How Do Bed Bugs Spread? How They Travel, How Fast and How to Stop Them

How Do Bed Bugs Spread?

Bed bugs spread in two ways: they crawl short distances on their own, and they hitchhike on people's belongings to go farther. They are small, wingless insects that feed on blood while people sleep, according to Health Canada, so they stay close to beds, couches and other places where people rest. Everything about how they spread comes back to that habit.

Can Bed Bugs Fly or Jump?

Bed bugs cannot fly or jump. Health Canada describes them as wingless, and the University of Kentucky notes they usually do not jump like fleas. If a bug lands on you from the air or hops across the floor, it is not a bed bug. Our guide to bed bug infestations explains how to identify them.

How Bed Bugs Crawl

Bed bugs crawl, and they can do it quickly over floors, walls, ceilings and other surfaces (University of Kentucky). They have a harder time on smooth materials: Health Canada notes they cannot easily climb metal or polished surfaces. They prefer to hide close to where they feed, but a hungry bed bug will crawl longer distances to find a meal.

How Bed Bugs Hitchhike

Bed bugs hitchhike by hiding in belongings that sit near a sleeping or resting person, then staying inside when those things are moved. The University of Kentucky calls them efficient hitchhikers that are easily carried into homes on luggage, clothing, beds, furniture and belongings. Their eggs make the problem worse: Health Canada explains that eggs have a sticky coating and are laid in cracks, crevices and other hidden spots, so a piece of furniture can carry the next generation along with it.

Do Bed Bugs Spread From Person to Person?

Bed bugs do not spread from person to person the way lice do. According to the University of Kentucky, they usually do not live on or attach to people; right after feeding, they often crawl away to a hidden spot to digest. What moves between people is their stuff: a bag, a coat, a used couch. A hug or a handshake is not how bed bugs travel.

How Do Bed Bugs Spread From Place to Place?

Bed bugs spread from place to place almost always because a person carries them in something. HealthLink BC lists clothing, backpacks, luggage and books as common rides, and notes that bed bugs are found in homes, hotels, student residences and shelters. For the full list of where a first bed bug usually comes from, see our guide to what causes bed bugs.

Hotel Luggage

Hotel luggage can be a common way for bed bugs to spread, because hotels have a constant turnover of guests (University of Kentucky). In a hotel room, the area behind the headboard is often the first place bed bugs settle, and a suitcase left on the bed or the carpet is an easy target.

Health Canada recommends checking the room before you bring your luggage in, keeping your suitcase off the bed and the floor (use the luggage rack or the bathtub), and checking the mattress seams, box spring and headboard. If you find signs, ask for another room that is not next to the suspect one.

Second-Hand Furniture

Second-hand furniture spreads bed bugs because they hide deep in seams, joints and cracks where a quick look will not find them. Health Canada advises being cautious with second-hand or refurbished items. HealthLink BC adds that you may want to check furniture and bedding from second-hand stores, garage sales or roadside pickup yourself, rather than relying on the seller's word. The University of Kentucky recommends never bringing discarded mattresses or sofas home from the curb.

Clothing and Bags

Clothing and bags carry bed bugs when they sit close to an infested bed, couch or floor. The University of Kentucky notes bed bugs can sometimes be carried in on clothing, shoes, backpacks, luggage and even a wheelchair. Shared laundry is another possible route: Health Canada suggests using a light plastic basket at the laundromat instead of a cloth bag, and setting it on top of the washer rather than on the floor.

Public Places

Public places such as schools, offices, libraries and public transit can sometimes have bed bugs, because wherever there are people, there can be bed bugs (University of Kentucky). In schools, they are usually brought in by students or staff with an infestation at home. The reassuring part: in places without beds or regular sleeping hosts, a few bed bugs may be much less likely to multiply into a real infestation.

Moving Day

Moving day can spread bed bugs from an old home to a new one, because every bed, couch and box goes on the truck together. Our guide to avoiding bed bugs when moving walks you through checking and packing your things.

How Do Bed Bugs Spread Inside a Home or Building?

Inside a building, bed bugs spread by crawling through cracks and openings and by riding on the people and things that move between rooms. The University of Kentucky explains that once introduced, they may crawl from room to room, or floor to floor, through cracks and openings in walls, floors and ceilings.

Room to Room

Room to room spread usually starts in the bedroom and moves outward as the population grows, often helped by laundry baskets, blankets or furniture carried between rooms. Health Canada notes bed bugs are easily moved from room to room on infested objects. Our guide on whether bed bugs can infest the whole house covers this in detail.

Between Apartments

Between apartments, bed bugs travel through shared walls, along openings for pipes and wires, and on residents and their belongings. That is why Health Canada advises checking entry points on walls you share with neighbours. The University of Kentucky warns that neglected infestations in apartments and hotels can spread to other units. If you think your bed bugs came from next door, read our guides on bed bugs coming from neighbours and bed bugs in apartments.

