Do bed bugs jump? Bed bugs will mainly live in clothes, mattresses or cracks. However, most homeowners confess that bed bugs are one of the trickiest insects to control.
Bed bugs are caused by travelling, second-hand furniture and mattresses. Maybe you’ve heard that bed bugs have no wings and can’t jump?
So, how do these bugs move from one place to place while searching for a human prey? Well, in this post, I tackle this question – do bed bugs jump?
The simple answer is, NO! Bed bugs unlike fleas can’t jump or fly. Instead, they move around by crawling on the floor, walls, furniture, clothes, luggage and spread from house to house on items under movement. Bed bugs can enter your home from neighboring houses crawling over the wall.
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Bed bugs can’t jump – they are limited by their poor body structure and leg arrangement. Equally, bed bugs don’t have wings, and thus can’t fly.
Simply put, these pests are only able to crawl – this is the only way of movement. Below are some of the adaptations that help bed bugs to crawl around looking for a blood meal or hiding place.
– Have jointed legs and are light in weight and thus do not overload the legs during support.
– Have flat stomachs that make it stable when crawling and legs which scale thus enabling them move on a smooth surface.
– Legs have claws at the end which enable them cling of the wall while climbing.
– High sense of smell that enable them locate food source. Quick acting – they are able to escape in case of danger.
Related: Pictures of Bed Bugs
Can Bed Bugs Climb Walls?
Bed bugs have six legs adapted for crawling. The claws at the end of bed bugs’ legs enable them to cling on the rough wall preventing them from falling off.
Also, the jointed legs readily supports their light body weight while climbing over vertical scaled walls, curtains, wooden furniture or bed frames to easily reach their source of food.
However, it would be difficult for bed bugs to climb over extremely smooth surfaces like those of glass, plastics, metal (stainless steel) or some composite products.
Will Bed Bugs Jump from Ceiling to Bed or Furniture?
We know clearly know that bed bugs don’t jump instead, they crawl. Just the way they managed to climb the wall, they will eventually reach the ceiling.
Ceiling and carpet offers suitable hideouts of bed bugs. The sticky crawls at the end of bed bugs’ legs enable them to walk on the cemented/wooden ceiling while facing up without necessarily falling.
There has not been any scenario where bed bugs jump from the ceiling to items in your house.
When hungry, bed bugs will crawl down from the ceiling to your bed or living room to suck your blood.
At times, bed bugs may move around from the ceiling to look for mates and breeding grounds, which may be your bed, mattress or even couches.
Related: Bed Bugs Don’t Bite through Clothing.
How Fast Do Bed Bugs Move when in Danger?
Bed bugs have a quick sense of smell and disturbances. In case you spray bed bugs killer or cause commotion in your room, beg bugs begin to escape instantly.
Approximately, bed bug can run at a speed of 6 feet per minute or more. This means that you can easily monitor their movement if you concentrate on one.
Colonies of bed bugs do not move in one direction in case of attacks. Moreover, they do not even fight as a team against their enemies – they independently run on the onset of any danger.
Related: Best Bed Bug Heaters
How Far Can Bed Bug Move in A Day?
Though bed bugs move fast, they easily get tired and exhausted. It is not possible for bed bugs to move continuously for a whole day, stead they move while pausing to regain strength.
A bed bug can continuously move for 30 to 50 minutes after which it may rest for a whole day. Normally, bed bugs crawl for a short distance and stop – thus you can use foggers.
In a given busy day, beg bug can travel for about 200 to 400 feet within your room – does this tell why it’s difficult to monitor its movement?
Bed bugs move a lot when there are humans in your house since they are attracted to food source (blood). They will crawl on the floor and through your doors to couches in the living room to suck blood of inmates.
When tired, bed bugs try to retreat to their hideouts – they look immobile or as if dead.
Can Bed Bugs Fly? Do bed bugs have wings?
