When Do Bed Bugs Hatch?

August 25, 2021 3 min read

In our bid to control/eliminate bed bugs, we now know so much about them. Myths about them being invisible to the eyes no longer hold water. We now know how to differentiate them from other bugs and how to handle them. However, one thing has remained a mystery, a question everyone is asking: “When do bed bugs hatch?”

If you’re having a bed bug infestation (or you’ve successfully handled one), you’ll agree that knowing what to look for is a significant criterion in successfully eliminating these pests. Many bugs resemble and behave like bed bugs.

As such, it is essential to be able to specifically identify bed bugs to avoid spending big on costly treatments for the wrong bug. And one way to do that is by knowing how they behave, what they look like and even when they hatch.

Although a female adult bed bug is about 5-7 millimeters in length, it can lay between 1-5 eggs daily. These eggs (laid in clusters) are usually laid in floor cracks or crevices where they can be well hidden.

These eggs, just like bed bugs, are challenging to identify because of their length – they are approximately 1 millimeter in length. Finding them is difficult. Knowing when they hatch is even more difficult because of how bed bugs operate – usually in hiding.

However, like all other insects, these long and reddish-brown insects have a cycle of life. A female bed bug can lay between 450 – 500 eggs in one lifetime. So, when do bed bugs hatch?

A typical bed bug egg will hatch within two weeks of being laid. Some bed bug eggs have been recorded to hatch between 6 – 10 days. After the bed bugs hatch, the eggs produce nymphs. These nymphs appear like adults, except they are smaller in size and paler.

While this biology lesson is right for you, there’s a down-side to it. When these eggs hatch, they begin to feed immediately. And that’s not good news for you, especially if you are already dealing with a bed bug infestation.

It’s almost impossible to calculate how many bed bugs you may have because of this ‘hatching system.’ However, this bed bug cycle is the reason why all your attempts to get rid of bed bugs isn’t working. The harder you try, the more eggs are being hatched, and the more bed bugs you have to deal with.

It should be easy to kill these eggs before they are hatched. But they are usually difficult to locate and are mostly resistant to chemicals. At this stage, vacuuming, which is generally an effective way to eliminate bed bugs, is rarely effective in dealing with bed bug eggs. This is because they get firmly attached to the surface upon which they are laid.

To deal effectively with these eggs – before and after they hatch – you need the help of professional pest exterminators. And now that you have an answer to your “When do bed bugs hatch” question, you should use it to your advantage as you attempt to get rid of these pests.