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How Fast Do Bed Bugs Move?

Bed bugs are one of the most common insects in the United States, as they are found in all 50 states. It makes it tricky to remove them since bed bugs move relatively fast, and not only do they move fast, but they multiply even more quickly.

While you might catch bed bugs spending time in one place doing absolutely nothing or crawling around slowly, they can actually be quite fast. Bed bugs move up to four feet per minute at their top speed. This might not seem a lot, but if we were to scale their size and speed to human values, bed bugs would move as fast as a human sprinting.

Bed bugs drawn onto mattress being inspectedOf course, bed bugs are fast only when they feel threatened. Usually, they will move around 100 feet per hour, or a bit more, which is more than enough to get them from one room to another in most households.

Even if bed bugs are fast, compared to a cockroach, booklice, tick, or spider beetle, they are much slower and thus easier to eliminate. Unfortunately, it is more common to have a bed bug infestation than most other insects.

Do Bed Bugs Move During the Day?

In most cases, bed bugs are considered nocturnal, so people often get bed bug bites overnight. However, they will come out during the night if the lights are on, and they will also sometimes come out during the day if they are hungry. That doesn’t mean that they won’t move when exposed to light though. While resting, bed bugs are quite stationary – but once disturbed, they will scurry away and relocate quickly. At night these pests can travel up to 20 feet in search of food (human blood) and new homes. 

How Easily Do Bed Bugs Move and Multiply?

One positive thing about a bed bug infestation is that they do not have wings, so they cannot spread around as fast as other insects. However, they often have good hiding places and lay many eggs.

Magnifying glass over bed with bed bug icon On average, a female bed bug will lay one egg per day, but this number can sometimes be as high as seven, and the eggs take about ten to fifteen days to hatch. While the numbers may not seem that high, this can quickly snowball into an infestation, as bed bugs live between four and six months.

Do baby bed bugs move fast, and how quickly can they reproduce? While they can crawl in the first few weeks of life, they often don’t move much until maturity. But, when it comes to reproduction, new hatchlings can reproduce after only six weeks, which is why bed bugs spread so fast and can be so difficult to get rid of entirely.

What Is the Most Common Way for Bed Bugs to Spread?

Bed bugs can spread from one location to another in different ways. The most common way bed bugs go from one place to another is by crawling, but the other way is by hitching a ride on a human or a bed that is coming with them when moving from one house to another.

For this reason, avoid moving your bed if you suspect an infestation. If you suspect that your furniture is infested with bed bugs, get the services of professionals to fumigate to contain the bed bugs before moving.

How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs

There are numerous DIY methods to rid of and prevent bed bugs. However, due to their fast-spreading potential and ability to hide in cracks, hiring pest control experts, such as Bed Bug Barbeque, is the wisest option. Visit our website or call (216) 221-1227 today!

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