No matter who you are or where in the world you find them, an infestation of bed bugs is a serious issue and an incredibly frustrating one to discover. They crawl and transfer their colonies between various items, infesting carpets and furniture without your knowledge. Since they live in groups, chances are that when you discover one or two, it’s indicative of a much bigger problem. Often, it’s not a question of what furniture they have infested, but what furniture they haven’t. But before you think that as long as these insects have no access to food, they’ll soon die off, think again. Bed bugs can live a surprisingly long time without eating. Which is why it is always best to call pest control experts.

What Do Bed Bugs Eat?

Unlike cockroaches, bed bugs don’t feed on organic waste or leftover crumbs. Neither are they like dust mites and other parasites – they don’t consume dead skin. They can’t even chew since their mouth is shaped to only feed off blood and blood alone.

Rather than feeding on other furry mammals, these pests have developed a taste specifically for human blood. And yet, there are instances of bed bugs surviving for up to a year without a human host. Since they can’t eat anything else, this amount of time between meals seems almost unimaginable. How do they do it? And how can you combat such resilient pests? The answer is through professional pest control experts.

How Long Can Bed Bugs Live Without Food?

Bed bugs are experts at holding on to any moisture they’re lucky enough to capture. They prevent any liquid evaporating from their shell via a coat of wax. This is one reason they can survive for so long without food. Another reason is that human blood is bursting full of nutrition. But surely there’s more to it than that?

The answer to how long they can survive without food, in fact, depends on several factors. The most obvious factor is the age of the insect. A baby bug’s body is nowhere near as developed and will never last as long as an adult bug. Another thing to consider is their habitat and activity levels. Pests in much smaller areas will have less ground to cover searching for food and are likely to survive for long. Don’t ignore the temperature of their habitat either. In cold apartments and surfaces, bed bugs will always use less energy and survive for longer.

As you can see, the answer depends on many things and is not straightforward. It is not uncommon for bed bugs to survive 6-12 months without a host. By understanding these behaviours you can prepare a prevention and solution plan. Nobody understands their behaviours more or puts these plans into action better than Truly Nolen.

How Truly Nolen Can Provide Pest Relief

Many people investigating how long bed bugs can survive without food are doing so because they are dealing with an infestation. As you can see, bed bugs can survive for a long time without a meal and can be very complicated to remove completely. The quickest and simplest way to remove the pests is to hire pest control experts like Truly Nolen.

Professional pest removal is the best solution for several reasons. Truly Nolen has been an industry expert since 1938, combining expert knowledge, the highest quality materials and professional equipment to remove your pests. Our targeted pest control treatments focus on the whole property, including the interior and exterior of the home. Proactive pest control tactics are deployed to disrupt the reproductive cycle and ensure future generations of insects can’t infect your property.