Changes

==Life and behavior==

==Life and behavior==

Cooler temperatures and less blood meals will slow bedbug development down, but will not kill it , as adult bedbugs can survive without feeding for over a year in temperatures around 50°F, and the nymphs can survive for 3 months. In the laboratory at 10% humidity and 44° Fahrenheit, bed bugs have survived as long as 560 days without a blood meal. It is thus that immediate and comprehensive action is critical for elimination of bedbugs.<ref>http://www.bedbugbattleplan.com/content/view/19/35/ The Life Cycle of the Bed Bug</ref> The original source of this figure appears to  be a study from A.W Bacot in 1914, in which he reported that "After a single meal one newly hatched bug out of three lived for 270 days; while, out of 30 immature bugs in various stages of development, 7 were living and able to feed after a fast of 18 months."<ref>http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2009/08/18/they-are-also-able-to-withstand-chilling-thawing-rechilling-and-again-thawing/</ref>However, one report showed that a pesticide-resistant strain from Richmond, Va. only lived a maximum of two months without feeding.<ref>Science News, ''Do-it-yourself bed-bug detector'', January 16th, 2010 </ref><ref>[http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=11&ved=0CGgQFjAK&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbug-a-pest.com%2FBedbug.pdf&ei=dEHrTIGYEYT6lwemsuWzAQ&usg=AFQjCNESyL05Zs-pznn7BS5YX0sdBoGfEA&sig2=MASfEUv5GuJhE-wzvujHFg BASF-406-Bed Bug Profile:Layout 1]</ref>

===Reproduction and development===

Male bed bugs grab and attempt to mate with any other bedbug that has had a full meal of blood recently, using its hypodermic reproductive appendage, resulting in "“traumatic insemination."  Females grow a mass of the kinds of cells associated with immune defense in the  the abdominal area most commonly pierced by the male. Male bedbugs lack this, and when [[homosexual]] mating attempts are made upon a male the victim releases a blend of chemicals known as the bed bug alarm [[pheromone]]. This recent discovery has resulted in some bedbug insecticides containing the pheromone. <ref>''Scent of alarm identifies male bed bugs,'' Science news, November 21st, 2009; Vol.176 #11</ref>  Bedbugs also release this substance when they are frightened, the smell of which has been described as a sickening sweet odor or as rotting raspberries.<ref>''The Best Control or Bed Bugs'', cp. 18</ref> Bedbugs in an all-male confinement experiment had reduced longevity compared to singly held males.<ref>The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour, Volume 78, Issue 6, December 2009, Pages 1471-1475</ref>  

Male bed bugs grab and attempt to mate with any other bedbug that has had a full meal of blood recently, using its hypodermic reproductive appendage, resulting in "“traumatic insemination."  Females grow a mass of the kinds of cells associated with immune defense in the  the abdominal area most commonly pierced by the male. Male bedbugs lack this, and when [[homosexual]] mating attempts are made upon a male then the victim releases a blend of chemicals known as the bed bug alarm [[pheromone]]. This recent discovery has resulted in some bedbug insecticides containing the pheromone. <ref>''Scent of alarm identifies male bed bugs,'' Science news, November 21st, 2009; Vol.176 #11</ref>  Bedbugs also release this substance when they are frightened, the smell of which has been described as a sickening sweet odor or as rotting raspberries.<ref>''The Best Control or Bed Bugs'', cp. 18</ref> Bedbugs in an all-male confinement experiment had reduced longevity compared to singly held males.<ref>The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour, Volume 78, Issue 6, December 2009, Pages 1471-1475</ref>  

Males will mate with females much more often (roughly 20 times more) than necessary for fertilization of eggs and as a result the females live about 25% less long than they would otherwise.<ref>http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2010/02/16/laundry-and-the-motivating-power-of-the-bed-bug-web-qa-with-richard-naylor/</ref>

Males will mate with females much more often (roughly 20 times more) than necessary for fertilization of eggs and as a result the females live about 25% less long than they would otherwise.<ref>http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2010/02/16/laundry-and-the-motivating-power-of-the-bed-bug-web-qa-with-richard-naylor/</ref>

