Blood. That’s it, basically. Bed bugs eat blood and nothing else — no crumbs, no wood, no other bugs. If you’re wondering why they never show up in your kitchen but always end up in your bed, that’s exactly why.
Cut off the food source
Blood is all they’ve got. Block access and they’re stuck. A residual spray hits the seams and joints where they actually live.
What do bed bugs eat?
Blood, mainly human. They’ll bite pets or other warm-blooded animals if there’s no person around, but people are the preferred target by a wide margin. No teeth, no chewing parts — just a straw-like mouth built to pierce skin and pull blood out. That’s the whole diet. Crumbs on the floor, food in the trash, none of it registers to a bed bug as food.
Does food in the house attract them?
No. This trips people up because roaches and mice work the opposite way — they show up because there’s something to eat. Bed bugs don’t care. They go where you sleep, not where you eat. Kitchen infestations are rare for exactly this reason. Eggs get laid near a host too — mattress seams, couch cushions — never near food.
How often do bed bugs feed?
About once a week for an adult, give or take, depending on temperature and how easy it is to reach you. They need blood to move through each of their five nymph stages and to reproduce. Cut off from a host entirely, though, they can hang on a long time — some studies clock survival at up to 400 days in cool conditions, less in warmer ones, more like 3-5 months. Part of that’s a waxy shell that keeps them from drying out. Part of it’s just biology — most of what they get from a meal goes toward growing, not day-to-day survival.
This is why leaving a house empty to starve them out doesn’t work. People have done it for over a year. Come back, bed bugs are still there.
Do bed bugs eat each other?
No. Their insides run on something called hemolymph, not blood — no hemoglobin in it, nothing there for another bed bug to feed on. No host around just means they wait it out, sometimes for months.
Will they bite pets instead of me?
They will if that’s what’s available, but they’d rather have you. Bare skin’s easier to bite through than fur, and you don’t wake up and swat at them mid-sleep the way a dog or cat often does. Path of least resistance.
Do bed bugs prefer certain blood types?
Not that anyone’s actually proven, despite the rumor. One thing that does seem real: lower alcohol content in your blood might mean fewer bites. Not exactly something to build a prevention plan around, but it’s a real research finding.
Do bed bugs eat other insects?
No. Funny enough, it goes the other way — some spiders and cockroaches will eat bed bugs. Bed bugs themselves only suck blood. Nothing solid, nothing chewed.
Do bed bugs eat wood?
No. They hide in it, different thing. Cracks in wooden furniture make good cover, which is part of why switching to a metal bed frame is a common tactic — fewer places to hide, so they relocate. Holes in wood are usually termites, not bed bugs.
Do bed bugs eat hair?
No — that’s cockroaches, not bed bugs. Hair’s just cover for them on the way to skin. Actually makes a bald head easier for them to feed on than a hairy one, less to crawl through.
How long does one feeding take?
About 10 minutes. They move fast on purpose, trying not to get caught. A hungry one might bite several times in a row, working a straight line instead of hunting around for a new spot each time — saves time. Their saliva’s got a mild numbing effect too, which is why you usually don’t feel it happening.
Do bed bugs feed during the day?
They will if they’re hungry enough and someone’s available, but night’s still their preference. Better cover, fewer chances of getting caught.
Does leaving the lights on stop them?
Not really. A motionless sleeping person is a motionless sleeping person either way. They might wait slightly longer with lights on, but hunger wins eventually — especially with a bigger infestation, where there’s always another one ready to feed.
Bottom line
Blood’s the only thing on the menu. No food, no wood, no other bugs, nothing else in the house interests them. Once they’re in, you and your pets are it — which is exactly why waiting them out never works, and acting fast the moment you spot signs matters more than anything else here.