What Do Bed Bugs Eat Other Than Blood?

You should be aware of the potentiality of bed bugs and their lifestyle.

But do you know what they eat other than blood?

We often see people wondering if bed bugs can survive on various things like dead skin, food dust, and even wood.

But are those people right?

What Do Bed Bugs Eat Other Than Blood?

The body and mouth of bed bugs are designed to suck blood only from the skins of humans and animals; They eat nothing but blood. These insects neither bite nor try to eat anything in their life, even if they are not getting blood to suck.

Since bed bugs only survive on blood, how will they survive if they do not find a host for a long time?

Or how do they suck blood from a host flash? As well. Do they eat wood, dead skin, and other bed bugs?

If you have all these questions in your mind, then don’t worry because today we have covered all these questions.

So keep reading this excellent article.

Do Bed Bugs Eat Dead Skin?

Since these insects live close to the skin, many people believe they eat dead skin and even human skin. But all these statements are not valid. Bed bugs can only survive on the blood they suck from a living host. They do not eat dead skin flasks and dust.

At the same time, some insects feed on the dust and flasks of dead skin. These insects are known as dust mites.

That’s why they are primarily found in bedding, furniture, and carpeting.

On average, a person can shed 1.5 grams of dead skin cells, eating up to a million dust mites at once.

If you remove any dead skin from your body, you can get dust mite infestation.

Many people get confused with dust mites and bed bugs, but the main thing that differentiates these insects from each other is that bed bugs survive on sucking blood, and dust mites survive on eating dead skin.

Can Bed Bugs Eat Wood?

Bed bugs have strong legs that help them climb wood.

They are much more comfortable on wood than on any other surface.

And, this is one of the main reasons they infect your bed and other furniture made of wood. But can they eat wood?

Bed bug legs are strong, but their jaw is not strong. That’s why they cannot eat wooden surfaces. Bed bugs can only live through premade cracks and gaps because they cannot burrow. Their size and shape allow this insect to hide comfortably inside these crevices.

Bed bugs can hide in wooden planks for months because they provide plenty of hiding places.

Even if they do not find a host, they wait or sleep somewhere; they do not eat wood as their secondary food.

Do Bed Bugs Eat Other Bed Bugs

Bed bugs risk their lives to feed their newborn nymphs. They spend so much time looking for new places, whether on a wall or inside a wooden floor.

These insects show a lot of care towards their future generations. This is why bed bugs do not eat each other.

They don’t even suck blood from each other’s bodies.

Furthermore, bed bugs are not aggressive towards other bed bugs, and thus they spread widespread infestations in the home very rapidly.

There are only three goals that bed bugs follow:-

• Drink blood from humans and animals.
• Mating with opposite sex.
• And, Laying eggs.

Can Bed Bugs Eat Their Eggs?

No, Bed bugs do not eat their eggs. They do not even eat other bed bugs’ eggs because all these insects have a kind of special communication with each other. They only think that raising their generation and eating their egg will extinct their species.

Eggs are the most precious thing in the world for bed bugs.

They keep them in the quietest and darkest place where no human can find them.

In addition, the female bugs look for a suitable place to lay eggs properly.

Do Bed Bugs Eat Left Over Food?

Most of the time, many pests are infected in dirty places.

In a messy room, the everyday things you find are dust, clothes on the floor, and leftover food.

Insects like cockroaches and bed bugs are attracted to these things.

Bed bugs do not care about the room conditions expect they only look for a place to access a potential host easily. They do not eat leftover food and crumbs also; Also, they don’t care whether the surface has dust particles or not.

Bed bugs seek out places where they can easily bite their host and hide to increase their population.

But if your room is messy, you’ll probably get cockroaches instead of bed bugs.

Cockroaches search for corners and cracks where they can hide.

Also, they survive on leftover foods. So it is essential to clean our room before it’s too late.

Can Bed Bugs Eat Other Insects?

Many insects eat other insects if they do not get the food they want, which is normal because that is how nature works.

