Bed bugs are common household pests, small in size and primarily active during nighttime hours. These reddish-brown insects, roughly the size of an apple seed, are known for their ability to hide in tiny crevices and emerge to feed on blood. Understanding how these pests spread is important for effective prevention and control efforts.
Travel and Transit
Bed bugs are adept at hitchhiking, often spreading through human travel. They attach to personal belongings like luggage, backpacks, and clothing, transporting them across locations. People can pick up these insects in places such as hotels, motels, hostels, and dormitories, where bed bugs hide in mattresses, headboards, and furniture. Cruise ships and public transportation like buses, trains, planes, and taxis also serve as common points of contact.
A traveler’s luggage is a common vector. Bed bugs crawl into bags placed on infested beds, carpets, or upholstered furniture, concealing themselves within seams and pockets. Upon returning home, these hidden pests can infest a new environment. The ease with which bed bugs hitch rides on items makes human movement a primary means of their global dispersal.
Infested Items and Furniture
Another way bed bugs spread is through introducing infested items into a home or building. Acquiring used furniture, particularly mattresses, box springs, bed frames, and upholstered pieces like sofas or chairs, carries risk. These items can harbor bed bugs and their eggs within tiny holes, cracks, and upholstery seams. Even seemingly clean items can conceal these pests.
Other second-hand goods, including clothing, books, or electronics, can also carry bed bugs. They can survive for extended periods without feeding, sometimes up to a year, making detection challenging in used items. Bringing such infested items into a new space can directly lead to a new infestation, distinct from those acquired during travel. Thorough inspection and treatment of second-hand items before they enter a home are important.
Movement Within and Between Dwellings
Bed bugs can also spread within a single structure or between adjacent units in multi-dwelling buildings like apartments or townhouses. They crawl through small crevices, such as those around electrical outlets, pipe chases, and baseboards. These insects can move about 100 feet per hour, allowing them to traverse rooms or even entire floors quickly.
Within a home, bed bugs can spread from an infested bedroom to other sleeping areas or living spaces. They can also be inadvertently carried on small items moved between rooms, expanding the infestation. In apartment complexes, bed bugs frequently move between units through shared walls, electrical conduits, and plumbing systems. This ability to navigate structural elements means an infestation in one unit can easily lead to problems for neighbors.