Tell the Warden Early
It is tempting to deal with it quietly, but the warden or scheme manager needs to know. They can check whether anyone else has reported bites, keep an eye on the shared rooms, and tell you whether the housing provider arranges pest control for the building. Put it in writing as well as mentioning it in person, so there is a record.
Who arranges and pays for treatment depends on your lease or tenancy and on the cause. We are pest controllers, not legal advisers; if the provider books us, we deal with them and with you about access and preparation.
The Shared Lounge and Laundry
Bedbugs live near where people rest for long periods, and a lounge full of armchairs is exactly that. If you spend afternoons in the same chair, it is worth checking its seams and the gap between the cushion and the frame. The warden may want those chairs looked at even if your flat is the only one affected.
- Carry laundry to the shared machines in a sealed bag, and put the bag straight in the bin afterwards.
- Use the hottest wash the fabric allows, then the dryer.
- Avoid taking cushions, blankets or throws from your flat into the lounge until treatment is done.
- Wipe down walking frames and trolleys, and check the fabric seats on them.
Preparing a Flat When You Live Alone
Preparation for chemical treatment means stripping and washing bedding and clearing the floor. For heat, it means removing things heat can damage, including medication, which matters in a retirement flat. Ask a relative, a neighbour or the warden to help with lifting and carrying. If you need help that none of them can give, ask when you ring and we will talk through what is possible.
The page for residents who cannot lift or move furniture goes into preparation help in more detail.
Heat or Chemical in a Retirement Scheme
Heat usually finishes in one visit, so there is one day to plan around: you are out of the flat for most of it, with somewhere comfortable to wait, and back once it has cooled. Medicines come out first and must be kept somewhere cool while the flat is heated. The Redbridge heat treatment page explains the day in more detail.
Chemical means shorter visits but a course of them, usually two, sometimes three, about 10 to 14 days apart. You are back in the flat once surfaces are dry. The chemical treatment page covers what each visit involves. Where heat is used in a shared building, a light residual may also be put along the edges.
If you are in Clayhall and not sure whether it is bedbugs at all, an inspection confirms it before any treatment is booked.
Bedbug Control Clayhall — Questions
Will the other residents be told?
That is for the warden or housing provider to decide. They may check neighbouring flats or the lounge chairs. We deal with whoever books the work and with you about your own flat.
I take several medicines. What happens to them during heat treatment?
They come out of the flat beforehand and are kept somewhere cool until the treatment is finished. We give you the list of what to remove before the day.
Can I still use the lounge before my flat is treated?
Ask the warden. Many people keep using it with care: nothing soft carried in from the flat, and clothes changed and washed after a spell in an affected room.
How much does a Clayhall retirement flat cost to treat?
Treatments start from £220. The figure depends on how many rooms are affected and whether it is heat or chemical, and it is given on the phone before anything is booked.
The bites are itchy and slow to heal. What should I do?
A pharmacist or GP can help with skin reactions. Call 999 if anyone shows signs of a severe allergic reaction.
Elsewhere in Redbridge
The other areas in the borough, each written around a different situation.
Bedbug Advice for Clayhall
Picked for this page: the guides that go further on what matters for Clayhall.
Bedbug Treatment for Care Homes
Treating around a resident who cannot easily move, and why heat is often the wrong answer.
Read more →
The Early Signs, and the Timeline
Week one to month six. What is detectable when, and why 'early' is mostly invisible.
Read more →
Can Bites Be Passed On?
The bites cannot be caught from someone, but the bedbugs themselves can hitch a ride.
Read more →What Happens After the Treatment
Day one to week six, what you will actually see, and when to stop worrying.
Read more →Bedbug Treatments in Redbridge
Every service has its own page for Redbridge: heat, chemical, hotels, commercial premises and inspections.
Covering Clayhall
Tell Us About the Property
Tell us about your Clayhall flat and whether the warden knows, and we will explain how treatment would fit in.