How Do Bed Bugs Spread? How They Travel, How Fast and How to Stop Them

TL;DR

• Bed bugs spread two ways: they crawl short distances on their own, and they hitchhike on people's belongings to go farther. They cannot fly or jump.
• Their usual rides are clothing, backpacks, luggage, books and second-hand furniture. They do not spread from person to person the way lice do.
• Inside a building, they crawl from room to room, or floor to floor, through cracks and openings in walls, floors and ceilings (University of Kentucky).
• Under ideal conditions, a bed bug population can double every 16 days, so a few hitchhikers can become a much larger problem within weeks.
• Bag bedding and clothing before you carry them to the washer. Wash in hot water, and put non-washable items in a hot dryer for 30 minutes or more (Health Canada).
• Need help? Get a quote from a recommended local exterminator through Pest Agent's referral form.

Bed bugs spread on people's belongings far more than on their own legs. A small, wingless insect that cannot easily climb a polished surface still turns up in hotels, schools, libraries and public transit, carried there in a backpack, a coat or a second-hand couch.

That dependence on people shapes the whole problem. Most routes into a home, and from one apartment to the next, run through things someone picks up, moves or throws out, so most of them can be closed by changing how those things are handled.

Inside one home, though, the bugs do travel under their own power, crawling over floors, walls and ceilings to stay close to wherever people sleep and rest.

How Do Bed Bugs Spread?

Bed bugs spread in two ways: they crawl short distances on their own, and they hitchhike on people's belongings to go farther. They are small, wingless insects that feed on blood while people sleep, according to Health Canada, so they stay close to beds, couches and other places where people rest. Everything about how they spread comes back to that habit.

Can Bed Bugs Fly or Jump?

Bed bugs cannot fly or jump. Health Canada describes them as wingless, and the University of Kentucky confirms they do not jump like fleas. If a bug lands on you from the air or hops across the floor, it is not a bed bug. Our guide to bed bug infestations explains how to identify them.

How Bed Bugs Crawl

Bed bugs crawl, and they can do it quickly over floors, walls, ceilings and other surfaces (University of Kentucky). They have a harder time on smooth materials: Health Canada notes they cannot easily climb metal or polished surfaces. They prefer to hide close to where they feed, but a hungry bed bug will crawl longer distances to find a meal.

How Bed Bugs Hitchhike

Bed bugs hitchhike by hiding in belongings that sit near a sleeping or resting person, then staying inside when those things are moved. The University of Kentucky calls them efficient hitchhikers that are easily carried into homes on luggage, clothing, beds, furniture and belongings. Their eggs make the problem worse: Health Canada explains that eggs have a sticky coating and are laid in cracks, crevices and other hidden spots, so a piece of furniture can carry the next generation along with it.

Do Bed Bugs Spread From Person to Person?

Bed bugs do not spread from person to person the way lice do. According to the University of Kentucky, they normally do not live on or attach to people; right after feeding, they crawl away to a hidden spot to digest. What moves between people is their stuff: a bag, a coat, a used couch. A hug or a handshake is not how bed bugs travel.

How Do Bed Bugs Spread From Place to Place?

Bed bugs spread from place to place almost always because a person carries them in something. HealthLink BC lists clothing, backpacks, luggage and books as common rides, and notes that bed bugs are found in homes, hotels, student residences and shelters. For the full list of where a first bed bug usually comes from, see our guide to what causes bed bugs.

Hotel Luggage

Hotel luggage is one of the classic ways bed bugs spread, because hotels have a constant turnover of guests (University of Kentucky). In a hotel room, the area behind the headboard is often the first place bed bugs settle, and a suitcase left on the bed or the carpet is an easy target.

Health Canada recommends checking the room before you bring your luggage in, keeping your suitcase off the bed and the floor (use the luggage rack or the bathtub), and checking the mattress seams, box spring and headboard. If you find signs, ask for another room that is not next to the suspect one.

Second-Hand Furniture

Second-hand furniture spreads bed bugs because they hide deep in seams, joints and cracks where a quick look will not find them. Health Canada advises being very cautious with second-hand or refurbished items. HealthLink BC adds that you should check furniture and bedding from second-hand stores, garage sales or roadside pickup yourself, rather than relying on the seller's word. The University of Kentucky recommends never bringing discarded mattresses or sofas home from the curb.

Clothing and Bags

Clothing and bags carry bed bugs when they sit close to an infested bed, couch or floor. The University of Kentucky notes bed bugs can be carried in on clothing, shoes, backpacks, luggage and even a wheelchair. Shared laundry is another route: Health Canada suggests using a light plastic basket at the laundromat instead of a cloth bag, and setting it on top of the washer rather than on the floor.

Public Places

Public places such as schools, offices, libraries and public transit can all have bed bugs, because wherever there are people, there can be bed bugs (University of Kentucky). In schools, they are usually brought in by students or staff with an infestation at home. The reassuring part: in places without beds or regular sleeping hosts, a few bed bugs are much less likely to multiply into a real infestation.

Moving Day

Moving day can spread bed bugs from an old home to a new one, because every bed, couch and box goes on the truck together. Our guide to avoiding bed bugs when moving walks you through checking and packing your things.

How Do Bed Bugs Spread Inside a Home or Building?

Inside a building, bed bugs spread by crawling through cracks and openings and by riding on the people and things that move between rooms. The University of Kentucky explains that once introduced, they can crawl from room to room, or floor to floor, through cracks and openings in walls, floors and ceilings.

