# What Do Bed Bugs Eat?

> What bed bugs eat: Blood — primarily human; also bats and birds in wild settings, foraging style, and seasonal shifts in Human dwellings, hotels, dormitories, and bedding worldwide.

- **Species:** Bed Bug (*Cimex lectularius*)
- **Conservation status:** Not Evaluated
- **Diet:** Blood — primarily human; also bats and birds in wild settings
- **Habitat:** Human dwellings, hotels, dormitories, and bedding worldwide
- **Lifespan:** 6–12 months; can survive months without feeding
- **Top speed:** Crawls ~1 m per minute; does not fly or jump
- **Canonical HTML:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/bed-bug/what-do-bed-bug-eat/
- **Parent profile:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/bed-bug/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Quick answer

The common bed bug is a small flat insect that feeds exclusively on blood, mainly from humans at night while they sleep. Roughly 5 mm long and reddish-brown, it hides in mattress seams and furniture, resists many pesticides, and has resurged globally in hotels and homes — listed Not Evaluated by IUCN.

## Who should skip this page

Skip this if you need a captive feeding plan from a veterinarian. This page is wild diet, not a pet-care sheet.

## Nocturnal blood feeding

Bed bugs emerge from hiding in darkness, attracted by carbon dioxide and body heat. They pierce skin with elongated mouthparts, feed for 5–10 minutes, then retreat to cracks. Bites often appear in lines or clusters but reactions vary — some people show no marks.

## Help protect the Bed Bug

Even familiar animals lose ground as wild habitat keeps shrinking worldwide.

[Donate to wildlife protection](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/donate/)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/bed-bug/what-do-bed-bug-eat/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.