Where Do Bed Bugs Hide In The Winter

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Where Do Bed Bugs Hide In The Winter? A number of animals are known to slumber in the winter, while others tend to slow or alter their normal activities. This is because their bodies cannot adapt to the cold very well, so they find themselves feeling more sluggish than normal. This explains why it’s so hard to get rid of your relatives after Christmas dinner.

Many insects are the same way. They are unable to cope as well in the cold as they can in the warmer months of the year, so they become more scarce than normal. For some homeowners, this prompts a very simple question: where do bed bugs hide in the winter?

Important Facts About Bed Bugs In Winter:

Bed bugs can’t live in extreme temperatures.
Freezing temperatures under 32 degrees will kill them, but so will temperatures over 120.

bed bug colony in mattress

Where do bed bugs hide outside when it’s cold?

Do bed Bugs Hibernate In The Winter?

This a tricky question, because there is one simple truth to face: bed bugs do not stay outside when it gets cold. Bed bugs might be difficult to get rid of, especially in the case of an infestation, but their bodies are fragile. If they attempted to stay outside during winter, they wouldn’t stand a chance. They would quickly die off.

The fact is that bed bugs do not have the ability to hibernate. When winter arrives, they have no choice but to push through it and try to survive. The best way for them to do this is to find a warm place to hide out. If they can get inside your home, this becomes their warm place. And since bed bugs can often live up to a year without feeding, they can stay hidden for a good long while.

Where do bed bugs hide in the winter?

Where To Start?

Now that we’ve established that there is no chance that bed bugs will attempt to stay outside since it would mean certain death, you must consider where they will hide inside your house. Although the simple answer would be that bed bugs will hide in the same areas as they do during other parts of the year, it is important that you pay closer attention to places that are heated during the winter. Start looking in places such as

Mattress seams
Any holes in the mattress
Cracks in wood frames or headboards
Along the frame where the mattress rested
Wooden slats, on the ends that rested on the frame
In the holes where rails fit into the frame
Screw holes
Knots in the wood
Any items stored under the bed

Instead of concentrating on searching for evidence of bed bugs in attics or basements where it might be chilly, look in the warmer areas of your house such as bedrooms.

As always, bed bugs will hide in cracks and holes in the wall, along with inside mattresses and other furniture, where they will take up residence until such time that they can venture out (usually at night) and find a juicy person to sink their teeth into. No matter the season, always be on the lookout for these nasty parasites!

check house

Think You Have Bed Bugs? Call us for a FREE Phone Consultation!

If you have difficulty locating them or getting rid of them, it is a good idea to call a professional. With the increase of bed bug infestations over the years, pest control experts are well versed on how to get rid of bed bugs. If needed, they may suggest that you employ the use of bed bug dogs in order to locate them. At that point, these professionals will evaluate your needs and recommend what would be best in your specific situation.

Where Do Bed Bugs Hide In The Winter?