Bedbug Control Bermondsey

Why Open Plan Changes the Job

A heat treatment raises the whole room to a temperature bedbugs cannot survive and holds it there. In a normal bedroom the walls and door keep that heat in. In an open-plan flat the bed may sit in a space that runs straight into the kitchen and living area, so there is no natural edge to hold the heat against.

That leaves two choices. We can heat the whole open space, which takes more equipment and costs more, or we can screen off the sleeping area and treat that. Which one is right depends on where the bedbugs are, and that is why the first conversation is about what you have found and where.

High Ceilings, Mezzanines and Cold Floors

Hot air rises. Under a tall warehouse ceiling the gap between the air at the top and the floor can be large, and bedbugs live low down, in the bed, the sofa and the floorboards. Fans keep the air moving so the heat reaches the floor, and the thermal camera shows us any cold spots that are lagging behind.

• Mezzanine beds sit in the warmest part of the space, which helps, but the stairs and the underside need checking too.
• Old floorboards have gaps along their edges where bedbugs can shelter. They take longer to come up to temperature than the air above them.
• Exposed brick and timber beams hold cold for a long time. A bed pushed against a brick wall is a place we watch closely.

Getting the Space Ready

An open-plan flat has more in it that heat will damage, because the kitchen and the desk are in the same space as the bed. Before the day we send a list. It covers aerosols, candles, medication, vinyl, plants and some electronics. In a single open room that usually means the kitchen cupboards and any home office equipment as well. Pets go out for the day.

Do not strip everything out. Clothes, books and most furniture can stay and be treated where they are. Our guide on how much to clear helps you judge it.

When Chemical Makes More Sense

If the bedbugs are confined to one bed and the space is very large, heating all of it can cost more than the problem warrants. A chemical treatment applied to the bed, the frame and the nearby skirtings and floor edges can be the better call. It usually takes two visits, sometimes three, because it does not reliably kill the eggs.

In a converted building with other flats around you, heat leaves nothing behind. We may add a light residual at the edges after the heat, so anything coming back through the building meets it. The London comparison of heat and chemical sets the two side by side.

If your Bermondsey building has other flats with the same problem, the Southwark bedbug control page explains why the building has to be part of the plan.

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