Bedbug Inspections Barking and Dagenham

Why Some Tenants Want It in Writing First

You do not need an inspection to report bedbugs. You can, and should, tell your landlord in writing as soon as you suspect them. Some tenants would still rather send that report with something firmer attached: perhaps an earlier report went nowhere, perhaps a neighbour was told it was something else, or perhaps they simply want to be sure before starting the process.

An inspection, from £120, gives you a written note of what was found by someone whose job is finding bedbugs. For the full explanation of what an inspection is and how we carry one out, see our London inspections page. This page is about using one when your landlord is the council or a housing association.

Tell Your Landlord Before You Book

Report first, or at the same time. A private inspection does not replace the report, and your landlord may want to send its own surveyor or contractor whatever we find. What the landlord does next, and who pays, depends on your tenancy and on the cause. We are pest controllers, not legal advisers.

If you pay for the inspection yourself, you are paying for your own certainty and your own record. Whether that cost can be recovered is between you and your landlord, so ask them before you book if it matters to you. Our guide to reporting bedbugs to a council or housing association sets out what to put in the report itself.

What We Look At

We go through every room someone sleeps in, starting at the beds and working outwards, and we include the sofa if anyone has been dozing on it. In a house, that means each bedroom off the landing; in a flat, the bedroom and the living area. Where your home shares a wall with next door, we look along that side too, because it tells you whether to mention the neighbours in your report.

Have ready anything you have already found: a bug on tape, photographs of marks, a note of when the bites started. It all helps. If you have been bitten and found nothing at all, the Rush Green page covers that situation in more depth.

What the Written Finding Says

Before we leave, we tell you what we found, and you get it in writing. It covers:

• Whether it is bedbugs and, if not, what we think it is.
• Which rooms had signs, and what they were: live bugs, eggs, shed skins, spotting.
• Which rooms we checked and found clear.
• Whether anything along a shared wall suggests the home next door should be looked at.
• What we would recommend: heat, chemical, or no treatment at all.

It does not say how the bedbugs arrived, who is at fault, or what your tenancy requires. It records what was there on the day. That is what makes it worth attaching: it is a plain statement of fact, not an argument.

Sending It to Your Landlord

Attach the finding to your report, or send it as a follow-up to one you have already made, and keep a copy. Give the date of the inspection and list the affected rooms. If the finding mentions the home next door, say so; if the same landlord owns that home, it may arrange for both to be looked at.

If the landlord tells you that treatment is yours to arrange, the inspection has already shown what it needs to cover. Several bedrooms in a house usually point to heat; one room in a flat often suits chemical. Check with your landlord that they are content for the work to go ahead before you pay for it.

While You Wait for a Reply

Keep sleeping in your own bed, and do not throw out the mattress or the bed. Carrying it through the house or down a stairwell spreads them, and your landlord may want to see it. Leave shop sprays alone too: they scatter bedbugs and make a second look harder. The Thames View page covers the first couple of days after finding one in more detail.

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