There’s a common belief that bed bugs can jump! Well, bed bugs are crafty creatures and you’ll find them anywhere in the house.
You’ll find them on your bed, inside furniture, on walls and even on the celling. But do they jump from one place to another.
A short answer is – No. Bed bugs can’t jump. Their legs are meant for crawling rather than jumping. Their lack of wings also prevents them for flying around. However, they can crawl at relatively high speeds (about 1m per minute).
Related: Pictures of Bed Bugs
Details: Do Bed Bugs Jump? – Bedbug Movement
There’re several household pests that look like bed bugs. So, when you see small creatures jumping from one place to another you might be tempted to think you have bed bugs.
Well, the first pests you should rule out are bed bugs. Unlike fleas, bed bugs cannot jump around. Their short limbs and flat bodies are designed for crawling – Not jumping. Thus, you don’t expect them to jump into your clothes or items.
However bed bugs can crawl into items you bring home such as old furniture, bedding and luggage among other items. These items only act as a means of transportation. Or they can crawl from an adjacent house if you live in an apartment or college hostel.
When bed bugs fall or crawl into items, they might end up covering long distances and infest new areas. In fact they can hitch hike a ride from one country to another! Social areas such as theaters, trains, public buses and hostels are some of the areas you’re likely to pick bed bugs.
If bed bugs crawl into your luggage or clothes, you might end up carrying them or their eggs to your house.
Do Bed Bugs Climb On Surfaces?
Perhaps their most outstanding means of mobility is crawling and climbing on things like walls, furniture, fabrics, plastic and metal. The hooks on their feet help them in gripping on almost any surface.
However they won’t climb on all surfaces. Polished surfaces such as glass and porcelain tend to be too smooth for bed bugs to climb. Also rugged surfaces such as those covered with fur and hair prove difficult for bed bugs to navigate.
Their small hooks get stuck on these materials. That’s why you won’t find bed bugs on your hairy pets or animals.
Related: Can Bed Bugs Get in Your Hair?
Do Bed Bugs Have Wings?
There’s a popular believe that bed bugs have wings. Some online content will tell you so but that’s not actually true. If they had wings, they could already be using them to fly. But as we see them, no bed bug can’t fly.
They have wing pads which only suggest that bed bugs could have evolved to lose their wings. These wing pads are very tiny and cannot be used for flying. Bed bug nymphs have no wing pads and cannot also fly.
Therefore, if you have come across a flying bed bug, that could be a mistaken identity. The fact that bed bugs don’t fly is perhaps a good reprieve for homeowners. You can imagine the problem bed bugs could cause if they had the ability to fly.
How Do Bed Bugs Travel From Room to Room?
Bed bugs lack wings and so they won’t jump. So, the only way that bed bugs will travel from one room to another is by crawling or catching a ride on people or objects. Knowing how bed bugs travel and spread can be helpful to homeowners in their efforts to eradicate them.
When bed bugs come into your house, they’ll stick around as long as they have their favourite meal-your blood. They stay close to the host. Thus you will find them in your bed, mattress and sofa set.
However, bed bugs are not limited to bedroom and living room only. They can harbour any room that is frequented by humans. They get into these rooms by crawling on surfaces and hooking on your body or objects. When items are moved from room to room, there’re high chances of spreading these creatures.
Bed bugs can also move from one house to another. When you go on a vacation, bed bugs in a house get starved and start looking for a new host. They have an acute sense of carbon dioxide that humans breathe out. Thus, it won’t be long before they discover a new territory in your neighbour’s house.
Bed bugs may also crawl into other houses as they run away from repellents or chemicals used to eradicate them.
Related: Does Steam Kill Bed Bugs?
Can Bed Bugs Jump From One Person To Another?
You might wonder how bed bugs ended up in your house. Well, bed bugs are clever pests- they know how to find new hosts. These tiny creatures are so hard to spot when they hook on our clothes. That’s how they end up being transported from one place to another. But, unlike fleas, bed bugs won’t stick on your body for long.
The only way bed bugs will move from one person to another is by crawling. They don’t jump like fleas do. Fleas have long and powerful hide limbs which help them in jumping around. In fact, they can jump up to 100 times the size of their body length.
On the contrary, bed bugs have flat bodies and small legs which make it difficult for them to jump. So, if you find bed bugs on your clothes or luggage, the only way they could have got there is by crawling.
Perhaps it’s good news to know that bed bugs can’t jump from one person to another. Otherwise, this could provide them with an easy way to hitch a ride into new homes. At least they can’t crawl into your clothes fast enough like fleas can jump.
Do Bed Bugs Jump From The Floor To Your Bed?
As you have seen, bed bugs won’t fly or jump around. So, if you find bed bugs in your bed, they should have crawled to get there. If your bed is adjacent to the walls, bed bugs will crawl from other places to your bed at night in search of a blood meal.
They can also access you bed through the legs of the bed, bedding that hang on the floor or furniture that is adjacent to your bed.
You can however prevent bed bugs from crawling into your bed by ensuring that it’s not adjacent to the wall. Also ensure that items such as lampstands and furniture are not connected to your bed. Do not allow bedding or clothes to hang on the floor from your bed.
One more thing! Block bed bugs from climbing up the legs of your bed by installing climb-up cups. These are cups with polished surfaces which bed bugs can’t climb. When placed on each of the legs, bed bugs won’t be able to crawl in to your bed.
In addition, bed bugs that are coming from the bed to the floor also get trapped in the inner wall of the climb-up cup.
Related: Does Diatomaceous Earth Kill Bed Bugs?
Do Bed Bugs Fall From the Ceiling?
Bed bugs will go all the way to your ceiling. However they won’t intentionally drop themselves from the ceiling. But there’re is a possibility of losing grip and falling on your floor, bed or other items.
When you’re treating your house for bed bugs, chances are that bed bugs will run way from the chemicals being used. The safest place for them happens to be the ceiling. If you treat your bed, floor, baseboard and other furniture, bed bugs that survive will retreat to safe areas like the ceiling.
Bed bugs are also attracted to the heat emitted by human bodies. But they wait until night we you fall asleep to feed on your blood. So, during the day they can seek warmth elsewhere and that happens to be the ceiling.
Whichever the case, bed bugs will always find their way to the ceiling. However there’s no single reason to think that they will intentionally dislodge from the roof to the floor or your bed.
What Time Do Bed Bugs Travel?
It’s commonly believed that bed bugs will come out during the night when you fall asleep. Well, they prefer to feed when the host is still. However, bed bugs will come out to feed whenever they are hungry.
Normally bed bugs feed at least once a week. And they require a blood meal in each of their successive life stages. Thus, when they are hungry, they’ll travel from their hideouts to where they can get a blood meal.
Related: Bugs That Look Like Bed Bugs
Conclusion
Bed bugs will neither jump nor fly. They don’t have wings for flying and their legs are not meant for jumping. However, these creatures are skilled crawlers.
- They can crawl and hitch a ride into people, luggage, and furniture among other items.
- Therefore, it’s important to take preventive measures whenever you return from a trip or college.
For instance you can vacuum and disinfect the items you come with home before putting them in the house.