Do I have to throw out food after a bed bug infestation?
No, you do not need to throw out food or any pantry items after a bed bug infestation. As parasites, bed bugs have no interest in infesting your food items.
Many people believe bed bugs will infest food items in your property. However, contrary to popular belief, bed bugs almost never infest the following things:
- Food items
- Electronics
- Clothing
- Pets
Do bed bugs eat your food?
Bed bugs do not eat any human food. Instead, they feed off of human (or animal) blood. The good news is that this means you don’t have to worry about bed bugs crawling into your pantry and feasting on your food. When dealing with a bed bug infestation, you very rarely have to throw out items. While you may have to remove certain items (food included) before a treatment, you likely will not see bed bugs in or around food sources.
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How long do bed bugs survive without a meal?
While rare for them to do so, bed bugs can live an entire year without a blood meal. Depending on the temperature and humidity of its surroundings, adult bed bugs have known to survive for anywhere from 20 to 400 days without feeding. This means that bed bugs can technically live in your home for more than a year. Even with no people or animals to feed off of, bed bugs are not going to feed off of other food.
What should you toss after a bed bug infestation?
Thankfully, most professional bed bug treatments will get rid of the bugs with minimal disruption to your home. Bed bugs do not infest food! When you find out you have a bed bug problem, there’s no reason to panic and throw out everything in your home. It’s actually better to get professional treatment right away. This will save you the trouble of dealing with multiple infested items.