After taking a blood meal, they bloat and may change enough in size, shape and color to make them look like an entirely different insect. The adult female deposits eggs in cracks, crevices, behind woodwork and similar locations. Eggs hatch in six to 17 days and the newly hatched nymphs feed as soon as food is available. Environmental factors and food availability cause variation in developmental rates. Complete development of bed and bat bugs averages one and a half months.
Adults can live for a year or more.
In the warmth of a home, bed bugs can continue to breed throughout the season. Bat bugs often cease most development during the winter months when their animal hosts are absent or dormant. Populations of bat bugs found in homes primarily develop on bats, birds or small mammals that have nested in or near the building. Typically, bat bug infestations originate from animal populations established in attics. Bat bugs can also develop on bats using bat houses that are attached to human dwellings.