How long do starving bedbugs live? - briefly
Bed bugs can endure months without a blood meal, usually surviving up to six months, and under ideal conditions occasionally reaching a year. Their longevity declines sharply once the starvation period exceeds these limits.
How long do starving bedbugs live? - in detail
Bedbugs require a blood meal to complete each developmental stage, but they can endure extended periods without feeding. Under laboratory conditions at 22 °C (72 °F) and 70 % relative humidity, adult specimens have been recorded surviving for 100 days or more when no host is available. Nymphal stages, which have higher metabolic demands, typically persist for 30–60 days without nourishment, although the final instar may reach 80 days.
Several environmental factors modify these limits:
- Temperature: At 10 °C (50 °F) metabolism slows dramatically, allowing adults to live beyond 150 days. Conversely, at 30 °C (86 °F) survival declines to 40–50 days because increased metabolic rates exhaust energy reserves more quickly.
- Relative humidity: Low humidity accelerates desiccation, shortening survival by 20–30 %. High humidity (≥80 %) prolongs life by reducing water loss.
- Life stage: Eggs do not feed and can remain viable for up to 2 weeks before hatching; newly emerged first‑instar nymphs are the most vulnerable, often dying within weeks if a meal is not obtained.
Empirical studies support these observations. One experiment placed adult bedbugs in sealed containers with no host; 85 % remained alive after 90 days at 20 °C, dropping to 20 % by day 120. Another trial showed that fifth‑instar nymphs survived 70 days at 25 °C but only 45 days when humidity fell below 50 %.
The practical consequence is that infestations can persist for months even after hosts are absent, especially in cooler, humid environments. Effective eradication therefore requires sustained treatment over a period that exceeds the longest documented starvation survival, typically 6 months, to ensure that all individuals, including the most resilient adults, are eliminated.