates that there is a fresh food source close by. Once this happens, the dormant bed bugs will be activated from their rest to return to their normal feeding schedule. 

Contact EcoGuard to Help Treat Bed Bugs

If you have seen signs of bed bugs in any stage of their life cycle, it is time to call professional pest control experts to come inspect and treat. Our team at EcoGuard Pest Management will send out licensed and trained bed bug control specialists that have years of experience successfully and effectively treating bed bug infestations. We will need to inspect your property to identify problematic areas and devise a customized treatment plan designed to quarantine infected areas and treat them in a way that will terminate all bed bugs. On going maintenance is also recommended so we can come back and check after an appropriate waiting period to see if bed bugs return. Our bed bug services will ensure that your bed bug infestation is exterminated so call today to schedule an inspection. 

Bed Bug Life Cycle FAQs