Dormancy In The Life Of Bloodsucking Pests: Why Their Rest Period Is Longer Than Yours

Some people assume that the best bed bug treatment, or any treatment for bloodsucking pests, is to leave the place where the creatures are. Sure, that generally makes good sense, but if even one pregnant female bug travels with you, you cannot get away. Lice travel on the body. Bed bugs have been known to crawl into suitcases. Then there is the small issue with the dormancy period. You read that correctly; parasites have a dormancy period. The following will explain more about this period in the life of bloodsucking pests, and why their "rest" period is even longer than yours.

Survival Mode

​All creatures, even humans, have the means to go into survival mode. For humans, it is a little more dramatic, a little more painful, and a lot less restful than the methods of other creatures. Human bodies are used to eating, sleeping, drinking, and relieving themselves daily. Survival mode for humans involves slowly consuming one's own flesh and fluids from the inside out until it is no longer possible to do so. 

That is very different from bears, for example, who will eat a ton to put on a lot of bear fat, and then sleep all through winter while surviving on the excess weight they put on before hibernating. It is also very different from lice, who can go up to two weeks or more without a blood meal, and then ransack your head or body when you come back to the place where the lice have been laying in wait. Bed bugs, well, bed bugs are probably the most resilient of all creatures when it comes to dormancy and survival mode. They can go up to one year without eating any blood! So, if you think you can leave the bed bugs at home for a few weeks and then come back with no issues, you would be coming right back into the nest and jump starting the population of pests all over again. It is built into the bed bugs' survival code to rest as long as it takes to get the next meal, and that is usually a lot longer than most humans can stay away from their beds and their homes.

​Death: The Only Sure Pest Control Treatment for Bed Bugs

Any pest control expert will tell you that the only surefire way to control a bed bug problem is to kill the buggers. The exterminator you hire will come in, spray your mattresses, your box springs, your nightstands, your carpeting, your headboards and foot boards, your baseboards, etc., and then repeat the process once or twice more in a week or two to make sure all the pests have been eradicated. If you want to leave on vacation during this time or stay at a bug-free hotel near home, you can. 

Contact a company, like Arab Termite and Pest Control, for more help.

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