Although bed bugs have the ability to drink water through their proboscis, they appear to do so rather sparingly, as they rely on blood to replenish water stores; none of the bedbugs examined in any stage had the capacity to absorb water vapor. As the bed bugs mature they need less water.<ref>http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/reprint/76/5/987.pdf</ref>

An impregnated female bedbug will produce between 1- 7 eggs per day (but up to 20) for about 10 days after a single blood meal. She will then have to feed again to produce more eggs. The female bedbug lays her eggs in cracks and crevices in the vicinity of the host and cements them firmly in position. The eggs are sticky, and able to adhere to most anything (although they prefer wood over metal and plastic) and are yellowish-white, approximately 1 millimeter (1/25 inch) in length (a little larger than a speck of dust) and are covered with a protective layer, so that immersion in water does not kill them as would adult bedbugs. The estimated total number of eggs which may be laid by one female is estimated to be from about 113 to 345. Under optimal conditions (between 70° F  and 90° F), and with regular feeding, a bed bug population can double every 16 days.  At room temperature (around 70° F), 60 percent of the eggs will hatch when they are 6 days old;  around 90 percent will have hatched by the time they are 9 days old. Once born, the bedbug will go through five growth (molting) stages (shedding the exoskeleton) as ''nymphs''---- each nymphal stage requiring a blood meal and each time shedding its skin ---- before it becomes an adult, and able to reproduce. After hatching the color of the bedbug is like that of straw and no bigger than a pinhead, and which begin to feed immediately. A second stage nymph is about the size of apple seed, and as it fills itself with blood then its color goes from white to bright red. Nymphal stages last from about 4 days to 24 days based on temperature and other environmental conditions. In ideal temperatures (about 70-90°F), the bugs go from birth to adulthood in a month to six weeks. Adults are approximately 3/16-inch long and reddish-brown, with oval, flattened bodies. <ref>[http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:jWEA45GhZtwJ:www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pesticides/pdffiles/bb-biology1.pdf+bed+bugs+die+low+temparute&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgoUkUjwUgf3XpWoxVK-_QO9xkbiPwqXep1_Cpmb5zYPTsAM2xEx4ut4cZ77-E-VC_MH4AfYYl4PMYD6H5NMWs2pdQB_kDwSWNkbKksgrNbrILWpSjo0kJ5NZfDa3xjchKFPW6X&sig=AHIEtbQ1fndzU5d9KHcHVwHe-zqvwtNqNA  Dini M. Miller, Ph.D., Andrea Polanco, ''Bed Bug Biology and Behavior''],  Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech</ref ><ref>[http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CEgQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stephentvedten.com%2F18_Bed_Bugs.pdf&ei=o7DkTLWOIIGBlAf0tLW-CQ&usg=AFQjCNGPkGFo2XVKR8gyNsJSixC1UybqDw&sig2=88mOnHvsosbL2UrImkagMQ ''The Best Control or Bed Bugs''], cp. 18</ref>>

 

Cooler temperatures and less blood meals will slow bedbug development down, and at below 55 degrees stop bed bug development and egg production,<ref>http://www.bedbugsite.com/faq.php</ref>  but much lower temperatures are required to kill them, as adult bedbugs can survive without feeding for over a year in temperatures around 50°F, and the nymphs can survive for 3 months. In the laboratory at 10% humidity and 44° Fahrenheit, bed bugs have survived as long as 560 days without a blood meal.<ref>http://www.bedbugbattleplan.com/content/view/19/35/ The Life Cycle of the Bed Bug</ref>

 

