Room temperature (21 °C): adults average 64–112 days without a blood meal; most of the hardiest stage are dead by about 144 days. Warm (26 °C): adults 43–99 days (Polanco et al. 2011). Cool (13 °C): adults 179–360 days, with one lasting 562–572 days (Johnson 1941). Virginia Tech: starved bugs at room temperature die within 70 days on average.
How long can bed bugs live without a host?
Weeks to months — and in a cool room, up to about a year. At ordinary room temperature, modern bed bugs that can't reach anyone to feed on die within about 70 days on average, according to Virginia Tech's extension entomologists, who note that they are probably dying of dehydration rather than hunger: blood is their only source of water. In a 2011 starvation study at 26 °C, the average bug survived anywhere from 13.8 days (the tiniest nymphs) to 127.9 days (the oldest nymphs), and no adult strain averaged more than about 100 days (Polanco, Miller & Brewster 2011).
Put simply, how long can bed bugs live without a host depends on three things: the temperature, the bug's life stage, and how humid its hiding place is. The CDC's own summary is that bed bugs "can live several months without a blood meal".
- Typical home, 21 °C (70 °F): adults average 64–112 days; most of any stage should be dead after about 144 days.
- Warm home, 26 °C (79 °F): adults average 43–99 days; the longest single bug lasted about 143 days.
- Cool home, 13 °C (55 °F): adults average 179–360 days, and one lived over 560 days (Johnson 1941).
So how long do bed bugs live without a host? About two to four months at room temperature for most adults; how long will bed bugs live without a host in a cold building is a different, much longer story. How long can a bed bug survive without a host also depends on luck — a hiding place near a pet, or a neighbour's bed, changes everything. The same question is asked as how long can bed bugs survive without a host, how long can bed bugs survive without host, how long do bed bugs survive without a host, how long do bed bugs last without a host, how long does a bed bug live without a host and how long will a bedbug live without a host; the calculator above answers all of them for your temperature.
How long can bed bugs live without humans?
People are their main host, but not their only one. How long can bed bugs live without humans around depends on whether anything else warm-blooded is nearby. Johnson (1941) found that bed bugs "can feed and reproduce on many warm-blooded animals", and bred them on mice, guinea pigs and chickens; the CDC notes they "bite people and animals". So how long can bed bugs live without a human is only the starvation figure if there are truly no pets, birds or rodents in reach. If there aren't, how long can bed bugs live without people is the same as the no-host figures in the table below, and how long can bed bugs survive without humans or how long do bed bugs live without humans comes down to temperature.
Can bed bugs feed on pets?
Yes. Bed bugs prefer people, but research going back to Johnson (1941) shows they can feed and reproduce on many warm-blooded animals — he bred them on mice, guinea pigs and poultry, and found the size of the blood meal similar on different hosts. A dog or cat left in an otherwise empty home can keep a population alive. For pet health questions, ask your vet.
How long can bed bugs live without feeding at different temperatures?
Temperature is the biggest factor in how long can bed bugs live without feeding. A starving bed bug is burning through its reserves and losing water; the cooler the room, the slower both happen. Here are the average survival times from the two key studies:
| Temperature | Adults (average) | Longest adult | 1st-stage nymphs | 2nd-stage nymphs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 °C (44.6 °F) | 209–286 days | 460 days | 53–124 days | 99–196 days |
| 13 °C (55.4 °F) | 179–360 days | 562 days | 48–112 days | 98–217 days |
| 15 °C (59 °F) | 147–276 days | 440 days | 47–108 days | 98–224 days |
| 18 °C (64.4 °F) | 99–152 days | 257 days | 27–72 days | 76–173 days |
| 21 °C (69.8 °F) | 64–112 days | 184 days | 20–58 days | 54–122 days |
| 23 °C (73.4 °F) | 40–85 days | 135 days | 17–52 days | 39–88 days |
| 26.3 °C (79.3 °F) | 43–99 days | 135 days | 14–36 days | 28–68 days |
Figures from 7 to 23 °C come from Johnson's experiments (1941; ranges span dry to humid air); 26.3 °C is the Polanco, Miller & Brewster study (2011; ranges span four strains). Rows between measured temperatures are interpolated. Notice the dip at 7 °C: below about 13–15 °C, survival starts to fall again (Johnson 1941).
