Do Bed Bugs Jump?

Need to get rid of bed bugs? Read on to learn the answers to all of your important questions. Need help? Call our professionals today to get started.

How Do Bed Bugs Move?

It’s happened to us all. One minute you’re sitting on your bed minding your own business when you see something move out of the corner of your eye. Or you look down and see something tiny jump from one place and disappear into the floor. What was it you saw? Could it have been a bed bug?

The answer is: most likely not. Bed bugs are very small, reddish, flat bugs about the size of an apple seed or Lincoln’s head on a penny. While they mostly move at night, they will move around during the day. 

It’s not impossible that you could have seen a bed bug move from one place to another, but if you have spotted something that moved very quickly, it was probably not a bed bug since they move at about the same speed as an ant—about 3 to 4 feet a minute (which, while fast enough, probably isn’t something that would make you jump)

Can Bed Bugs Jump?

Speaking of jumping…If what you saw was a small insect that jumped from one place to another, what you saw was also not a bed bug. Bed bugs cannot jump because they do not have feet or legs that can perform any kind of spring action. 

Can Bed Bugs Fly?

Bed bugs do not have wings and therefore cannot fly. Bed bugs, instead, have tiny hooks on their feet which they use to cling onto the tiny pores that make up most of our surfaces. Bed bugs can crawl up slick surfaces such as metal bed frames, but if the surface in question is completely smooth, they will slide. They are equally ill-equipped to move across very uneven or shaggy surfaces such as rugs due to their weak legs which can’t push their heavy bodies up while they walk. 

Why Are Bed Bugs So Hard To Catch?

Despite the fact that bed bugs can’t fly, jump, hop, run fast or crawl quickly, they are still difficult to catch. Bed bugs certainly aren’t known for their quick movement but they are known for their amazing ability to hide. What their weak legs lack they make up for in their flat body shape which allows them to squeeze into the tiniest of cracks and crevices in your floor, floorboards, walls, furniture, frames and any other object near your sleeping space. 

If you suspect that you have bed bugs, you may find that though they are relatively slow, you will never see them crawling around. To find out if you have bed bugs for certain, it is best to call a pest control professional to do a proper inspection. 

Call Pest Control Experts

If you’re seeing creepy crawlies and don’t know what they are, it’s time to call an exterminator. 

A knowledgeable professional pest control specialist can figure out just what is skitting around your home and how best to take care of any pest situation. 

Call Pest Control Experts to take care of your insect problem today.