Bed bugs are wingless, flat-bodied insects that do not fly. At their adult stage, they develop wing-like vestigial structures called wing pads – but these won’t allow them to fly.
As we noted earlier, bed bug’s movement, as they search of human blood meal, is purely by crawling.
Related: Baby Bed Bugs
Can Bed Bugs Jump from One Person to Another?
Most people believe that bed bugs can jump from one person to another. Well, this is just a myth.
However, if you cling on a person whose clothes are infested with bed bugs, chances are that they will crawl onto you. If you share bed bugs infested clothes, such as pullovers, jackets, caps/muffins, scuff, tie, you’re at risk of acquiring the pests.
Also, are you (or your kids, pupils and students) a sports person – maybe rugby, football, netball, judo?
If so, the person to person contact that comes with taking part in these games may allow the transfer of bed bugs from infested person (clothes, hair…etc.) to yourself.
What Time Do Bed Bugs Move Most – Day Or Night?
Bed bugs will mainly move out of their hideouts when they are hungry and need to get a refill with a blood meal.
Bed bugs will move during the day or night as long as there are humans or pets in your house. However, research shows that bed bugs’ movement is more pronounced at night.
This is because of their dark/brown skin color, which camouflage well in darkness or dim-lights making it difficult see them. Bed bugs prefer sucking blood when you are asleep.
Night will also offer a better platform for bed bugs to visit several human preys in your house without being noticed. NB: Light does not affect movement of bed bugs at all.
Related: Scabies Vs Bed Bugs
How Do Bed Bugs Spread in Your House?
Often, your house may get infested with bed bugs. They may come in through humans, luggage, visitors or even second hand furniture that have bed bugs infestation.
Once they access your house, bed bugs breed at a very high rate. They will then be able to spread in your house or rooms through the following ways:
1. Transfer of bed bugs infested items like clothes furniture, bedding or mattresses – especially during laundry.
2. Sharing beds by inmates (visitors) from rooms infested with bed bugs – the pay carry some of them of their eggs.
3. Beg bugs crawling on the floor, wall, ceiling or door and window space into those rooms.
NB: Bed bug can lay one to twelve eggs per day and between 200 to 550 eggs in entire life – this takes approximately seven weeks to mature. This alone posts a control problem to most homeowners.
Are bed bugs be invisible?
YES! Beg bugs are easily visible with your naked eyes. Their dark/red/rusty brown color make them more visible during the day.
Bed bugs sleep together in their hideouts – you will clearly note their movement if you cause disturbance.
At night, you might clearly not see them as their rusty brown skin color perfectly camouflage with darkness or dim-light barring you from seeing them approach.
In case your house is infested with bed bugs and need to see them move out of their hiding place, introduce attractants like carbon dioxide or switch on the light for sometimes and then switch on – you will see them as they run for safety in their hideouts.
How to Stop Bed Bugs From Moving Around?
Bed bugs if not controlled can be a big mess in your house – they bite, dirt your clothes and bedding as well as torture you and your humans psychologically.
Below measures will help you eradicate or stop the movement of beg bugs and their eggs in your room completely.
– Vacuum and use a clothes dryer to kill bed bugs – for all bedding, clothes, mattresses, walls as well as ceiling.
– Wash all bedding and clothes with hot water often – this will kill both adult bed bugs and their eggs.
– Heat-treat the entire room with high steam temperature to ensure that all bed bugs and eggs die right in their hideouts. Check the best bed bug steamer.
– Throw away all bed bugs infested furniture bedding clothes and spray the room with bed bugs killer to get rid of any adult bed bugs and eggs that may be left behind.
– Stop buying second hand furniture items and avoid sharing or transferring items from one room to another. All visitors’ bedding should be cleaned thoroughly.
Conclusion
Bed bugs can’t jump or fly instead, they move around by crawling. They climb walls and reach your ceiling by help of claws at the end of their jointed legs.
Bed bugs move both day and night (more pronounce) and can spread rapidly in your house if they are not monitored and controlled.