Bedbug Control Shoreditch

Why the Nap Sofa Matters More Than the Desks

Bedbugs feed on people who stay still for a while, and they hide within a short walk of that spot. In most workplaces nobody stays still long enough, which is why offices are not their natural home. A sofa, a beanbag, a nap pod or a spare mattress in a quiet corner changes that: someone lies down for an hour, and the seams and cushions give them somewhere to wait for the next person.

Studios add their own twist. People come in with rucksacks, coats and kit bags from flat shares all over London, drop them on the same sofa, and pick them up again at the end of the day. That is how a few insects can move from one member’s home into the space, and from the space into another member’s home.

Checking the Soft Seating

Whoever looks after the space can do a quick check every few weeks, and straight away if a member mentions bites:

• Along the piping and zips of sofa and chair cushions
• Under the cushions, where the seat deck meets the arms
• The underside of the sofa, especially the fabric stapled to the frame
• Beanbag seams and the fold of any floor cushions
• Any mattress or futon used for resting, and the base it sits on

You are looking for small dark spots, pale shed skins and the insects themselves. If you find something, photograph it, leave the furniture where it is and ring us rather than carrying it down to the street.

Telling People Without Emptying the Building

Members and staff need to know, because the same bags go home with them at night. Keep the message practical: which furniture is out of use, that bags and coats should stay on hard chairs or hooks until it is dealt with, and that anyone with bites at home should get their own place looked at. There is no need to close the whole space for a problem that is confined to one sofa.

Treating a Studio Around the Working Week

Work in a busy space in Shoreditch is usually done outside working hours, so the seating is back in use the next morning. Chemical treatment of soft seating is quick on each visit but needs a follow-up, and the area has to stay clear until it is dry. Heat treatment takes most of a day and deals with eggs as well, which suits a nap room or a lounge that can be shut for one day.

For how we plan work across a building, rather than one lounge, see our page on commercial bedbug treatment in Hackney. Our London guide on bedbugs in the workplace covers what to say to staff in more depth.

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