Bedbug Inspections Croydon

Why Before Moving In Is the Best Time

Once your boxes, bed and clothes are inside, a home is harder to search and any bedbugs have somewhere new to go. Before that, the rooms are open, the furniture is only what came with the place, and an answer either way changes what you do next.

What an inspection covers and the order we work in are on the London bedbug inspections page for the full explanation. This page is about timing it around a move and reading the result as a new occupant.

When to Book: Renters

Renters rarely get access to an empty flat for long before the tenancy starts. There are usually two workable moments:

• After the holding deposit, before signing. Ask the agent or landlord whether an inspection can be done then. If they agree, you know what you are signing for.
• On the day you collect the keys. Book the inspection for before the van arrives, not after. Keep your belongings in the van or somewhere else until you have an answer.

A furnished let is where it matters most. A mattress, a sofa bed or an upholstered headboard that came with the flat has a history you cannot see. If you are dealing with a letting agent rather than the landlord, the Croydon Town Centre page covers how to raise it and put it in writing.

When to Book: Buyers

A survey looks at the structure and does not look for bedbugs. If the seller is still living there, a visit before exchange can be arranged through the estate agent, though a lived-in home with its furniture is a different search from an empty one. After completion, book for the gap between getting the keys and moving in; even a day is enough.

Anything the sellers have left behind, such as a bed in the spare room, a wardrobe or a chest of drawers, goes into the inspection. Can bedbugs live in drawers? explains what to look at in furniture that stays.

What an Empty Home Can and Cannot Show

An inspection finds evidence: live bugs, eggs, shed skins, spotting on seams and frames, and stains along skirtings and in joints. Evidence lasts after the people have gone, so an empty flat still tells us a good deal.

What it cannot do is prove a negative for every corner of a building. Bedbugs in an empty property may be few and well hidden, with nobody there to feed on. A clear result means we found no signs in the places we searched; it is the best answer available, not a promise about the future. How soon do bedbugs show up after moving in? covers what happens if signs appear weeks later.

Checking What You Bring With You

First moves often come from a shared house, halls or a family home, with second-hand furniture picked up along the way. The new place can be clear and still get bedbugs from the van. Before the move, look over the seams of your own mattress, the joints of any bed frame and the inside of drawers. If a relative is passing on a bed, the New Addington page covers checking a hand-me-down.

If the Inspection Finds Something

As a renter, report it to the landlord or agent in writing before you move in, with the date of the inspection. Who arranges and pays for treatment depends on the tenancy; we are pest controllers, not legal advisers. As a buyer, you will want the result before you decide what to do about furniture left behind.

If treatment is needed, we tell you which route we would choose. The heat treatment and chemical treatment pages for Croydon cover each one. An empty home is easier to prepare than a lived-in one.

What It Costs

Inspections start from £120, and larger homes are quoted on the number of rooms. Treatments start from £220. Ring 0800 955 1018 with the size of the property and your moving date and you get the figure before anything is booked. The Croydon bedbug control page has more on getting treatment right first time.

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