Have you ever woken up in the morning with tiny red bites on your skin, feeling itchy and uncomfortable? If yes, then chances are, you might have encountered bed bugs. Bed bugs are small, parasitic insects that feed on human blood, and they are known to be most active during the night. But why do bed bugs come out at night, and what makes them so active during the dark hours? In this article, we will explore the behavior of bed bugs and try to answer the question, Why Do Bed Bugs Come Out At Night?
Table of Contents
BED BUGS
What makes bed bugs different and more disturbing than other bugs is that they bite you!
With a small oval-shaped body that is 1 to 5 mm sized, bed bugs can be seen easily by the naked eye. So, if any bed bugs are walking at home, you will probably come across them.
WHAT DO BED BUGS EAT?
As with every alive, bed bugs need to feed too. They have to feed for a living, and even so, they are very tough bugs that can keep living even without feeding for months or years:
Bed bugs are not carnivorous or herbivorous but only bloodsuckers. They feed by sucking blood from other alive like cats, dogs, bats, or humans.
When they can reach a human to feed, their first option will always be humans because they love our blood.
Read Natural Remedies to get rid of bed bugs
WHEN DO BED BUGS FEED?
All other alive except human beings, Bed Bugs eat or feed when they feel hungry. We people, do not only eat when we feel hungry but we also eat when we just want to.
For other animals and bugs, feeding is also a dangerous action. When a bed bug wants to feed, it needs to climb a man or woman and bite it. This will include some risks inside.
A bed bug that wants to feed has to risk its life for reaching its food source and bite it. This means that bed bugs those feed once will not prefer to feed again, unless they feel hungry.
The Life Cycle of Bed Bugs
To understand the behavior of bed bugs better, it is essential to know their life cycle. Bed bugs go through several stages in their development, including egg, nymph, and adult. After mating, female bed bugs lay eggs in cracks and crevices, and the eggs hatch in about a week. The nymphs that emerge from the eggs resemble smaller versions of adult bed bugs and go through several molting stages before reaching adulthood. The entire life cycle of bed bugs can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on the environmental conditions.
WILL BED BUGS COME OUT AT NIGHT?
Yes, because you will probably be sleeping at that time and there won’t be any people walking around. So, bed bugs will feel safe and also you will become a nice target while you don’t move.
Bed bugs like night and darkness, because night will provide them with two basic advantages:
- Invisibility
- Sleeping people
HOW DO BED BUGS BITE?
This is very important to the answer to the question “Do bed bugs come out at night?”. Because bed bugs will need stability and inactivity of their targets to feed on them.
They will bite a human and keep sucking its blood only when they are comfortable. As I posted before, they secrete a chemical while biting people which prevents humans to feel the pain when they’re bitten:
So, when a bed bug bites the person, will not be able to understand it unless there will be some red points hours later after the bite.
Read Spiritual Meaning Of bed Bugs
DO BED BUGS COME OUT WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE ON?
No, this won’t have much effect on bed bugs’ movements. On the contrary, maybe it will make them stay on their hosts. Nevertheless, bed bugs will understand that it’s night, and whether the lights are on or off, they will feed on you while you’re sleeping.
CAN YOU SEE BED BUGS IN THE DAYTIME?
Yes, you can see them. But this will be a low possibility. Because daytime is a natural enemy to them which makes people see bed bugs with their naked eyes.
However, Bed Bugs don’t like daytime, they can still walk around if they are very hungry and there is some human around who can’t move a lot like babies or children.
Conclusion
Why do bed bugs come out at night? Because they will feel free to move around and reach their target without worrying about being disturbed in darkness.
They can also feed more comfortably and longer on a person who is sleeping while being bitten by a bed bug.
But this doesn’t mean that they do not come out in the daytime. Yes, they will come out in the daytime too, but this will only happen if they are very hungry or there are too many bed bugs around.
FAQs
Can bed bugs survive extreme temperatures?
Bed bugs can survive in a wide range of temperatures, but they prefer temperatures between 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit.
How can I identify bed bugs?
Bed bugs are small, reddish-brown insects that are about the size and shape of an apple seed. They have flat, oval bodies and six legs.
“Bed bugs may be small, but they are mighty pests that can cause big problems for homeowners.”
