Bedbug Heat Treatment Kensington and Chelsea

Why Big Rooms Change the Plan

A generous room is not harder to kill bedbugs in, but it takes more air, more equipment and more patience to bring every corner of it up to a temperature bedbugs cannot survive. Tall ceilings matter most. Warm air rises and collects at the top, while the skirting and the underside of a heavy bed stay cooler for longer, so fans are set to push the heat down and around rather than let it sit under the cornice.

That is also why the thermal camera work takes longer in these homes. The technician checks the floor edges, the inside of a deep wardrobe, the back of a bookcase against an outside wall and the space behind a radiator cover, because those are the spots that lag behind the rest of the room. What the equipment does in general is set out on the London heat treatment page for the full explanation; here we stick to what is different about a large period room.

If bites or spotting have turned up high on a wall or near a ceiling rose, read our guide to ceilings and light fittings before the day, because it tells you something about how long they have been there.

A Thermal Pest Control bedbug heat treatment machine set up beside a bed in a bedroom

Fine Furniture: Talk to Us Before the Day

The standard list of things to take out is short: aerosols, candles, medication, vinyl, some electronics and plants. Homes with older and more delicate pieces need a longer conversation, and we would much rather have it on the phone than in the doorway.

Antique and veneered furniture: tell us what it is and roughly how old. Some pieces stay, some are better moved to a room that is not being heated, and we will say which.
Lacquer, gilding and old glue: mirror frames, gilt consoles and anything held together with traditional animal glue deserve a mention.
Paintings and works on paper: framed originals, prints and photographs are usually taken out of the treated room. A large collection is its own subject, covered on the Kensington page.
Instruments: a piano cannot be carried out, so tell us where it stands. Violins, guitars and their cases come out.
Wine and spirits: a rack in the dining room or a cabinet in a bedroom should be emptied.

Upholstered chairs, sofas, curtains, rugs, beds and mattresses stay put. They are where bedbugs hide, and heat reaches into them without anyone having to take them apart.

Valuables, Keys and a Day Away

Most people leave for the whole of a heat day, and the technician needs the run of the rooms being treated. Before you go, put jewellery, cash, passports and papers that matter to you in a room we are not heating or take them with you. Nobody asks you to, but it means you are not worrying about a drawer while you are out.

In a mansion block, tell the porter or the managing agent that a technician is coming and will need the lift for equipment, and agree how keys are handed over. If the flat has heat detectors, a fire alarm linked to a porter’s desk or sprinkler heads, tell us and the building management in advance so that side can be sorted before anyone arrives.

A thermal imaging camera screen showing a bed reading 45.2 degrees during a heat treatment

Several Floors, or One Flat Across a Whole Floor

A tall house with bedrooms on two or three floors is usually treated floor by floor within the same visit, starting where the signs are worst. A lateral mansion flat with a long corridor is planned so that the bedrooms and whatever sits between them are done together, because bedbugs walk along a corridor as happily as across a bedroom.

In a block, heat leaves nothing behind in the rooms, so where the flat shares walls, floors or risers with neighbours we may put a light residual at the room edges. If we do, you are told where and when those surfaces can be touched, and you follow that. If a single room is affected and found early, chemical treatment in Kensington and Chelsea may be all you need, and it costs less.

What It Costs, and How to Get the Figure

Treatments start from £220. Heat costs more than chemical, and a period home with several large bedrooms costs more than a single room. Ring 0800 955 1018, tell us how many rooms have signs, and mention any room that is unusually large or tall. You get the price on the phone before anything is booked.

If you are not yet sure it is bedbugs, an inspection starts from £120 and tells you which rooms are involved before you commit. The Kensington and Chelsea bedbug control page covers deciding what stays and what goes in a home full of belongings.

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Questions

Bedbug Heat Treatment Kensington and Chelsea — Questions

Can antique furniture stay in the room during heat treatment?

Sometimes. Tell us what the pieces are when you ring and we will say which can stay, which should move to an untreated room, and which need a closer look first.

Does a high ceiling mean the treatment takes longer?

It can. Tall rooms take longer to bring up evenly, and the thermal camera checks take longer too. We allow for it when we plan the day.

Should I take paintings off the walls?

Framed originals, prints and photographs are usually best taken out of the room being heated. If there are a lot of them, tell us so we can plan it with you.

Do I need to tell the porter or managing agent?

Yes. The technician needs lift access for equipment, and any heat detectors or alarm links in the flat may need dealing with by the building before the day.

Will the curtains and rugs need to come out?

No. Curtains, rugs, upholstery and beds stay in place and are treated where they are. Moving them out risks carrying bedbugs into other rooms.

How much will heat cost for a large flat?

Treatments start from £220, and heat for several big rooms costs more than that. Tell us the number of rooms with signs and we give you the exact figure on the phone.

How we treat