Your Whole Home Is the Treated Room
In a larger flat you can shut the bedroom door and carry on living in the rest. In a studio the treated room is the whole flat. That has a few consequences worth thinking about before you book.
- For heat, you are out of the flat for most of a day, and you get it back once it has cooled
- For chemical, visits are one to two hours, and you are back in once the treated surfaces are dry
- Your laptop, monitors and work things are in the treated space either way
- Food, cooking oils and anything in the kitchen area needs thinking about for heat
Heat in a Studio
A studio is often a good fit for heat treatment. It is a single space, so the heat reaches the bed, the sofa bed and the wardrobe in one go. It kills eggs as well as adults, so it is usually one visit.
The list of things that come out is longer in a studio, because the kitchen and desk are in the room. Aerosols, candles, medication, plants and some electronics go out; pets go with you. Pack your laptop and work bag the night before, after checking them, and take them with you for the day.
Chemical in a Studio
A chemical treatment costs less and works well if the problem is contained to the bed area. It does not reliably kill the eggs, so there are usually two visits, sometimes three, about 10–14 days apart. The catch in a studio is preparation. You strip and hot-wash the bedding and clear the floor, and with no other room to put things in, that takes planning. Bags of washed, sealed clothes can stand in the middle of the room, away from walls and furniture.
Towers and the Rest of the Building
In a tower block, your studio shares walls, floors and service risers with the flats around you. If the bedbugs came from next door, or went there, treating one studio on its own may not be the end of it. After heat, which leaves nothing behind, we may put a light residual along the edges for that reason.
Tell your building management or landlord in writing. Our guide to neighbours with bedbugs covers that conversation, and how much to clear helps with the preparation.
Studios elsewhere in Southwark work the same way; the Southwark page covers towers and blocks more widely.
Bedbug Control Elephant and Castle — Questions
Can I keep working from home during chemical treatment?
Not while we are working. Once the treated surfaces are dry you can use the room, desk included, as normal.
Do I need somewhere else to go on the day?
For heat, yes, for most of the day. For chemical, only for the visit and until the surfaces are dry.
Can my computer stay in the flat during heat treatment?
Some electronics should come out. Tell us what you have and we will go through it rather than guess.
Does a studio cost less to treat than a larger flat?
Usually, because it is one room. The figure depends on the size of the space and whether you choose heat or chemical, and you get it on the phone first.
What about a sofa bed?
Treat it as a bed. Open it out before we arrive so we can reach the mechanism and the seams.
I am a student. Who should I tell?
Tell your landlord or accommodation provider in writing. Who pays depends on your agreement. See our page on student accommodation for more.
Elsewhere in Southwark
The other areas in the borough, each written around a different situation.
Bedbug Advice for Elephant and Castle
Picked for this page: the guides that go further on what matters for Elephant and Castle.
How Much Should You Clear?
Less than you fear, more than you might think: what to bag and what to leave alone.
Read more →
When the Neighbours Have Them Too
Treating your own flat properly when the problem does not stop at your front door.
Read more →
Preparing Your Home for Heat Treatment
What to do the week before, the night before and the morning of. A plan, not a list.
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 Southwark
Every service has its own page for Southwark: heat, chemical, hotels, commercial premises and inspections.
Covering Elephant and Castle
Tell Us About the Property
Tell us the rough size of your Elephant and Castle studio and what is in it, and we will suggest heat or chemical.