So how long do bed bugs live without feeding at room temperature? Adults about 64–112 days at 21 °C. How long can bed bugs survive without feeding when the heating is low? At 15 °C adults average 147–276 days. Whether you ask how long will bed bugs live without feeding, how long will bed bugs survive without feeding, how long do bed bugs survive without feeding or how long does a bed bug live without feeding, the table gives the answer for each temperature. The longer phrasing — bed bugs how long can they live without feeding or how long can bed bugs last without feeding — gets the same figures. How long can a bed bug go without feeding between normal meals? Usually only 3–7 days, because they feed that often when a host is there (Virginia Tech); the long fasts only happen when they're stranded.
How long can bed bugs live without food or blood?
For a bed bug, food is blood: every stage feeds only on blood (Virginia Tech). So how long can bed bugs live without food, how long do bed bugs live without food and how long can bed bugs live without blood are the same question. How long do bed bugs live without blood? See the table above. How long can a bed bug survive without food at 21 °C? About 64–112 days for adults and 20–58 days for newly hatched nymphs. How long can a bed bug survive without blood in a warm 26 °C room? About 43–99 days for adults.
Other ways people ask this — how long bed bug can live without food, how long bed bug can survive without food, how long do bed bugs live for without food, how long do bed bugs survive without food, how long will bed bugs live without food, how long bed bugs live without food, bed bugs live how long without food, how long can bed bugs last without food and how long do bed bugs last without food — all point to the same numbers. So do how long can bed bug survive without blood, how long can bed bugs go without blood, how long can bed bugs last without blood, how long do bed bugs last without blood, how long will a bedbug live without blood and how long will bed bugs live without blood.
The lifespan of a bed bug without blood is shorter than its normal life. A well-fed adult lives 99–300 days in the lab (Virginia Tech), so the bed bug lifespan without food at room temperature is roughly a third to two-thirds of that. For the full picture with regular meals, see the bed bug lifespan calculator.
How long can bed bugs live without eating?
How long can bed bugs live without eating depends on how recently they ate. Johnson timed adults from their last meal; Polanco's study started with recently moulted bugs. Either way, how long do bed bugs live without eating at room temperature is two to four months for adults. How long can bed bugs go without eating and still bite? Johnson's cold-kept nymphs could still feed after long fasts, and Olson et al. (2013) found that bed bugs surviving cold still fed afterwards. How long can a bed bug survive without eating, how long can bed bugs survive without eating, how long do bed bugs go without eating and how long do bed bugs survive without eating are answered by the same table.
How long can bed bugs live without a food source?
A "food source" for bed bugs means a sleeping person or animal. How long can bed bugs live without a food source is therefore the empty-room question: how long can bed bugs live without food source at 21 °C is about 144 days for most of the hardiest stage, and how long do bed bugs live without a food source drops to about 128 days in a warm 26 °C room. How long can a bedbug live without a food source in the cold is covered in the empty-house section below.
Bed bug nymphs vs adults: who survives longer without blood?
Not the adults. In the 2011 study at 26 °C, fifth-stage nymphs — the last stage before adulthood — survived longest, and the tiny first-stage nymphs died fastest:
| Stage | Size | 26.3 °C (Polanco 2011) | 18 °C |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st-stage nymph | 1.5 mm | 14–36 days | 27–72 days |
| 2nd-stage nymph | 2 mm | 28–68 days | 76–173 days |
| 3rd-stage nymph | 2.5 mm | 28–118 days | 65–180 days (est.) |
| 4th-stage nymph | 3 mm | 33–124 days | 77–189 days (est.) |
| 5th-stage nymph | 4.5 mm | 44–128 days | 100–195 days (est.) |
| Adult | 5–7 mm | 43–99 days | 99–152 days |
First-stage nymphs are so small that they dry out quickly; Polanco and colleagues suggest moisture loss is the likely cause, because they have a large surface area for their volume and can't replace water without feeding. Fifth-stage nymphs carry the biggest reserves. Johnson (1941) found the same pattern in older work by Kemper (1930) at 22 °C: unfed first-stage nymphs averaged 46 days, while fifth-stage nymphs and males averaged about 142 days. The 18 °C column uses Johnson's measurements for adults and young nymphs; 3rd–5th stages were only measured at about 26 °C, so their 18 °C figures follow the adult pattern and are estimates.
