a circular chart shows the life cycle of a bed bug

bed-bug-life-cycleIn order to seek bed bug treatment in Long Island, you first must identify the problem. Bed bugs look slightly different throughout their life cycles, so it helps to become familiar with their appearance at each stage of the cycle. Although bed bug bites are not necessarily harmful, an infestation can be psychologically troubling and lead to unnecessary anxiety. Keep reading if you are interested in learning more about the life cycle of bed bugs.

 

Eggs

Even adult bed bugs may be so small that they can be difficult to detect, so their eggs are no easier to notice. The frequency with which female bed bugs produce eggs is one of the primary reasons why bed bug infestations tend to be so thorough. An adult female bed bug may lay up to five eggs each day for her entire adult life, and it only takes about a week for these eggs to hatch. This means that every day you might have exponentially more bed bugs to deal with. Since it is sometimes difficult to detect eggs, nymphs, and adults, this infestation might be well on its way by the time you notice your first signs.

Nymphs

Bed bugs do not spend much time in the egg stage. Once they hatch they look for their first blood meal before they can molt into a first instar nymphs. They will repeat this process four more times, continuously molting into the next stage until they have matured into adulthood. This five-stage molting process can take as little as five weeks. It is easy to confuse nymphs and adults because they may look relatively similar, but nymphs are smaller than adults and are lighter in color. Like adult bed bugs, it takes nymphs between five and ten minutes for a full blood meal.

Adults

An adult bed bug may obtain a blood meal once per week, but it can live for far longer without food. An average adult bed bug may live for four to six months or even a year depending on the conditions. Adult bed bugs are responsible for birthing new bugs and continuing the infestation.

 

The Life Cycle of Bed Bugs Serving Long Island and surrounding areas

Richmond | Kings | Nassau County | Suffolk County

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