For example:- ants can eat leftover food, dead insects (also live), and human blood.

Another example is spiders, as we know that spiders are one of the most active predators in nature.

They build new traps for their prey, but what about bed bugs? Can bed bugs eat other insects?

No, bed bugs never eat dead or live insects. Their metabolism is not built to digest other insects’ shells, wings, and legs. Also, the body is made only to suck blood; they cannot eat because they do not have teeth inside their jaws.

The ancestors of bed bugs also never eat other insects. They used to bite bats in caves.

When human civilization started living in shelters, these insects first tasted human blood.

They realize that they can quickly reach a human body and that a straw-like mouth can easily pierce their skin.

In this way, they get used to human blood.

Can Bed Bugs Drinks Water?

Bed bugs never drink water. They hydrate their bodies with blood. Since blood contains water, these insects satisfy their hunger and thirst with the host’s blood. These insects are made to suck blood, and metabolism separates the blood and consumes all the nutrients, even water, from the blood. And the rest is thrown out in the feces.

The bed bug’s mouth is made for sucking blood, they can also suck water, but they have developed their body not to feel thirsty for water.

These pests are indoor pests and are primarily found in your bed.

If they were outdoor insects, they would have had the opportunity to use ponds and streams or rainwater for drinking water.

Now that we’ve talked about which bed bugs can eat other blood, let’s talk about how long they can live without blood and their host.

How Long Can Bed Bugs Survive Without Food (Blood)?

Bed bugs are notorious pests. And, as we have mentioned in this post, they do not survive on anything other than blood.

But the fantastic thing about these insects is that they can survive for a long time even without proper food (blood).

But why and how long can they survive without blood?

An average adult bed bug can live for 200 to 400 days without proper nutrition. However, a nymph can only live for 3 to 5 months.

The reason behind this is simple, bed bugs do not suck blood to survive, but the primary purpose is to use the nutrients to grow from the 1st stage to the last step.

When a nymph is born, it first needs blood.

The nymph starts sucking blood from the first to the previous day, and this is because they want to increase their size.

But on the other hand, adult bed bugs inhibit their growth and metabolism from saving energy.

Some people think that they fall asleep when there is no blood. But the fact is they slow down their systems to gain as much power as they can.

Also, The body, especially its shell, blocks the air in and out.

Furthermore, bed bugs do not require water to dehydrate their bodies which can help them survive without a blood meal.

Why Bed Bugs Need Human Blood?

Bed Bugs can consume a perfect amount of nutrition from human blood. As we eat a healthy diet, our blood cells also become more and more healthy. And this is why these insects choose our blood as their primary source of nutrition.

Now you know that bed bug’s favorite and the only food is blood. They live on feeding only hosts, primarily humans.

There are several reasons why these insects prefer humans over mammals.

The earliest bed bugs lived in caves because this way, they could easily reach their hosts, “bats” and “humans.” Humans no longer live in caves.

They now live in buildings and mansions. However, bed bugs still live in shelters, known as “bat bugs,” and there are one more species known as “bed bugs.”

Their name comes from their quality to the infest beds and other furniture.

As we know, bed bugs bite only on exposed skin. And this is another reason why they chose humans.

Because humans are much bigger creatures than bed bugs, they have a lot of exposed skin, for example: – Feet and hands.

Humans produce new blood cells every day, which is advantageous for bed bugs.

These insects can get an unlimited amount of blood from human skin.

Conclusion

Bed bugs cannot survive on other sources of food. They survive only on the blood of humans and animals.

They do not eat wood, dead skin, other insects, and even each other. The only thing they live on is the blood of much larger organisms than them.

Also, they have evolved themselves to survive without blood.

And, unlike humans, bed bugs do not drink water. This can help these insects to live without food.

So if you liked this post of ours, “what do bed bugs eat other than blood?” So please let us know with your comments.

Also if you have any questions, you can write to us at any time. We love to hear from you.

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