Bedbug Control Beckton

An Empty Home Does Not Starve Them Out

It is tempting to think that with nobody sleeping there, bedbugs will die off. They do not do that on any timescale that helps. They can go a long time between feeds, hiding in the bed and the edges of the room, and they become active again when someone comes back.

Often the only person they meet in the meantime is you. That is the risk to manage: a quick visit to check the flat can turn into bringing them back to your own home.

Visiting Without Taking Them Home

1. Do not sit or lie on the beds or the sofa while you are there.
2. Do not stay overnight, even if it would be convenient.
3. Bring nothing soft away with you. Clothes, bedding or cushions stay in the flat until it has been treated.
4. Keep your bag off the floor and the furniture; a hard chair or a hook is better.
5. Put what you wore into a hot wash when you get home, if you spent time in the bedrooms.

Getting the Owner's Go-Ahead

Before anything is booked, the person who owns or rents the home needs to agree to it, and ideally to who pays. A message or email from them is enough for us. If the home is rented, their landlord or agent should be told in writing as well; who arranges and pays depends on the tenancy and the cause, and we are not legal advisers.

Photos help the owner decide. Take a few of what you found, and of the bed and the skirtings, and send them over. If you are not sure what you are looking at, an inspection from £120 gives them a clear answer and something in writing.

Treating a Home Nobody Is Living In

An empty home is in some ways easy to treat: nobody has to be moved out and the rooms can be left alone afterwards. You will need to let us in and be the person we speak to on the day. Keep a short record of each visit and what was done, so you can pass it on to the owner and to any landlord or agent involved.

Heat treatment needs the power on, and someone has to clear out the heat-sensitive items first, such as medication, aerosols, candles and plants. Chemical treatment needs bedding stripped and floors cleared, and two or three visits, which means more trips for you with the keys. Heat costs more; both are from £220. Empty homes sometimes have other visitors too, such as mice, and our guide on bedbugs and other pests together explains the order to deal with them.

When you ring about the home in Beckton, tell us when the owner is due back. The Newham page covers homes with more people in them.

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