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How Do bed Bugs Spread?

Bed bugs can spread throughout your home faster than you would expect. Infestations most often start when bed bugs find their way into a new space after traveling on suitcases, backpacks, purses, or luggage.

Bed bugs usually spread in the following ways:

  • College students coming home with unknown bed bug problems
  • Bringing bed bugs back from travel or an infested hotel
  • Taking infested furniture or second-hand items home
How do bed bugs spread in Northern Utah - Rentokil

Can Bed Bugs Jump or Fly?

Bed bugs have wing vestiges, but they do not grow into fully developed wings, rendering them flightless. They also are not capable of jumping long distances like fleas or other similarly-sized insects. So how do bed bugs travel so far? They crawl! Bed bugs are sluggish insects, but because they tend to find homes near their food source, there’s no need for them to crawl quickly. After feeding, they’ll crawl back to their hiding place until they’re hungry again. In rare cases, you might catch some bed bugs crawling on your walls.

How Fast Do Bed Bugs Spread in Northern Utah?

Thankfully, bed bugs are not able to fly or jump long distances. So how do they spread across our homes? Bed bugs are often found latching onto purses, suitcases, backpacks, and luggage. From there, they can easily transport to nearby locations that they find suitable. This is why bed bug infestations are frequently attributed to recent travel. It’s important to remain aware when traveling to avoid bringing them back to your home. Bed bugs may be slow, but they’re expert hiders and can maneuver around your home with ease. 

Do Bed Bugs Spread Easily?

Although bed bugs commonly spread between items that people carry, they are not contagious in the sense of being transmitted from one person to another. Bed bugs do not like constant heat, and thus do not live on human bodies. Although they aren’t contagious as such, it is very common for bed bugs to spread from one place to another through the aforementioned methods of travel. For help getting rid of a bed bug problem in your home, reach out to your local pest control experts. 

How Do Bed Bugs Spread? in Salt Lake County and Northern Utah

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