Bedbug Control Erith

Tell the Managing Agent, in Writing

If you rent, tell your landlord or letting agent. If you own a leasehold flat, tell the managing agent. Either way, put it in writing, with the date you first saw signs and which rooms are affected. A short email is enough.

Who arranges the treatment and who pays depends on your tenancy or lease and on where the bedbugs came from. We are pest controllers, not legal advisers, so we cannot tell you who is liable. We can give you a written note of what we found and what we did, which is usually what an agent asks for.

Why the Flats Around Yours Matter

Flats in a block share walls, floors, service risers and the gaps where pipes and cables run between them. Bedbugs use those routes, particularly when they are disturbed. That is why an agent may want the flats either side, above and below checked, even if only one has reported anything.

You do not have to knock on doors yourself. Tell the agent which flats share a wall or a ceiling with yours and let them arrange access. For how larger managed buildings deal with this, see our commercial treatment page.

Treating a Single Flat in a Block

Where a flat in Erith has the bedroom, living space and kitchen close together, that makes a whole-flat treatment practical, and in a flat where they have spread past the bedroom it is usually the better option.

• Heat: usually one visit, most of a day, eggs included. Heat leaves nothing behind, so in a shared building we normally add a light residual at the edges and around pipe entries.
• Chemical: usually two, sometimes three visits about 10–14 days apart, an hour or two each time. The residue keeps working along skirtings and in the gaps between visits.

In a block, heat alarms and communal fire systems can be an issue. We ask about them when you book, and the agent may need to be told before a heat treatment goes ahead.

If It Comes Back

If bedbugs reappear weeks after a finished treatment, it can be a new arrival from a neighbouring flat rather than a failure in yours. Tell the agent again, in writing, and ring us. The London guide on why bedbugs reappear after treatment goes through the usual causes.

Keep your own records while it is going on: the date you reported it, the dates of each visit, and any reply from the agent. If a neighbouring flat in Erith is treated later, that record helps everyone see what happened in which order. For the borough as a whole, see bedbug control in Bexley.

← Bedbug Control Bexley · Bedbug Control London