Will bed bugs die without a host?

Bed bugs survive solely on blood, they don’t swarm the kitchen for food or crumbs as they only acquire nourishment from blood -- it’s what their built for!

So, what happens if their blood host isn’t available to feed on? Usually, bed bugs feed once a week, preferring to feed on one person. However, what happens when their host isn’t available? Can they survive if you decide to pack your bags and leave for a while?

Bed bugs without a host

Without a host to feed on, bed bugs can survive for a very extensive amount of time without feeding! Young adult bed bugs can survive for weeks without feeding, and adult bed bugs can last months without feeding – this can be up to 4 and a half months. This is a long amount of time, so if you’re thinking to vacate your bug infested home for a quick fix, it unfortunately wouldn’t work.

However, the amount of time a bed bug can survive without a host depends on the temperature and environment. Bed bugs like warm and humid environments, and so if their environment has an optimal temperature, they can survive for months.

Bed bugs will die with these temperatures: 

• If temperature is below -3.9 degrees Celsius (25 F) 

• if temperature is above 45 degrees Celsius (113 F)

As well as temperature, if your home has pets such as cats, dogs, birds, or your garden has rodents, bed bugs can also use them for a blood meal to survive if their human host isn’t available! They travel great distances, travelling 20 feet and can live outdoors for a short period of time too.