Bedbug Inspections Islington

Why Check Between Tenants

If bedbugs are found soon after a new tenant arrives, everyone asks the same question: were they already there? A check done while the flat is empty answers that in advance and gives you something in writing. What happens during an inspection in general is on the London bedbug inspections page for the full explanation. Here we cover what is particular to a flat between tenancies in a converted house.

It is also a practical point. Treating an empty flat is simpler than treating one full of someone else’s things, so if there is a problem, now is the time to find it.

An Empty Flat Hides Bedbugs Well

Bedbugs come out to feed on people. With nobody sleeping in the flat, they stay tucked away and can go a long time between meals, so an empty flat can look clean when it is not. An inspection does not rely on seeing live bugs walking about. It looks for the evidence they leave behind:

• dark spotting in mattress seams, on bed frames and along skirtings;
• shed skins and eggs in joints, screw holes and the underside of furniture;
• live or dead bugs in the gaps behind headboards, picture rails and loose trim.

The London guide to where bedbugs hide that get missed lists the less obvious places.

Furnished or Unfurnished

A furnished flat has more to check, and more to lose. Beds, mattresses, sofas and wardrobes that stay between tenancies are where bedbugs are most likely to be waiting. We look at every one, and we take the beds apart where they come apart.

An unfurnished flat still has skirtings, floorboards, door frames, built-in cupboards and the gaps around pipes. If the outgoing tenant left anything behind, a mattress in the back room or bags in a cupboard, leave it where it is until we have seen it. Moving it through the house on the way to the skip is how a problem in one flat becomes a problem in two.

If you are buying a new bed for the flat, hold the delivery until after the inspection; the Clerkenwell page goes into when to let a new bed in.

The Parts of the House You Share

In a converted house your flat is one of several. The shared hall, the stairs, a meter cupboard and the other flats are outside the inspection unless whoever is responsible for them agrees. What we do look at are the shared edges from your side: skirtings on party walls, the gaps where pipes and cables go through floors and ceilings, and the inside of the flat’s front door frame.

If you own the freehold or manage the whole house, you can ask us to check the common parts and other flats at the same visit, with the occupiers’ agreement. If you own a single flat, the report will say what we saw at the shared edges, and it is sensible to pass that to the freeholder or managing agent.

What You Get, and What Happens If Bedbugs Are Found

You get a written note of what was checked, what was found and where. If the flat is clear, keep it with the inventory for the new tenancy. If bedbugs are found, the flat should be treated before anyone moves in. An empty flat is straightforward to treat either way: heat treatment in Islington is usually one visit, and chemical treatment in Islington costs less but runs as two or three visits. Who pays for it, and whether the previous tenancy comes into it, depends on the agreement; we are pest controllers, not legal advisers.

Booking and Price

Inspections start from £120, and treatments start from £220 if one is needed. Ring 0800 955 1018 with the flat’s size, whether it is furnished and when the next tenant is due, and we give you the figure before anything is booked. The Islington bedbug control page covers the borough more widely.

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