Insecticide resistance matters too: the two pyrethroid-resistant strains in the 2011 study died significantly sooner than the susceptible ones, and "did not live beyond 80 days".
Where the "one year without food" claim comes from
You'll often read that bed bugs live a year or more without feeding. It isn't wrong, but it comes from cold conditions:
- Omori (1941): starved adult females averaged 277 days at 18 °C and lived as long as 425 days at 10 °C (quoted by Polanco et al. 2011).
- Johnson (1941): his longest-lived adult survived 562–572 days at 13 °C after one meal; first-stage nymphs lasted up to 210 days at 7 °C and second-stage nymphs up to 355 days at 15 °C.
- Bacot (1914): bugs of all stages kept fasting in an outhouse for 18 months still fed afterwards (quoted by Johnson).
Virginia Tech's explanation: the long survival times "may have been true for individual bed bugs in the UK living at very low temperatures (< 40° F; because of no central heating)", but "modern bed bugs collected from homes in the United States do not live that long" — on average, starved bugs at room temperature die within 70 days. The University of Minnesota still warns they "can live for over a year without a meal", which is true in a cold enough space. Both are right; the temperature is what differs.
How long can bed bugs live in an empty house?
How long can bed bugs live in an empty house? As long as the slowest stage takes to starve at that house's temperature — and an empty house is often a cool one. With the heating on at 21 °C, most should be dead after about 144 days; at 18 °C it's about 195 days; with the heating off at 13 °C it stretches to about 463 days, with single bugs recorded at over 560 days.
That's why how long can bed bugs live in empty house has no single answer. Use the Empty house / starve-out planner above: enter the temperature and the day you leave, and it gives the earliest, typical and longest dates. It uses the same starvation figures as the survival mode, taking whichever life stage lasts longest. How long can bed bugs survive in an empty house, how long do bed bugs live in an empty house and how long will bed bugs live in an empty house all depend on the same three numbers.
Bed bugs in a vacant apartment
A vacant flat isn't an isolated box. Bed bugs "can travel over 100 feet in a night" (CDC), and in shared buildings they can move through wall voids and along pipes to neighbouring units, where there's a host. Johnson (1941) also found that people moving back into a long-empty house would most likely meet fifth-stage nymphs, unmated females or mated males — the stages that last longest. A vacant apartment next to occupied ones may never fully starve out.
How long to leave a house empty to kill bed bugs
If you were hoping to move out until they die, the planner will usually show three to five months at normal room temperature and close to a year or more if the house is cold. Even then, single bugs can outlast the average. The EPA's own advice for items you can't treat is to keep them sealed in a bag or container "for up to a year".
Can you starve out bed bugs?
Can you starve out bed bugs? In theory; in practice it's slow and unreliable. How long does it take for bed bugs to starve at room temperature? Most adults are dead in two to four months, the oldest nymphs a little later. How long does it take a bed bug to starve in the cold? Much longer. And how long does it take to starve a bed bug only matters if the bug can't find any other meal. Here's why starving them out usually fails:
- Cool, empty homes extend survival. Turning the heating down to save money can more than double the time (Johnson 1941).
- Pets and other animals feed them. Bed bugs can live on many warm-blooded hosts (Johnson 1941).
- Neighbours feed them. In flats they can travel to other units (CDC).
- A return visit resets the clock. One night back in the bed can feed the survivors.
- Eggs hatch later. Eggs already laid keep hatching for up to a couple of weeks at room temperature (Johnson 1941), producing new nymphs that then have to starve too.
How long does it take to starve out bed bugs in a real home, then? Often longer than people can stay away. How long does it take for bed bugs to die with professional treatment? The EPA says treatment "can take weeks to months, depending on the extent of the infestation", and advises keeping encasements on and checking for at least a year. For an established infestation, a licensed pest professional is the reliable route. For how heat and cold kill them directly, see what temperature kills bed bugs.
Do bed bugs die without humans?
Eventually, yes — every bed bug in a sealed, truly empty space will die. Do bed bugs die without humans? Only if no other host is in reach and you can wait out the longest-lived stage. If you've had no sign of them for a long time and wonder whether they're still there, the bed bug dormancy checker uses these same numbers.
Will bed bugs die if you leave the house?
