It is important to understand the life cycle of bed bugs as this information can give you an idea of how severe your infestation is. A bed bug life cycle (egg to egg) takes about 4—5 weeks. Bed bugs will go through five molting cycles before reaching adulthood. Each cycle requires a single blood meal before molting (shed its skin) to the next stage. Once bed bugs reach maturity, the females will begin to reproduce after mating and feeding.

An adult female bed bug lays 3-10 eggs a days and will lay up to 500 eggs in its lifetime. Eggs are often deposited in cracks, crevices and/or on rough surfaces, usually in clusters--scattered if not producing many eggs in one day. Typically, eggs hatch in 6 to 12 days and the new nymphs (babies) actively seek out their first “blood meal”. Bed bugs will go from being a small egg to a full grown adult in as little as 28 days. Bed bugs have the unique ability to survive without feeds. First instar nymphs (first hatchlings) can survive up to six weeks without any blood meal. Nymph bed bugs can survive up to 3-4 months without a meal and adults can survive over year. The length of survival depends on the temperature and stage.