Can Bed Bugs Live in the Outdoors?

The outdoor environment can make life difficult for bed bugs, they can survive in the backyard, park, or garden, waiting for an opportunity to hitch a ride indoors.

Bed bugs are nasty little critters commonly known to infest homes. As bed bugs feed solely on human blood, they prefer to stay close to their hosts. However, a common question that bed bug exterminator companies often ask is if bed bugs can survive outdoors. 

Although the outdoor environment can make life difficult for bed bugs, they can survive in the backyard, park, or garden, waiting for an opportunity to hitch a ride indoors. However, if the host spends considerable time outside, especially during spring and summer, they can comfortably live until they get an opportunity to move indoors.

How do bed bugs end up outdoors?

Generally, bed bugs do not live outdoors by choice. Either they are driven outside or land up there unknowingly. However, bed bugs can find themselves outside when a few of them are forced out of the house during bed bug treatment. They can also land outdoors when someone throws an infested mattress, sofa, or toys outside, if they fall off from the thing like a jacket, suitcase, bag, or purse they were hitchhiking on, or if someone buys an already-infested second-hand outdoor furniture.  

Bed bugs need a dark, warm, dry, and safe place close to their food source to thrive, which the outdoor environment fails to offer. Bed bugs do not jump, hop, or fly but can walk or hitchhike.

Outdoor hiding spots for bed bugs

Bed bugs do not hide in grass or flower patches. Some popular bed bug hiding spots outdoors include cracks, holes, and crevices in the exterior wooden structures, patio furniture, cushions, blankets, vehicles parked on the property, piles of firewood stacked near the home, fences, or general garden clutter. They can stay in these places till they can find a way to get indoors. 

How long can bed bugs survive outdoors?

The length of time the bed bugs will live outside the home depends on the following factors:

Temperature and weather conditions

Extreme heat and freezing temperatures can shorten the length of time they can spend outside comfortably. Professional treatments can kill bed bugs, their eggs, and larvae. Also, it is tough for bed bugs to survive for long when it is raining. When the places they are hiding fill with water, their chances of survival go down.

Food

One essential thing that bed bugs need to thrive is food. Females require blood to lay eggs, and only a regular supply of blood can make the young bed bugs reach adulthood. However, bed bugs can survive without food for four months in warm weather conditions. In cold conditions, the metabolism of bed bugs slows down, and they can go up to a year without food. Whether indoors or outdoors, a lack of food source for longer will cause the bed bugs to die. 

Natural predators

Lizards, cockroaches, spiders, masked bed bug hunters, and Pharoah ants are natural predators that will feed on bed bugs if they find them outdoors. Therefore, these predators also play a role in determining the possibility of bed bugs' survival outdoors. 

Bed bugs are a nuisance. It is best to call a pest control service if you suspect that bed bugs have infested the property, both indoors and outdoors.

Bed Bugs Arizona offers a free, in-home bed bug inspection and a one-year warranty on all bed bug services. No obligation. We specialize in apartment communities. Our fast, certified technicians provide the Pro-Treat Plus method of bed bug removal to Phoenix and surrounding cities in a 100-mile plus radius including Flagstaff, Globe, and Casa Grande. Veteran and senior discounts. Call now at (602) 962-8806.