Vacant Units

Vacant units push bed bugs outward. When an infested apartment is empty, the University of Kentucky says bed bugs may disperse to nearby units, or wait with reduced activity until someone moves back in. Leaving a home empty may not be a reliable way to get rid of them.

Late Detection

Late detection gives bed bugs time to spread. At first, they stay concentrated around beds, sofas and other resting spots. The longer they go unnoticed and the larger their numbers, the more they tend to move into other places, which can make them harder to eliminate (University of Kentucky). Knowing where bed bugs hide helps you catch them while they are still in one spot.

Disturbance

Disturbance can scatter bed bugs. Orkin Canada, a pest control company, lists taking apart furniture, moving infested items down a hallway, using one vacuum in several rooms and applying pesticides incorrectly as ways people can accidentally spread them, and Purdue University Extension also warns against moving items out of infested rooms before treatment. UF/IFAS Extension adds that herbal remedies and homemade treatments may not work against bed bugs, and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension calls bug bombs mostly ineffective.

How Fast Do Bed Bugs Spread?

Bed bugs spread fast enough that a few hitchhikers can grow into a much larger problem within weeks. How fast depends on two things: how far they crawl, and how quickly the population grows.

Crawling Speed

Bed bugs can crawl several metres in minutes. In one laboratory study cited by UF/IFAS Extension, bed bugs reportedly travelled 4.9 metres (about 16 feet) in five minutes. That is more than enough to cross a bedroom, and riding along with people lets them travel much farther still.

Egg Laying

Egg laying keeps a bed bug infestation growing every day. Health Canada says a female lays at least 200 eggs in her lifetime, at a rate of about 2 to 4 a day, and the eggs usually hatch in 6 to 17 days.

Population Doubling

Population doubling is what makes bed bugs feel like they appeared overnight. Under ideal conditions, with warm rooms and a person to feed on, a bed bug population can double every 16 days (Mississippi State University Extension, Virginia Department of Agriculture). The University of Kentucky notes bed bugs may mature in as little as a month, while cooler temperatures or limited access to a host can slow them down. Our guide to how fast bed bugs multiply lays out the full timeline.

Survival Without a Meal

Survival without a meal lets bed bugs spread on furniture and boxes that sit unused for a long time. Health Canada says they can live from several weeks to up to a year and a half without feeding. In heated buildings, the typical range is likely shorter, about 1 to 4 months according to the University of Kentucky, which is still long enough to survive in storage or in an empty unit.

How Do You Stop Bed Bugs From Spreading?

Stopping bed bugs from spreading means keeping infested things contained until they are treated, and not carrying them anywhere new. These steps limit the spread while you deal with the infestation itself.

Bagging Infested Items

Bagging infested items is the first step before you move anything. The University of Kentucky recommends placing bedding and clothing in plastic bags before carrying them to the washer or dryer, so bugs do not fall off along the way. The Quebec government also advises sealing treated items in plastic bags and keeping them away from the infested room until treatment there is finished.

Hot Dryer Cycle

A hot dryer cycle kills bed bugs on fabrics. Health Canada recommends putting small non-washable items and dry-clean-only items in a hot dryer, usually for 30 minutes or more, and washing bedding and clothes in hot water.

Vacuum Bag Disposal

Vacuum bag disposal matters because a vacuum can carry live bed bugs to the next room. The Quebec government advises emptying the bag or canister into a plastic bag right after each use, sealing it and putting it in an outdoor bin.

Discarding Furniture

Discarding furniture is rarely necessary, and most belongings can be treated instead (University of Kentucky). If you do throw out an infested mattress or couch, wrap it in plastic so bugs are less likely to fall off on the way out, and slash or damage it so nobody takes it home, as the US EPA recommends.

Bed Isolation

Bed isolation keeps bed bugs from climbing back to you while you treat. The University of Kentucky suggests pulling the bed a few inches away from the wall, keeping blankets off the floor and placing interceptors under the bed legs, which can help catch wandering bed bugs. Reducing clutter also removes hiding spots, according to the US EPA.

After Travel

After travel, check your bags before they come into the house. Health Canada's advice includes inspecting luggage on a hard surface, washing all clothing and fabric items in hot water whether you wore them or not, drying non-washable items on the highest heat for about 30 minutes, and vacuuming the suitcase, then sealing the vacuum bag in a garbage bag right away.

Telling Your Landlord

Telling your landlord early protects the whole building. The University of Kentucky says nearby units often need to be inspected too, since bed bugs can disperse building-wide. Our guide to who pays for bed bug extermination explains landlord and tenant duties in Canada.

When to Call a Licensed Professional

Calling a licensed professional is the most reliable way to stop the spread once bed bugs are established. Health Canada strongly recommends hiring a licensed pest control operator, and says to use only pesticides registered by Health Canada, exactly as directed on the label. Store-bought sprays can have limited effect once they dry (University of Kentucky), and Purdue University Extension notes that aerosols and foggers have little or no residual effect, so if you compare products, start with our review of the best bed bug sprays and read every label for the PCP registration number. When you are ready, you can get a quote from a recommended local exterminator through Pest Agent's referral form.