Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Reader questions (do not fit into other categories)
So where are they now?
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bbbitten
junior member
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 39
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Sep 10 2008 11:49:01
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So far I've got rid of my wood bed, put up a metal bed and done lots of vacuuming. Washed everything, bagged and removed everything that was under the bed, put double sided tape on the metal bed legs. I bought some DE but haven't put it down yet, will do tonight. I did this about 2 weeks ago and I've only had 1 bite, and that was because our blanket was touching the floor for some part of the night. So, where are they, what are they doing? I know that they need a blood meal to go to the next stage, so assuming there are no other hosts in the area, will they eventually die? Do they stop laying eggs if there is no blood meal? I know the adults can go dormant for up to 18 mos, but what about the others? I wouldn't think that they would go dormant if there is a blood meal near but they can't get to it. Don't they only go dormant if there is no blood meal around?
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infest
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Joined: Aug '07
Posts: 39
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Sep 10 2008 12:13:25
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i really need to know the answer to these questions too. we had bb's last year, thought we got rid of them, but i think they just went dormant. now we have them again, and i don't think they were re-introduced, because they seem to be in the same spot. do they lay eggs if they're dormant?
such a complicated pest. how do we know they're gone for good? cause i thought they were gone for an entire year, but i was wrong. -
Itchy-Scratchy
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Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 470
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Sep 11 2008 1:00:47
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I would also like to know how we can be sure they're gone for good.
I guess if we're BB free for 2 years, there aren't any dormant bugs. But two years is a long time to wait ... I may go crazy before that point...
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CimexintheCity
newbite
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 7
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Sep 11 2008 8:43:33
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These questions are really important, especially since my wife and I have very little reaction to BB bites and must rely on scarce physical evidence. We found BBs more then a month ago but had the PCO come through twice, replaced the whole bed and encased the mattresses, etc. While I haven't seen any live BBs for a couple weeks, last night I found three beige (not dark) nymphs stuck to double-sided tape on bed table (tape used as barrier to keep BBs out of clock-radio). If they are newly hatched, we're pooched since an adult female must have fed on us within the past two weeks. If not newly hatched, the nymphs must have been around a while, avoided the chemicals (maybe by living in the table which I thought was treated sufficiently), and got stuck while looking for a way to get to us. Anyhoot, here's my thoughts (and I'm no expert):
1) If BBs in any stage don't get a meal, they will eventually die (Ok, that's self-evident).
2) Nymphs likely do not live as long as their adult counterparts and will perish sooner (though I don't know when that would be). Most fact sheets say BBs live for "several months" without food (and higher temperatures and dryer conditions will decrease lifespans). But I've never seen a consensus on the time period fo this.
3) Female BBs must have a blood meal soon before laying eggs; thus, they would not lay eggs if dormant.
4) BBs will never go into dormancy if they detect a food source nearby, even if they can't get to it. Thus, if no reintroduction of BBs, they should only live for "several months" without food.Here's an experiment I would like to see: Place bed bugs of all stages in a room with an inaccessible, but detectable, food source and gauge their lifespans. This is important since I think the 18-month statistic is for dormant BBs, kept away from food at night (or in a dark container in a lab). I think the stress of trying to reach an inaccesible food source would limit the BB life span. And, again, if bedbugs would just give up after trying a few times and go dormant, what could possibly trigger them to be active again? They would just die in dormancy. Just my thoughts.
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bbbitten
junior member
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 39
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Sep 11 2008 10:20:01
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CimexintheCity, that's exactly what I was thinking and was hoping to get the answer from someone who has really studied these creatures. I can't find anything on the web about this. But as you say, I would think they would keep trying to get to the food source and have a shorter life span if they could not get to it.
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spideyjg
oldtimer
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 1,614
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Sep 11 2008 10:47:47
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http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/my-live-bb-nursery-im-a-proud-god-father#post-15946
Here was a thread where someone took prisoners and starved them.
Some entomology questions answered...
http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/emtomolgy-questions
Jim
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anamorphosis
newbite
Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 25
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Sep 11 2008 11:24:56
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There was someone who sort of did this on "this american life". She put some bed bugs in a jar and then watched them breed and breed without feeding of any kind, until she could not stand it anymore and threw the jar away.
Link to the radio program here:
It's called "Fear of Sleep"http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=361
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bbbitten
junior member
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 39
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Sep 11 2008 13:25:01
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seems like it's a sensationalized show. Not really sure if this is factual or not.
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bbbitten
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Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 39
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Sep 11 2008 14:09:55
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ok, I found this quote "After a blood meal, female bed bugs will lay one to five eggs a day. With multiple feedings they may lay 200 or more eggs during their life." from http://entweb.clemson.edu/eiis/pdfs/hs29.pdf. Seems like a reliable source (Clemson University). So the question remains, how many eggs can they lay with one feeding?
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bbbitten - 1 day ago »
I did this about 2 weeks ago and I've only had 1 bite, and that was because our blanket was touching the floor for some part of the night.If the metal legs of your bed touch the floor, why can't bed bugs climb up on it? Is the bed isolated per the faqs?
So, where are they, what are they doing? I know that they need a blood meal to go to the next stage, so assuming there are no other hosts in the area, will they eventually die?
I would ask why you and anyone in your home is no longer a "host"? Remember that if bed bugs are present, they will bite in the daytime. Even if you fully isolated your bed, they can bite you when you sit in a chair, or even (if they're desperate) when you're standing up.
I guess my point is, I would not assume you have cut off the food supply. Sorry that is not what you want to hear.
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bbbitten
junior member
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 39
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Sep 11 2008 14:20:30
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also found this from Purdue University "Both adult male and female bed bugs feed on blood and take repeated blood meals during their lives. Females require blood for the development of eggs." - link is - http://www.entm.purdue.edu/publichealth/insects/bedbug.html
This is promising, but still nothing about how many eggs they can lay before they need a feeding.
Is there an expert in the house? -
spideyjg
oldtimer
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 1,614
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Sep 11 2008 14:21:36
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There are studies from the early 20th century on egg laying and there are many factors but females did lay viable eggs for 21 days after a feeding in one experiment.
I am no BB expert. In the BB Science section you will find a thread I started called "Interesting read from 1934" where you can search scientific papers.
I found one that contains synopsis of many other papers and the 21 days comes from one of those synopsis.
The BB community has far more questions than there are clear cut answers on. I went searching answers to my questions in the available literature to the layman.
Bottom line after a period of starvation, No people or any mammal to feed on, eggs will stop being laid, and various stages begin to die off. Fundamental biology comes into play that in the absence of sustenance the more energy expended or the faster the metabolism, the faster death will occur.
If you read that Entomology questions thread there is a link to data from the BB bible by Usinger who studied the crap out of BBs in the 60's.
Jim
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bbbitten
junior member
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 39
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Sep 11 2008 14:30:30
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Nobugsonme, I would know if I were being bitten. I may not know if the nymphs were biting me, I may assume they were something else. But when I was 1st invaded, I had welts all over my body. All over my back, legs, upper chest and even on my head. And believe me, they itched! I did put sticky tape on the legs of the bed. I believe they probably just go up to it, see that there's sticky tape there and turn around and try another route. I haven't found any on the tape.
But getting back to my real question. If I am not getting bit, it seems to me that at least they are not laying as many eggs. I'm not sure how many eggs a female can lay with one feeding. That's what I would like to find out. -
bbitten,
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