Bedbug Inspections Lewisham

Why a Written Record Helps a Tenant

A landlord who receives a blurry photo and a list of bites has to decide whether to believe it. Some do straight away. Others want more, often because they have been told before about something that turned out to be a rash or a carpet beetle. A written account of an inspection removes most of that doubt: it says what was looked at, what was found and where, from someone with no stake in the tenancy.

It also protects you. If the landlord books treatment, the findings tell them how many rooms are involved. If they do not, you have a dated record of what was there. For what an inspection involves from start to finish, the London inspections page has the full explanation.

What the Findings Set Down

The record we send is written for someone who was not in the room. It covers:

• The date of the visit and the address
• Each room we looked at, including the ones where we found nothing
• What we found in each: live bugs, eggs, shed skins, dark spotting, and where exactly
• Whether we confirmed bedbugs, and if not, what we think the marks or insects were
• What we recommend next, heat or chemical, and which rooms

That last point is often what a landlord needs most, because it turns “there are bedbugs” into a defined job. The price for treatment is given on the phone once the scope is known.

What It Does Not Say

A clear record depends on sticking to what can be seen. The findings will not say how bedbugs got into the flat, because that can rarely be shown. They will not say who should pay, because that depends on the tenancy and the cause, and we are pest controllers, not legal advisers. They will not say anything about a neighbouring flat we have not been into.

Where the pattern of evidence points somewhere, such as signs heaviest along a shared skirting, we describe the pattern and leave the conclusion to the people involved. The Brockley page explains what that kind of pattern can and cannot mean in a converted house.

Getting Ready for the Visit

Leave the bedroom as it is. A freshly stripped and scrubbed bed makes the evidence harder to read, and the evidence is what you are paying for. Do not use a shop spray in the days before, which tends to move bedbugs into places that are harder to see.

Keep your own notes in the meantime: the date you first noticed something, which rooms, any photos, and any bug you caught, sealed in a bag or stuck to clear tape. We can refer to those in the findings. Keep sleeping in your own bed; moving to the sofa usually spreads them and muddies the picture.

Sending It On

Send the findings to your landlord or letting agent with a short covering message of your own, dated, and keep a copy of both. The guide Tenant or Landlord: Who Arranges Bedbug Treatment? covers what to put in that message and what usually happens next.

If the landlord then books treatment, the findings save a second visit to work out the scope. For chemical treatment, the chemical treatment page for Lewisham explains how tenant and landlord keep a course of visits on track. If the landlord owns other rooms or flats in the building, the commercial page is written for them.

If We Find No Bedbugs

Then that is written down too, with the rooms we checked. For a tenant, a clear result is still useful: it settles the question with the landlord and points you towards whatever else is causing the marks. Bites vary from person to person and some people do not react at all, so skin alone settles nothing either way. For a skin reaction, a pharmacist or GP is the right person to see, and 999 is for any sign of a severe allergic reaction.

What an Inspection Costs

Inspections start from £120, and the figure for your flat is given on the phone before anything is booked. Who pays for the inspection is for you and your landlord to agree; some tenants book it themselves and send the findings with their first report. If treatment follows, treatments start from £220.

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