Are bed bugs contagious?

Bed bugs are not contagious. This means that they cannot be spread from one individual to another individual by direct contact. Bed bugs don’t even live on people, but reside in household items, furniture, and bedding – anywhere near where humans rest/sleep- so that they hide away until they can use human for a blood meal when resting.

Even though bed bugs are not contagious, they are very easily transported and spread through people or travellers who pick up these parasites in highly populated areas where people tend to stay overnight such as hotels, airports, hospitals. Once a person has visited a bed bug infected location, they then carry them through their clothing, bags, luggage, and even backpacks into their home. This ‘picking up’ of bed bugs occurs as simply as lying down on a bed in an infected location, such as a hotel, and then travelling home and lying down on your own bed, transporting the bed beg though clothing where it can then reside in your mattress or box spring.

Once a person or traveller has transported the parasite into their home, it is highly likely an infestation will occur as bed bugs reproduce rapidly. Because bed bugs can be transported and result in an infestation very easily, it’s not surprising it is thought that they are contagious. It is also more common for bed begs to infect homes where people are sharing living spaces such as apartment, any place where people are visiting house to house, or a place that is highly populated with overnight stays.

Bed bugs once transported in your home, reside, and hide away on bedding, clothing, furniture, mattresses, sofa, box springs, bed frames and other household items. Bed bugs once resided and in search for a blood meal, can even travel through ventilation ducts, water pipes, gutters, floor, wall opening and cables. They can even travel though ceiling, where they can scutter across and drop down to land on a person to feed off.