Bedbugs in an Elderly Relative's Home: Bromley

Older people often do not notice bedbugs, or notice and say nothing. Some do not react to the bites at all. Others put the marks down to their skin, a rash or a new tablet. Poor eyesight makes spotting on a dark mattress hard to see. And some feel embarrassed, as if it says something about how they keep the house. It does not; bedbugs are carried in on people and things, not caused by dirt.

What to Look For When You Visit

Start with the bed they sleep in. Pull the sheet back at the head end and look along the mattress seams and piping for small dark marks, like dots from a felt-tip pen. Look into the corners of the bed frame and behind the headboard. Check the armchair they sit in for long stretches, especially if they nap in it: the seams, the gap between the cushion and the frame, the underside.

Other signs are small rust-coloured marks on the pillowcase, pale empty skins in the seams, and bites in a line or cluster on the arms, neck or shoulders. Bites on their own do not prove anything. If you see marks you are unsure about, our guide to what else it could be helps.

Raising It Without Upsetting Them

Keep it practical. Tell them what you found, that it happens in any home, and that it can be dealt with. Avoid anything that sounds like blame. If they are worried about cost or strangers in the house, say you will arrange it and be there on the day.

If the skin reaction is bothering them, a pharmacist or their GP can advise. If anyone ever shows signs of a severe allergic reaction, call 999.

Arranging Treatment on Their Behalf

You can make the call. We need to know whose home it is, that they know and agree, and who will be there on the day. Tell us about anything that affects the plan: mobility, a hospital bed or riser chair, oxygen equipment, a pet, medication that must stay close by, or a carer who visits at set times.

If you are not sure how far it has spread, an inspection comes first. It costs from £120 and shows whether it is only the bedroom or the chair and the rest of the house as well.

Choosing Heat or Chemical for Them

Chemical treatment means shorter visits, one to two hours each, and they can use the room again once it is dry. But it is usually two visits, sometimes three, about 10–14 days apart, and the bedding has to be stripped and washed each time.

Heat treatment is usually one visit that takes most of a day, and it kills the eggs too. The catch is the preparation: medication, aerosols, candles, some electronics and plants all have to come out of the room first, and pets have to be out. For many families, one well-prepared day is easier than a run of repeat visits. Heat costs more.

Doing the Preparation for Them

1. Agree a date when you or another family member can be there from start to finish.
2. Strip the bed and hot-wash the bedding, then bag it clean so it does not go back into the room untreated.
3. Clear the floor around the bed and chair, but leave the furniture where it is.
4. For heat, gather the medication into one bag they keep with them, and take out the other items on the list we give you.
5. Plan where they will spend the day: another room, your home, or a day out.
6. Afterwards, follow the instructions given on the day about when the room can be used.

Two things to avoid. Do not throw out the mattress or bed unless we advise it, because carrying it through the house spreads them. And do not move them into the spare room to sleep, which usually takes the bugs with them.

If They Live in a Care Home

This guide is about a private home. In a care home, treatment is arranged by the home, and our care home guide explains how that works. Tell the manager in writing what you have seen.

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