Why the Agent Matters More Than You Expect
In a managed let the agent usually holds the keys, books the contractors and decides what gets passed to the landlord. In a let-only arrangement they may have stepped back after you signed, and you deal with the landlord directly. Your tenancy agreement or the welcome email normally says which. Work that out before you write anything, because a report sent to the wrong party is a report nobody acts on.
Who arranges treatment and who pays for it depends on the tenancy and on how the bedbugs got in. We are pest controllers, not legal advisers, so we cannot settle that for you. What we can do is tell you what a useful report looks like.
Putting It in Writing
A phone call to the branch is easy to forget. An email is not. Keep it short and factual:
- The date you first noticed bites or marks, and which room
- What you have seen: spotting on the mattress piping, shed skins, a live insect
- Two or three clear photos, close up and in daylight if you can
- Whether anything came into the flat with you, such as second-hand furniture
- A request for an inspection or treatment, and the times you can give access
If you catch one, seal it in a small bag or pot and keep it. A specimen settles the question faster than a description of a rash. An inspection starts from £120 if the agent or landlord wants it confirmed before paying for treatment.
While You Wait for an Answer
Agents often need a day or two to reach the landlord. Use that time well rather than making things harder for whoever treats the flat:
- Stay in your own bed. Moving to the sofa or a friend's spare room tends to take them with you.
- Keep the mattress. Carrying it down a lift or stairwell drops them along the way, and it is not yours to throw out anyway.
- Hot-wash the bedding and keep clean sets bagged until the bed is treated.
- Clear the floor around the bed so nothing is stacked against the skirting.
If you moved in recently and are wondering whether the problem was already there, our guide on how soon bedbugs show up after moving in looks at the timing.
When the Agent Books Us
For a flat in Croydon Town Centre with one or two affected rooms, the choice is usually between chemical treatment over two or three visits and heat treatment in a single day. Chemical costs less but needs you to prepare for each visit; heat costs more but deals with eggs at the same time. Treatments start from £220, and the agent gets the exact figure by phone before anything is booked.
Ask the agent to share the preparation notes with you directly. You are the one living there, and a missed step on your side can mean a course needs an extra visit. The Croydon borough page goes into what each side has to do to get it right first time.
Bedbug Control Croydon Town Centre — Questions
The agent has not replied to my email. What now?
Send a short follow-up that refers to the date of the first message, and keep copies of both. If you also ring, note who you spoke to and what they said.
Can I book treatment myself and ask for the money back?
Some tenants do, but whether you would get it back depends on your agreement and the circumstances. Check with the agent or get advice on your tenancy before paying.
Will the agent need to be there on the day?
Someone has to let us in and be able to answer questions about the flat. That can be you, the agent or the landlord, as long as it is agreed beforehand.
I am not sure these are bedbug bites. Should I still report it?
Report what you have seen rather than what you think the bites are. Bites vary and some people do not react at all; a pharmacist or GP can look at a skin reaction, and call 999 for signs of a severe allergic reaction.
Do I have to leave the flat during treatment?
For chemical visits you are back once the surfaces are dry. On a heat day you are out for most of the day and return once the rooms have cooled.
Elsewhere in Croydon
The other areas in the borough, each written around a different situation.
Bedbug Advice for Croydon Town Centre
Picked for this page: the guides that go further on what matters for Croydon Town Centre.
Bedbugs After Moving In
Why signs can take weeks, what an empty flat hides, and whose problem it is.
Read more →
What Happens During an Inspection
From your side of it: how long, whether you stay, what we will ask and what we will move.
Read more →
How Many Treatments Does It Take?
The bedbug life cycle sets the number, not the pest controller. Here is the timetable.
Read more →The Early Signs, and the Timeline
Week one to month six. What is detectable when, and why 'early' is mostly invisible.
Read more →Bedbug Treatments in Croydon
Every service has its own page for Croydon: heat, chemical, hotels, commercial premises and inspections.
Covering Croydon Town Centre
Tell Us About the Property
Tell us whether the flat is managed by an agent or the landlord, and we will explain how booking works from there.