Room to Room

Room to room spread usually starts in the bedroom and moves outward as the population grows, often helped by laundry baskets, blankets or furniture carried between rooms. Health Canada notes bed bugs are easily moved from room to room on infested objects. Our guide on whether bed bugs can infest the whole house covers this in detail.

Between Apartments

Between apartments, bed bugs travel through shared walls, along openings for pipes and wires, and on residents and their belongings. That is why Health Canada advises checking entry points on walls you share with neighbours. The University of Kentucky warns that neglected infestations in apartments and hotels are more likely to spread to other units. If you think your bed bugs came from next door, read our guides on bed bugs coming from neighbours and bed bugs in apartments.

Vacant Units

Vacant units push bed bugs outward. When an infested apartment is empty, the University of Kentucky says bed bugs often disperse to nearby units, or wait with reduced activity until someone moves back in. Leaving a home empty is not a reliable way to get rid of them.

Late Detection

Late detection gives bed bugs time to spread. At first, they stay concentrated around beds, sofas and other resting spots. The longer they go unnoticed and the larger their numbers, the more they move into other places, which makes them harder to eliminate (University of Kentucky). Knowing where bed bugs hide helps you catch them while they are still in one spot.

Disturbance

Disturbance can scatter bed bugs. Orkin Canada, a pest control company, lists taking apart furniture, moving infested items down a hallway, using one vacuum in several rooms and applying pesticides incorrectly as ways people accidentally spread them. UF/IFAS Extension adds that bug bombs, herbal remedies and homemade treatments are ineffective against bed bugs.

How Fast Do Bed Bugs Spread?

Bed bugs spread fast enough that a few hitchhikers can grow into a much larger problem within weeks. How fast depends on two things: how far they crawl, and how quickly the population grows.

Crawling Speed

Bed bugs can crawl several metres in minutes. In one laboratory study cited by UF/IFAS Extension, bed bugs travelled 4.9 metres (about 16 feet) in five minutes. That is more than enough to cross a bedroom, and riding along with people lets them travel much farther still.

Egg Laying

Egg laying keeps a bed bug infestation growing every day. Health Canada says a female lays at least 200 eggs in her lifetime, at a rate of about 2 to 4 a day, and the eggs usually hatch in 6 to 17 days.

Population Doubling

Population doubling is what makes bed bugs feel like they appeared overnight. Under ideal conditions, with warm rooms and a person to feed on, a bed bug population can double every 16 days (Mississippi State University Extension, Virginia Department of Agriculture). The University of Kentucky notes bed bugs can mature in as little as a month, while cooler temperatures or limited access to a host slow them down. Our guide to how fast bed bugs multiply lays out the full timeline.

Survival Without a Meal

Survival without a meal lets bed bugs spread on furniture and boxes that sit unused for a long time. Health Canada says they can live from several weeks to up to a year and a half without feeding. In heated buildings, the University of Kentucky gives a more typical range of about 1 to 4 months, which is still long enough to survive in storage or in an empty unit.

How Do You Stop Bed Bugs From Spreading?

Stopping bed bugs from spreading means keeping infested things contained until they are treated, and not carrying them anywhere new. These steps limit the spread while you deal with the infestation itself.

Bagging Infested Items

Bagging infested items is the first step before you move anything. The University of Kentucky recommends placing bedding and clothing in plastic bags before carrying them to the washer or dryer, so bugs do not fall off along the way. The Quebec government also advises sealing treated items in plastic bags and keeping them away from the infested room until treatment there is finished.

Hot Dryer Cycle

A hot dryer cycle kills bed bugs on fabrics. Health Canada recommends putting small non-washable items and dry-clean-only items in a hot dryer for 30 minutes or more, and washing bedding and clothes in hot water.

Vacuum Bag Disposal

Vacuum bag disposal matters because a vacuum can carry live bed bugs to the next room. The Quebec government advises emptying the bag or canister into a plastic bag right after each use, sealing it and putting it in an outdoor bin.

Discarding Furniture

Discarding furniture is rarely necessary, and most belongings can be treated instead (University of Kentucky). If you do throw out an infested mattress or couch, wrap it in plastic so bugs do not fall off on the way out, and slash or damage it so nobody takes it home, as the US EPA recommends.

Bed Isolation

Bed isolation keeps bed bugs from climbing back to you while you treat. The University of Kentucky suggests pulling the bed a few inches away from the wall, keeping blankets off the floor and placing interceptors under the bed legs to catch wandering bed bugs. Reducing clutter also removes hiding spots, according to the US EPA.

After Travel

After travel, check your bags before they come into the house. Health Canada recommends inspecting luggage on a hard surface, washing all clothing and fabric items in hot water whether you wore them or not, drying non-washable items on the highest heat for 30 minutes, and vacuuming the suitcase, then sealing the vacuum bag in a garbage bag right away.

Telling Your Landlord

Telling your landlord early protects the whole building. The University of Kentucky says nearby units often need to be inspected too, since bed bugs can disperse building-wide. Our guide to who pays for bed bug extermination explains landlord and tenant duties in Canada.

When to Call a Licensed Professional

Calling a licensed professional is the most reliable way to stop the spread once bed bugs are established. Health Canada strongly recommends hiring a licensed pest control operator, and says to use only pesticides registered by Health Canada, exactly as directed on the label. Store-bought sprays have limited effect once they dry (University of Kentucky), so if you compare products, start with our review of the best bed bug sprays and read every label for the PCP registration number. When you are ready, you can get a quote from a recommended local exterminator through Pest Agent's referral form.