Will bed bugs die if you leave the house for a holiday? No: a week or two away is far shorter than they can wait. Leaving for months might kill many — but bed bugs can also travel in luggage and belongings, so moving out can carry them with you. Keep anything you take sealed until it has been laundered, dried or treated — our clothes and luggage laundry plan and plastic bag quarantine timer show how.
Bed bug life cycle without food
Without meals the bed bug life cycle without food simply stops: each nymph needs a blood meal to moult (Johnson 1941), and Virginia Tech notes a nymph with no host "will stay in that current instar until it is able to find a blood meal, or it dies". Females also need blood to lay eggs. So a starving population can't grow — it can only wait. For the normal cycle with meals, see the bed bug life cycle calculator.
How this starvation calculator works
Both modes use the shared bed bug data model on this site, so the survival times match the lifespan and dormancy pages exactly.
- How long can they survive? Average survival without a blood meal for the stage and temperature you choose (7–28 °C). Adults and first- and second-stage nymphs use measured points — Johnson (1941) from 7 to 28 °C and Polanco, Miller & Brewster (2011) at 26.3 °C — joined by straight-line interpolation. Third- to fifth-stage nymphs were only measured at 26.3 °C; elsewhere their figures are scaled by the adult temperature pattern and marked as estimates. The status is "Still likely alive" below the low average, "Many may be dying" between the low and high averages, and "Most should be dead" above the high average; past the longest single survivor recorded, the result says so.
- Empty house / starve-out planner: runs every stage at your home's temperature. "Earliest" is the hardiest stage's low average, "Most dead" its high average, and "Longest recorded" the longest single bug measured near that temperature. Eggs already laid hatch within the egg stage from Johnson (1941).
- Humidity doesn't change the numbers because the ranges already span dry to humid air; it adds the relevant note.
These are laboratory figures with minimal movement. Real bugs that wander more use up reserves faster, so treat them as the "up to" side.
Frequently asked questions
How long can bed bugs live without a host?
At room temperature, usually two to four months: adults average 64–112 days at 21 °C, and Virginia Tech says starved bugs at room temperature die within 70 days on average. In a cold room it can be a year or more.
How long can bed bugs live without feeding?
From about 2 weeks (newly hatched nymphs in a warm room) to over a year (adults in a cold room). The CDC says they can live several months without a blood meal.
How long can bed bugs live without food?
Their only food is blood, so it's the same as without feeding: weeks to months, depending on temperature and stage.
How long can bed bugs live without humans?
As long as they can without any host. If pets or other animals are around, they can feed on those instead (Johnson 1941; CDC).
How long can bed bugs live in an empty house?
About 144 days for most of the hardiest stage at 21 °C, and much longer if the house is cold — about 463 days at 13 °C.
Can you starve out bed bugs?
Rarely in practice. Cool temperatures, pets, neighbours and eggs hatching later all extend it. A licensed pest professional is faster and more reliable.
How long does it take for bed bugs to starve?
Most adults die within two to four months at room temperature; first-stage nymphs within weeks. In the cold it takes many months.
Do bed bugs really live a year without food?
Only in cold conditions: Omori (1941) recorded up to 425 days at 10 °C and Johnson (1941) 562–572 days at 13 °C. At room temperature modern bugs average under 70 days (Virginia Tech).
Which bed bugs survive longest without blood?
Fifth-stage nymphs and adults. First-stage nymphs die fastest, probably from water loss (Polanco et al. 2011).
Can bed bugs feed on pets?
Yes. They prefer people but can feed and reproduce on many warm-blooded animals (Johnson 1941), and the CDC notes they bite people and animals.
Will bed bugs die if you leave the house for a week?
No. A week is far shorter than they can survive without a meal at any temperature.
How long to leave a house empty to kill bed bugs?
Usually three to five months at normal room temperature, and close to a year or more if it's cold. The planner above gives dates for your temperature.
Does humidity change bed bug survival without a blood meal?
Yes. Dry air shortens survival, especially for small nymphs; in Johnson's tests the lowest figures came from very dry air and the highest from humid air.
Do bed bugs die without humans?
Eventually, if there's truly no other host. But it takes months, and longer in cool rooms.
These calculators give estimates from laboratory studies, for education. Real bed bugs vary with strain, insecticide resistance, humidity and how easily they reach a host. Bed bugs are not known to spread disease (CDC), but if bites trouble you, talk to a doctor or pharmacist. For an infestation, contact a licensed pest professional or your local extension service. We give no pesticide advice.