Bedbugs in a Short Let: What to Do as a Guest: Hackney

First, Get Your Things Off the Bed

Before you message anyone, move your luggage. Close the suitcase, zip up bags and put them on a hard floor, a bath or a tiled bathroom well away from the bed and any upholstered chairs. If you have already unpacked into drawers or a wardrobe, bag those clothes as they are rather than shaking them out.

Do not go through everything on the spot. The aim for now is to stop anything more getting in, not to search your belongings in a room that has bugs.

Record What You Found

1. Photograph the bug, the spotting on the mattress seam or the headboard, and the room itself, with the time and date on the photos.
2. If you can, catch a bug on clear tape or in a small sealed bag.
3. Photograph any bites, noting when you first noticed them.
4. Keep your booking confirmation and the listing as it was when you booked.

Bites alone are weak evidence, because they vary and some people do not react at all. A photo of the bug itself, or of dark spotting on the mattress, is what makes the report clear. What colour are bedbugs helps you check what you are looking at.

Telling the Host

Message the host through the booking platform, so there is a written record, and attach the photos. Keep it factual: what you found, where, and when. Ask what they propose: another room, another property or ending the stay.

Whether you get a refund depends on the host and the platform’s own terms. We are pest controllers, not legal advisers, so for that side of it, read the platform’s policy and contact its support team with the same evidence. If you are moved to a different room in the same building, look at that bed before you unpack; an adjoining room may have them too.

Getting Home Clean

The journey home is where a short-let problem becomes a home problem, so treat your bags as if they might be carrying something.

• Keep clothes bagged in tied bin bags or sealed plastic inside the case for the journey.
• At home, open everything on a hard floor away from bedrooms, such as the kitchen or hallway.
• Put clothes and fabric straight into a hot wash, or a hot tumble dryer for items that cannot be washed.
• Vacuum the case, especially the seams, pockets and zip channels, and empty the vacuum outside.
• Store the case outside the bedroom until you are sure it is clear.

Check your own bed over the next couple of weeks. Look at the mattress seams, the corners of the frame and the headboard rather than waiting for bites.

If They Have Followed You Home

Keep sleeping in your own bed. Moving to the sofa or a friend’s spare room usually spreads them further. Ring us on 0800 955 1018 and tell us what happened; if you are not certain what you are seeing, an inspection starts from £120. Treatment starts from £220, and the Hackney bedbug page explains the two routes.

If you run a short let yourself and a guest has reported bugs, our London guide on what to do when a guest reports bedbugs is written for you, and so is the Hackney hotel and aparthotel page.

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