Bedbug Inspections Lambeth

Two Moments When Renters Ring

Most calls from people in house shares come at one of two points. The first is before moving in: you have seen a room, you like it, and something has made you uneasy, perhaps a mattress with dark marks on the seam or a previous tenant who left in a hurry. The second is after a bad night: bites in a line, blood spots on the sheet, and no idea whether it is bedbugs, another insect or something else entirely.

Each needs a slightly different visit, and both are covered below. What a professional inspection involves in general, and why it is worth doing before paying for treatment, is on the London bedbug inspections page, for the full explanation.

Before You Move In

A viewing is ten minutes with the agent in the doorway; an inspection is a proper look at the bed, the frame, the skirting and any furniture that comes with the room. You will need the landlord’s or the agent’s agreement for us to visit, and it is reasonable to ask for it before you sign. If they refuse outright, that tells you something too.

If the room is clear, you move in knowing that. If we find signs, you have a written note to put to the landlord before any money changes hands, and you can ask for treatment first. What you do with that is your decision; we are pest controllers, not legal advisers.

After a Bad Night

Bites alone do not prove bedbugs. People react differently, some not at all, and marks from other insects or skin conditions can look alike. What settles it is evidence on and around the bed: live bugs, cast skins, eggs, and the small dark spots they leave on fabric and wood. We look for those in your room and tell you on the day what we found.

Before we arrive, leave the bed as it is. Stripping it and washing everything the morning after feels like the right thing, but it takes away what we need to see. If you caught a bug, keep it in a sealed jar or on sticky tape. If you think it may be dust mites instead, the guide on bedbugs or dust mites explains the difference first. If your bed is memory foam, the guide on bedbugs in a memory foam mattress tells you where on it they hide.

For a skin reaction, a pharmacist or GP can advise. For signs of a severe allergic reaction, such as swelling of the face or difficulty breathing, call 999.

Your Room and the Rest of the House

You can ask us to check your own room. The other bedrooms belong to your housemates, and we only go into them if they, or the landlord, agree. Shared spaces are different: the sofa in the living room, especially if anyone has slept on it, is worth a look with the landlord’s agreement.

If we find bedbugs in your room, the next question is whether they started there or came from elsewhere in the house. We cannot always tell, and blame rarely helps. The guide on when the landlord says you brought them in covers that conversation. If a partner who stays over is part of the picture, the Streatham page deals with it.

If you have already moved rooms within the house because of the bites, tell us which rooms you have slept in. That changes where we look, and it is better said at the start than found later.

The Report, the Price and What Comes Next

You get a written report: each place we checked, what we found or that it was clear. Send it to your landlord or agent with your written report of the problem. It is the most useful thing you can give them, because it replaces a disagreement with a record.

Inspections start from £120. If treatment is needed, treatments start from £220, and the figure depends on the rooms and whether it is heat or chemical. Ring 0800 955 1018 and you get the price on the phone before anything is booked. The Lambeth bedbug control page covers dealing with bedbugs when you rent and may not be staying long.

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