How bed bugs REPRODUCE

If you’ve woke up with annoying hives, redness, or bites, there may be bed bugs in your bed. But why do bed bugs appear? The reasons can be diverse. Although it is a pest that was formerly associated with lack of hygiene, nowadays they are not only found in unhygienic places, but its wide spread is related to the globalization and the fact of moving more and more through the world, both ourselves and our objects. Bed bugs are parasites that we can transport in luggage, clothing, on the bed or mattress, on wooden supports, sofas or old or second-hand furniture.

Bed bugs often appear in the bedroom, especially in bed, between mattress seams and labels, his favorite place to hide. Therefore, it is common for them to act while we sleep and we are aware of their bites when we wake up. Their bites cause reddened bumps that cause a great and intense itching sensation.

Bed bugs are insects that show their greatest activity while we sleep, in order to find food. Bed bugs walk on exposed skin by injecting a local anesthetic substance with their saliva and sucking up small amounts of blood, their staple food. Although we do not usually notice the bite itself, they do leave their trace through the large reddish welts and the intense itching.

But how do bed bugs reproduce? Each female lays 5 to 7 eggs weekly, for 18 weeks, and feeding correctly and continuously during all this time they could lay between 200 and 500 eggs in his whole life, that is, in a year. Once the eggs have been laid, the bed bug incubation period begins, which usually lasts about 10 days. After this time, the bed bug is ready to hatch and start its life cycle. Bed bug development is concentrated between 2 and 4 months after birth. During this time, bed bugs go from being an egg to an adult bed bug, passing through various phases in which they vary in size during five stages.

Life cycle and reproduction of bed bugs

To understand how bed bugs reproduce, it is necessary to know in depth its reproduction cycle and its life cycle, which has five different stages:

1. The beginning of a bed bug’s life begins as an egg, about the size of a grain of rice.
2. After 10 days of incubation, the egg develops into what is known as a nymph, that is, the smallest version of what the adult bed bug will be.
3. The nymph goes through 5 stages before becoming a mature adult bed bug. In each of these stages it varies its size and molts its shell.
4. When the nymph is an adult bed bug, it can initiate mating. The process of reproduction of these parasites is known as traumatic insemination, that is, the male breaks the shell of the female to introduce his sperm into one of her body cavities. The male bed bug sperm travels through the female’s body to fertilize her eggs.
5. Once the male has injected the sperm into the female and has fertilized her eggs, she can begin to lay eggs, that is. They will do it for 6 to 8 weeks, during which time they will need to create new fertile eggs. She can then mate with a male bed bug again and continue to lay eggs for a few more weeks, so continuously for about a year, the time bed bugs usually live.

Bed bug mating

As noted above, bed bugs mate through a process known as traumatic insemination. This is the mating method that many types of insects have in common and consists of the following:

1. The male bed bug is placed on top of the female to initiate mating.
2. It crosses the exoskeleton of the female with a part of its body called edeagus, this long and sharp reproductive organ performs the same function of the penis of other species.
3. Through it, the male introduces the sperm into the hemocoel, the female’s abdominal cavity, from where it travels through her body through the bloodstream until it reaches the ovaries, where she will fertilize her eggs.
4. The mating of bed bugs can happen at any time, that is, they do not have a specific mating season. However, this does not mean that the eggs are fertilized immediately, but that the female will distribute the stored sperm to lay eggs at the time that she decides. Thus, the female bedbug after an injection of sperm by the male can store it in order to be able to continue reproducing without the need for a new mating between them.

Since the female does not need a mating every time she lays an egg, the bed bug can create numerous pests in different places, as it can move and start a new infestation.

Bed bugs do not lay eggs anywhere, they are usually very selective in this process. Their preferred sites to lay eggs are:

• Under the mattress.
• Under nearby furniture, such as the headboard of the bed or the wooden mattress support.
• In the wooden furniture of any room.
• In cracks in the wall.
• Inside electrical outlets.

Although the females lay their eggs anywhere in these, it does not mean that they take refuge there. Generally, they tend to move as far away from their home to lay their eggs, thus generating new infestations of bed bugs. Also, keep in mind that in no case will bed bugs lay eggs in other living beings, because for them they are only part of their diet and source of their nutrition.

If you have found one bed bug infestation in your home, it’s time to get down to work to eliminate it quickly with the following home remedies:

Vaccum cleaner

There is no more popular method of removing bed bugs than vacuuming. Thanks to this device you will be able to access cracks or spaces in which bed bugs, insects and mites tend to hide, to eradicate them.

Steam

The use of steam can be effective in killing bed bugs, since these parasites do not have the ability to withstand high temperatures. Get a vaporizer and apply hot steam over 48ºC on the mattress, curtains, bedding or any other piece of furniture in the room.

Isopropyl alcohol

Isopropyl alcohol, known as isopropanol, is a very effective remedy against bed bugs, since they do not support acids. Put the acid in a bottle or spray and spray it around the areas of the bed where bed bugs can hide. Remember to let the mattress air for a few hours to prevent the smell of alcohol from permeating it. This process should be repeated weekly (every 6 or 7 days) to completely eradicate the pest.

Cloves

The strong scent of cloves is effective in repelling bed bugs. Use clove oil to keep bed bugs away from you. Here you can learn more about How to use cloves for bed bugs.

Other tips

Cleaning and disinfection is essential to prevent any pests from appearing in the room. Frequently clean the spaces of your home, especially the bedroom. Likewise, we recommend that you change the sheets at least twice a month, avoid placing the bed near other furniture or close to the wall and regularly observe the legs of the beds and the rest of the furniture to check if bed bugs have inhabited it.

In case none of these remedies work, feel free to call in a professional to eliminate the pest by using pesticides for complete disinfection.

We advise you to read these other unCOMO posts on How to eliminate bed bugs with home remedies and How to avoid bed bug bites.