Why an Empty Weekend Does Not Starve Them
Bedbugs can go a long time between feeds. Three nights without anyone in the bed makes no difference to them. What it does change is when you notice: bites tend to cluster early in the week, after they have waited for you, which people often put down to something they ate or the new washing powder.
An unoccupied flat also gives no early warning. Nobody sees a bug on the pillow on a Saturday morning, so by the time the signs are obvious they may have been there for a while.
The Journey Home Is the Risk
The weekday flat is not usually the only home involved. Every Friday a bag goes from the bedroom in Moorgate to a house somewhere else, and that is how a problem in a small flat becomes one in a family home. Until the flat is treated:
- Keep a separate bag for the weekend and pack it away from the bed
- Wash and tumble dry the clothes you take home, or bag them until you can
- Do not keep the weekend bag on the bedroom floor or under the bed during the week
- Unpack it at home somewhere hard-floored, not on your own bed
Our guide on bringing bedbugs home from work looks at the commuter's side of this in more detail.
Timing Treatment Around Your Week
A flat you are out of during the day is easy to treat. Heat takes most of a day and usually one visit, so it can happen while you are at work, provided someone can let us in: a concierge, a building manager or a key left by arrangement. You come back to a room that has cooled.
Chemical treatment also suits a weekday flat, with one caution. The residue works best when bedbugs come out and cross it, and they come out when there is someone in the bed. If you are away more than you are there during the course, tell us: it can affect how the follow-up visits are spaced.
Whichever route you take, block the dates in your diary. A chemical course only works if the follow-up happens on time, and it is easy for a weekday flat in Moorgate to slip down the list when work gets busy.
Before the First Visit
Strip the bed, hot-wash the bedding and bag it, and clear the floor. Do the washing in or near the Moorgate flat rather than carrying dirty bedding home for the weekend, because that is exactly the journey you are trying to stop. If you only get back late on a weeknight, a launderette or a building laundry room does the job. Leave the furniture where it is. If you let the flat through an agent, the City of London page covers who to tell in a managed block.
Bedbug Control Moorgate — Questions
Should I stop staying in the flat until it is treated?
No. Staying elsewhere often spreads them, and an empty flat does not clear itself. Keep sleeping there and keep your weekend bag contained.
Can you treat the flat while I am at my other home?
Yes, as long as someone can give us access and the preparation has been done. We confirm the arrangements when you book.
I have been bitten at home too. Does that mean the house has them?
Not necessarily, but it is worth checking. An inspection starts from £120 and tells you whether the house needs treatment as well.
How much does it cost for a studio or one-bedroom flat?
Treatments start at £220. The final figure depends on the rooms involved and on heat or chemical, and it is given on the phone before booking.
Elsewhere in City of London
The other areas in the borough, each written around a different situation.
Bedbug Advice for Moorgate
Picked for this page: the guides that go further on what matters for Moorgate.
Treating a Suitcase
Hard shells, soft cases, wheels and handle tracks: what to do with luggage that may have bedbugs.
Read more →
Bringing Bedbugs Home From Work
An email says bedbugs were found at work. What that means for your coat, your bag and your bed.
Read more →
What Happens After the Treatment
Day one to week six, what you will actually see, and when to stop worrying.
Read more →
Does Cold Kill Bedbugs?
Freezing small items can work. Opening the windows in winter will not. Here is the difference.
Read more →Bedbug Treatments in City of London
Every service has its own page for City of London: heat, chemical, hotels, commercial premises and inspections.
Covering Moorgate
Tell Us About the Property
Tell us which nights you are in the flat and how we can get access, and we will suggest a date.