A bed bug infestation is an undesirable event that nobody wants to deal with in their house or apartment. However, if you do have or suspect you have a bed bug infestation, it is vital to educate yourself on everything about the insects. Knowing “How fast do bed bugs spread from room to room?” is important so you can implement proper pest control.
This article gives you answers to the most common questions regarding bed bugs, what attracts them, and how to kill or repel the bugs.
How fast do bed bugs spread? How do bed bugs travel? Do bed bugs move between rooms in your house? We answer these and additional questions in this article so that you treat an infestation with confidence.
Additionally, we teach you how to kill bed bugs with rubbing alcohol and repel them with the scents found in essential oils. Continue reading to educate yourself on everything you need to know if you have bed bugs.
How to Kill Bed Bugs Yourself
Some people believe that to kill bed bugs, you must hire pest management services or an exterminator to care for the bedbug problem. However, to save money, you can certainly identify and treat the problem on your own.
Learning the popular hiding places bed bugs prefer is just one of the pieces of information that help you take care of a bed bug infestation in your house.
To effectively treat bed bugs, you need to understand their life cycle, food source, and how they entered your household.
How Quickly do Bed Bugs Spread from Room to Room?
Adult bed bugs only travel to different rooms to acquire a more desirable environment. Usually, the bed bugs crawl to other rooms when there is a food source available.
The tiny insects crawl around three to four feet per minute and enter various places through cracks between walls. Because bed bugs travel through holes, they are commonly found in a hotel room or apartment buildings, where all the rooms connect.
If there is a mattress or a couch, bed bugs are much more likely to invade these areas, as they are a primary food source. Do bed bugs move from room to room? Yes, bed bugs travel between rooms to search for food.
How do Bed Bugs Travel to Different Locations?
The spread of bed bugs cannot be attributed to one single source, as there are multiple ways these tiny insects make it into households. One common way bed bugs travel is on second-hand furniture that you pick up from a thrift store or a friend.
Transferring furniture from one home to another is a quick way bed bugs shift from person to person. There are a few other items that bed bugs latch onto to travel.
Bed bugs are also attracted to certain scents. For example, the odors released from bleach, fabric softener, scented candles, and Windex attract bed bugs quickly.
How easily do bed bugs spread? Under ideal conditions, bed bugs travel quite fast, primarily on used furniture or other items.
Do Bed Bugs Move from Room to Room for Food?
Now that you know how bed bugs travel and how they may have entered your home, it is time to learn how a bed bug survives.
Bed bugs feed on human blood to survive long enough for the female bed bug to lay eggs. However, bed bugs feed on any warm-blooded animal they find. The insect identifies carbon dioxide, which draws them out of hiding.
Do bed bugs move from room to room? How long can bed bugs live? Bed bugs must find a blood meal from animals or humans to survive. The unwanted pest can go without a blood meal for 20 to 400 days, depending on temperature, humidity, and stage of life.
The insect most likely gets its name from its most popular hiding place, the bed. During the day, bed bugs have several hiding places in your bed, where they wait for you to go to sleep to feed.
Signs of a Bed Bug Infestation
Identifying a bed bug infestation properly is critical, so you clear your living room or bedroom of the insect as fast as possible.
The most prevalent sign of bed bugs is the bite mark left behind. Bed bugs bite in a distinct straight line, allowing you to differentiate the marks from mosquitoes or fleas.
You do not need to hire a pest control company to locate the telltale signs of a bed bug infestation. There are many easy ways to know if you have bed bugs in your house.
Where do Bed Bugs Hide?
Bed bugs occupy several unique and hard-to-reach hiding spots throughout your bedroom. Knowing where bed bugs prefer to take shelter is important, so you spread insecticides, pesticides, or heat treatments in the correct locations.
One quick way to check for bed bugs on your mattress requires an old credit card and a flashlight.
With the light shining on one of the mattress crevices, run a credit in the seams and check for bed bugs, nymphs, and feces. Do bed bugs move between rooms? Yes, and you must know how to check for insects.
How to Kill Bed Bugs Fast with Rubbing Alcohol
Creating a DIY bed bugs spray to kill the insect does not take an entomologist. Rubbing alcohol dries out the exoskeleton of a bed bug and kills them on contact. Create a rubbing alcohol solvent and spray the solution heavily on popular hiding spots for bed bugs for killing bed bugs fast at home.
A popular way to have a bed bug free mattress is to use encasements. An encasement is essentially a giant plastic bag that fits around your mattress and suffocates the insects. After using an encasement, make sure you vacuum the dead bugs and feces.
Add store-bought interceptors or make a DIY bed bug trap to put on the feet of your bed or other furniture. The bed bugs cannot move past the barrier, keeping them from getting in the bed or between the cushions of the couch.
Repel Bed Bugs with Essential Oils
How quickly do bed bugs travel from room to room? These insects travel fast when there is a food source.
After treating a bed bug infestation, there are simple ways to repel future insects from invading your house. The scents that certain essential oils have deter insects like bed bugs and cockroaches. Lavender and bed bugs are a great combination for homeowners and deadly for insects.
To make this DIY bed bug killer, mix the bed bug-repelling ingredients in the spray bottle and shake the contents gently so the oils absorb into the water.
Use the spray on your mattress, couch, sofa, and any other area in your house to repel bed bugs. Different essential oils that repel bed bugs include lemongrass, peppermint, tea tree, and thyme. You can also use clove oil for bed bugs.
Can I put diatomaceous earth on my bed? Strip the sheets from the bed and sprinkle it with DE. Let it sit for several hours and vacuum well. Turn the mattress over and do the same to the other side, as well as the box spring.
How do bed bugs travel? How do you get rid of bed bugs? Each of these questions addresses crucial aspects of handling a bed bug problem.
Bed bugs travel through cracks in the wall or from second-hand furniture to search for food. Killing and repelling bed bugs is easier when you use rubbing alcohol and essential oils.
If we answered your question, “How fast do bed bugs spread from room to room?” share these tips for repelling bed bugs with your roommates and neighbors on Facebook and Pinterest.