The original source of longevity statistics appears to  be from a study from A.W Bacot in 1914, in which he reported that "After a single meal one newly hatched bug out of three lived for 270 days; while, out of 30 immature bugs in various stages of development, 7 were living and able to feed after a fast of 18 months."<ref>http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2009/08/18/they-are-also-able-to-withstand-chilling-thawing-rechilling-and-again-thawing/</ref> However, while this

may have been true for individual bed bugs in the UK living at very low temperatures, research showed that on average, modern bed bugs (at any life stage) collected from homes in the United States and held at room temperature without feeding, would die within 70 days. It is thought that these bed bugs were dying of dehydration, rather than starving to death.<ref>Dini M. Miller, Ph.D., Andrea Polanco, ''Bed Bug Biology and Behavior''],  p. 4, Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech</ref> A pesticide-resistant strain from Richmond, Va. only lived a maximum of two months without feeding.<ref>Science News, ''Do-it-yourself bed-bug detector'', January 16th, 2010 </ref><ref>[http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=11&ved=0CGgQFjAK&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbug-a-pest.com%2FBedbug.pdf&ei=dEHrTIGYEYT6lwemsuWzAQ&usg=AFQjCNESyL05Zs-pznn7BS5YX0sdBoGfEA&sig2=MASfEUv5GuJhE-wzvujHFg BASF-406-Bed Bug Profile:Layout 1]</ref>  

When bedbugs bite, like mosquitoes, they inject an anesthetic that prevents the host from feeling the bite, and an anticoagulant for blood flow. Bedbugs are normatively nocturnal, though they can bite during the day or with light, but they usually occur while people are sleeping, usually when the host is in their deepest part of sleep, most typically 3-5AM.Feeding takes three to 15 minutes, depending on maturity, and immediately after feeding the bug crawls off  to digest their meal in a safe place.  The bite sites are usually small, pinprick-sized lesions that may or may not become inflamed, though often the human host finds that they itch. Bite marks can be random or in a straight line.<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/Publications/Bed_Bugs_CDC-EPA_Statement.htm</ref><ref>[http://www.michigan.gov/documents/emergingdiseases/Bed_Bug_Manual_v1_full_reduce_326605_7.pdf MICHIGAN MANUAL FOR THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF BED BUGS]</ref>

===Feeding, nesting and travel===

Bedbugs do not have nests like ants or bees, but do tend to congregate in habitual hiding places. They are attracted by the carbon dioxide and (secondarily) the heat and that a people generates, and they will feed only through a membrane.<ref>[http://www.faqs.org/periodicals/201006/2054573271.html ''Bed Bugs: The Pesticide Dilemma'']</ref> Bedbugs can travel at the rate of 3 feet per minute and 100 feet in one night, but they tend to live within 8 feet of where people sleep. They appear to have an affinity for wood and fabric more so than metal or plastic. Bedbugs hide during the day in such places as mattresses seams, box springs, bed frames and headboards, dresser tables, cracks or crevices, baseboards, behind wallpaper, and under any clothes, clutter or objects around a bed. Their small flat bodies allow them to fit into the smallest of spaces and they can remain in place for long periods of time, even without a blood meal. Bedbugs are easily and usually transported from place to place by people as they travel, and eggs and instar nymphs are especially hard to detect.

Adults may feed many times throughout their lifespan, every 3-7 days varying with temperature and other factors.<ref>''The Best Control or Bed Bugs''</ref> When bedbugs bite, like mosquitoes, they inject an anesthetic that prevents the host from feeling the bite, and an anticoagulant for blood flow. Bedbugs are normatively nocturnal, and though they can bite during the day or with light, they usually occur while people are sleeping, usually when the host is in their deepest part of sleep, most typically 3-5AM. Feeding takes three to 15 minutes, depending on maturity, and immediately after feeding the bug crawls off  to digest their meal in a safe place. The bite sites are usually small, pinprick-sized lesions that may or may not become inflamed, though often the human host finds that they itch. Bite marks can be random or in a straight line.<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/Publications/Bed_Bugs_CDC-EPA_Statement.htm</ref><ref>[http://www.michigan.gov/documents/emergingdiseases/Bed_Bug_Manual_v1_full_reduce_326605_7.pdf MICHIGAN MANUAL FOR THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF BED BUGS]</ref>

