Bedbug Control Isle of Dogs

Choosing the Right Category

Look first for a heading such as pests, pest control or infestations. If there is one, use it. If the form only offers building repairs, pick the closest general option, such as 'other' or 'something else', and make the first words of your description 'Bedbugs in the flat'. Whoever reads it should know what it is before they get to the second line.

If the form will not take a pest report at all, or you are not sure it has gone through, ring or email your housing association as well and quote the date you tried online.

What to Put in the Description

Keep it short and factual. A report that answers these points usually needs no follow-up questions:

• What you have seen: bites, live bugs, dark spotting, shed skins
• Which rooms, and which pieces of furniture
• The date you first noticed, and whether it is getting worse
• Whether anyone in the household is vulnerable or has a health condition
• Whether you know of anything in neighbouring flats or the corridor

Attach photos if the form allows it. A close shot of the mattress seam or the frame joint with a coin beside it for scale is far more useful than a photo of a bite. If you have caught a bug, keep it in a sealed bag.

Keep the Paper Trail

The confirmation screen or email usually gives a reference number. Screenshot it and save it somewhere you will find it. Note the date and time. If you chase it later, give the reference and the original date rather than starting a new report, so the clock does not reset.

Who arranges and pays for treatment depends on your tenancy and on the cause. We are pest controllers, not legal advisers; if the report is not answered, your housing association's complaints route or a housing adviser is the next step.

While You Are Waiting

1. Keep sleeping in your own bed. Moving to the sofa or another room gives them a second place to settle.
2. Do not throw out the mattress or bed unless you are told to. Carrying it through the block spreads them to the landing and the lift.
3. Strip and hot-wash the bedding, bagging it in the bedroom before it goes anywhere.
4. Stop clutter moving between rooms, and keep bags and coats off the bed.

If the housing association sends a contractor, follow the preparation they give you. If you decide to book treatment yourself rather than wait, tell the association in writing first and keep the reference; ask when you ring and we will explain what each route involves. Chemical treatment suits most estate flats and runs over two or three visits; heat treatment is usually one visit and costs more. For how they move between flats on an Isle of Dogs block, see our guide on lifts and corridors, and for the borough as a whole the Tower Hamlets page.

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