Can Bed Bugs Live In An Empty House?

Empty Houses & Bed Bugs…

Baby bed bugs cannot live for very long without food, so an empty house probably couldn't sustain the whole life for an infant bed bug all the way to adulthood. Juveniles and adult bed bugs however, can live for several months if the temperature and humidity levels are optimum. In laboratory conditions, bed bugs have been known to live for over 1 year without a meal, but without optimal conditions it's normally more like 7 months before death. Those 7 months are lived even without being able to eat! It doesn't matter.

They Aren't Just Going To Go Away…

What this means is that it's almost impossible to use starvation as an effective treatment plan for bed bugs. Even though bed bugs need your blood to live, you can't just go on vacation for a few months and expect your bed bug problem to be solved. An infestation can continue for much longer!

They Like Their Own Poop!…

One gross bit of knowledge is the fact that bed bugs prefer to be around their own excrement or poop. They tend to expel their feces in the very same place they hide and if a female, lay eggs. If new bed bugs are brought in, (even after a successful bed bug treatment), they go directly to the areas with excrement because they know that's a good hiding spot. Plus it will most likely be a good feeding spot as well. How do they know it's a good feeding or hiding spot? Simple because if the former bed bugs thought it was a good place they will too and the bed bug feces communicates that too them.

Female Bed Bugs Can Lay Eggs Everyday Without Continually Mating…

Female bed bugs only have to mate once every 6-8 weeks to continue to be able to lay eggs every single day. In a single day just one lone female can lay up to 1-5 eggs a day at 68-70 degrees Fahrenheit. At 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit a single female can lay 5-10 eggs a day. It's normally on the lower side though. 86 degrees Fahrenheit and over will have most bed bugs looking for cooler areas to chill if it's persistent. I've put single females into a zip lock bag all by themselves, just to come back a few days later to find around 10 eggs lain inside the bag.

Do Bed Bugs Need Humans To Live?…

Another reason that bed bug infestations are so tough to eliminate is that while they prefer to feed off of humans, if they are hungry enough, they will feed off other animals. This means that your dog, cat, captive or even wild mice/ rats, or any other pet with blood for that matter, isn't their primary target, but is still a possible meal for bed bugs. I've seen bed bugs take their food source from a pet rat because it was easier to get to faster than the human hosts in the home. Yes, eventually they made their way to the human occupants they prefer but it all started and grew out of control around the pet rat.

So Can Bed Bugs Survive In An Empty Home or Business?…

Indefinitely, no they can't, but for up to one year or just a bit longer in lab settings, yes they can. It all just depends on the number of juveniles and adults, temperature in the dwelling and if they are able to get blood meals from pets or wild animals. Let's just say that if you were somehow able to financially afford to leave your home or business for 1 year. Even with one full year of not being inside your home at all, there will still be a huge chance that it could still be infested with live bed bugs. Honestly, leaving their home uninhabited is not anything that most people would be able to do period, let alone for 1 year or more. Vacating a home or business because of bed bugs and hoping that they all just die out is a terrible idea and we never recommend doing such a thing.

What You Should Do When You Find Bed Bugs…

The smartest thing to do when these little blood suckers are found or you think they may be present, is to immediately call a bed bug specialist company like us, "Dead Bug Walkin LLC Bed Bug Heat Treatment Specialists Pest Control". A little tip for you if you are unable to use our pest control service for bed bugs, "Dead Bug Walkin LLC", in Oklahoma is to look for a smaller company that is not a corporation. Corporations seem to always focus more on numbers than their actual customers. Also if you can locate a pest control company that specializes in bed bugs alone, you'll be much better off. Companies or PMP's =(pest management pros) that specialize in bed bugs alone will have tons more experience to bring with them than any other pest management company that doesn't specialize. In other words you don't really want a simple technician who literally just did the house 4 doors down for ants, to come to your home as the next stop for a bed bug treatment.

Check Out Some Other Articles…

Moving without bed bugs, is it possible?

Quickly understand bed bugs

Bed bug related articles/questions/how-to's/guides

How long can bed bugs live inside a sealed plastic bag?

How long can bed bugs live without blood?

Do you have to throw things away if you get bed bugs?

How To Contact Dead Bug Walkin LLC…

Just call or text message 918-710-7529. It's really that simple. We give quick estimates by phone all the time. All we need is a couple questions answered first.

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