In addition to bites, bedbugs are made evident by areas are marked by dark spotting and staining, which is the dried blood excrement of the bugs. Dark spots of dried bed bug excrement are often present along mattress seams or wherever the bugs have resided. Also present are eggs and eggshells, the brownish molted skins of maturing nymphs and the bugs themselves, though these may be hidden more deeply. Less often one may see rusty or reddish blood smears on bed sheets or mattresses from crushing an engorged bed bug. Some companies are beginning to use canines for detecting infestations, which, if properly trained, can be very effective.<ref>[http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef636.asp BED BUGS]</ref>

Bedbugs do not have nests like ants or bees, but do tend to congregate in habitual hiding places. They are attracted by the carbon dioxide and (secondarily) the heat that people generate, and they will feed only through a membrane.<ref>[http://www.faqs.org/periodicals/201006/2054573271.html ''Bed Bugs: The Pesticide Dilemma'']</ref> Bedbugs can travel at the rate of 3 feet per minute and 100 feet in one night, but they tend to live within 8 feet of where people sleep. They appear to have an affinity for wood and fabric more so than metal or plastic. Bedbugs hide in such places as mattresses seams, box springs, bed frames and headboards, dresser tables, cracks or crevices, baseboards, behind wallpaper, and under any clothes, clutter or objects around a bed. Their small flat bodies allow them to fit into the smallest of spaces and they can remain in place for long periods of time, even without a blood meal. Bedbugs are easily and usually transported from place to place by people as they travel, and eggs and instar nymphs are especially hard to detect. 

Cold temperatures below 55 degrees stop bed bug development and egg production,<ref>http://www.bedbugsite.com/faq.php</ref> however, bed bugs are remarkably resistant in almost every sense of the word, and are comfortable within all but the extremes of most inhabitable climates. They have a wide humidity tolerance range but tolerate dry climates better than humid. They can survive freezing temperatures (32°F) for days and tolerate much lower temperatures (5°F) for short periods.<ref> http://www.michigan.gov/documents/emergingdiseases/Bed_Bug_Manual_v1_full_reduce_326605_7.pdf</ref> Bedbugs of all stages of maturity can survive at least 5 days at  14°F, but all stages die after exposure to 26°F for 15 minutes.  The upper lethal temperature for nymphs and adults is is 113°F and 115°F for eggs.

In addition to bites, bedbugs are made evident by areas marked by dark spotting and staining, which is the dried blood excrement of the bugs. Dark spots of dried bed bug excrement are often present along mattress seams or wherever the bugs have resided. Also present are eggs and eggshells, the brownish molted skins of maturing nymphs and the bugs themselves, though these may be hidden more deeply. Less often one may see rusty or reddish blood smears on bed sheets or mattresses from crushing an engorged bed bug. Some companies are beginning to use canines for detecting infestations, which, if properly trained, can be very effective.<ref>[http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef636.asp BED BUGS]</ref>

 

Although bed bugs have the ability to drink water through their proboscis, they appear to do so rather sparingly, as  they rely on blood to replenish water stores; none of the bedbugs examined in any stage had the capacity to absorb water vapor. As the bed bugs mature they need less water.<ref>http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/reprint/76/5/987.pdf</ref>

Bedbugs can run at a rate of 1 inch per second/4ft. per minute, and can climb most walls and cling to ceilings, but are thought to be unable to detect a human presence beyond 5 feet.<ref>http://www.birc.org/MarApril2007.pdf</ref> As bedbugs become active when sensing human presence, in the 1960s the US Army considered them for use in a portable insect ambush detector or a stationary intrusion detector device.<ref>http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/AD837100</ref>

Bedbugs can run at a rate of 1 inch per second/4ft. per minute, and can climb most walls and cling to ceilings, but are thought to be unable to detect a human presence beyond 5 feet.<ref>http://www.birc.org/MarApril2007.pdf</ref> As bedbugs become active when sensing human presence, in the 1960s the US Army considered them for use in a portable insect ambush detector or a stationary intrusion detector device.<ref>http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/AD837100</ref>

==Health issues==

==Health issues==