Theyre actually relatives to another household pest the common bed bug. Typically bat bugs are found in cracks and crevices in bat roosting areas.
Bat bugs are members of the Cimicidae family of insects.
How long do bat bugs live. Young bat bugs need to feed in order to moult and grow. Overall development from egg to adult takes up to two months and multiple generations may occur within the year. Adults can survive for up to a year or more without a blood meal depending on environmental conditions.
Typically bat bugs are found in cracks and crevices in bat roosting areas. But if the primary hosts bats leave the nesting area die or are eliminated bat bugs start moving inside a structure within one to four weeks to feed on alternative hosts. Although uncommon these include birds rodents and humans.
Once in living places and having found a host on which to live bat bugs will become. In favorable conditions a bat bug can survive a whopping 12 months without food. The eggs are laid in the bat nests or cracks and crevices where the bat bugs hide.
In a few weeks the eggs hatch into a nymph. The nymph requires a steady supply of blood meals to develop into an adult bug. Bat bugs are primarily bat-feeders.
However they will bite humans in the absence of their preferred host. Even though they cannot sustain or reproduce without bats bat bugs can live a long time before they die. To rid your environment of these bothersome creatures use an integrated approach of host-removal and insect destruction.
Bat bugs and bed bugs can live for up to a year without a meal however they will most likely leave your home in search of new hosts by then. MM Novato MM Novato email protected Administrator Bed Bug Blog. Most spiders live about two years but some have been known to live up to 20 years when in captivity.
Female spiders tend to live longer than male spiders. Many male spiders reach maturity within two years and die after mating. This is often because female spiders eat them.
A worker termite may live from one to two years. Amazingly adult bat bugs can survive for as long as a year without feeding but as they reproduce the young ones will get straight to sucking as much blood as they can find to grow. Bat bugs can be found creeping in cracks and crevices around the walls.
These fellow blood suckers are relatives of the bed bug. However they prefer to snack on the blood of bats. Meaning if you are finding bat bugs in your house its probably because you have a bigger pest problem bats.
What Do Bat Bugs Look Like. Bat Bugs have small oval bodies that are flattish so they can easily hide in cracks and crevices. These insects are transparent tan or beige in color but will.
Meet the bat bug. Bat bugs are members of the Cimicidae family of insects. Theyre actually relatives to another household pest the common bed bug.
Unlike the common bed bug however bat bugs do not prefer to feed on human blood though they will if need be. However as their name suggests their first choice of food is bat blood. Theres a good reason for this choice too.
Bat bugs cannot reproduce without their bat. If a bat bug has infiltrated your home and you are pretty certain that you have not come into contact with any bats you may be surprised to find out that a bat may be residing in your home in a place you dont suspect. Bats prefer to rest in secluded areas that you may not be regularly around such as in attics barnyards sheds basements garages vents and wall voids.
Bat Bug Infestation Bat Bug Control Bat bug infestations and the need to control bat bugs is a very common call that many wildlife removal companies receive in the spring summer and fall times of the year. Some companies will often refer this problem over to a pest control company thinking the bat bugs are another parasite known as a bed bug. Bats live in walls and attic spaces because they make great places to hibernate or raise their young.
Occasionally a bat will inadvertently get inside the living quarters - such as a bedroom. How long can the bat live in the house. The answer - quite some time.
The longest-living bat is 41 years old. Its said that the smaller the animal the shorter its lifespan but bats break that rule of longevity. Although most bats live less than 20 years in the wild scientists have documented six species that life more than 30 years.
Bat bug are the same size and look so similar a microscope or hand lens is needed to confidently tell them apart. Bat bugs are much more hairy than bed bugs and their hairs are much longer as well. One way to remember this is bats are hairier than humans.
Refer to Figure 1 for key features which distinguish the eastern bat bug. The answer is fairly complicated because there are over 1300 species of bats and each species has its own lifespan average. It is safe to say however that most bats live from 10 to 25 years which is still a long time.
It is said that if a bat reaches 30 years old thats about the equivalent of a human being reaching 100 years old. Bat bugs hair is longer than a bed bugs but this is almost impossible to see without the use of a microscope. Feeding on the blood of bats humans do not normally need to worry about bat bug bites.
However when the bat bugs are abandoned by their hosts they are forced to wander in search of other food sources. For this reason bat bugs have been known to sometimes bite. Because bats are most active at night they avoid most predators leading to a longer lifespan.
On average these animals live about 10 to 20 years. However some species can survive 30 years or more in the right environment.