Bedbug Control Earlsfield

Bites Alone Do Not Tell You Much

Marks on a child's skin can come from midges, mosquitoes, fleas from a pet, a rash or eczema flaring. Bedbug bites often appear in small groups or short lines on skin that is uncovered in bed, but they vary a great deal, and some people barely react at all. Nobody can say for certain from the bites alone. The London guide to bedbugs or something else goes through the common look-alikes.

If the marks are sore, spreading or your child seems unwell, speak to a pharmacist or your GP. If there are signs of a severe allergic reaction, such as swelling of the face or difficulty breathing, call 999.

Checking Your Child's Bed or Cot

Do it in daylight or with a good torch, while your child is out of the room.

• Mattress seams and corners. Look for rows of dark dots, pale papery skins and tiny eggs.
• The cot or bed frame. Check the joints, the slats and any screw holes. Wooden cots have lots of small gaps.
• Bumpers, soft toys and sleeping bags. Anything fabric that stays in the bed overnight.
• Nearby furniture. A chair used for night feeds, a changing unit, and the skirting behind the bed.

Check your own bed as well, especially if your child sometimes ends up in it in the night.

While You Find Out

1. Keep your child in their own bed. Bringing them into yours can carry bedbugs from one bed to another.
2. Wash the bedding hot. Sheets, sleeping bags and washable soft toys go on a hot wash, then the dryer.
3. Leave the cot where it is. Moving it to another room spreads anything living in it.
4. Tell the nursery what you find. If you confirm bedbugs, let them know so they can keep an eye on your child's bag and coat peg.

If It Is Bedbugs

If you find signs, or you cannot tell, an inspection from £120 settles it. For a child's room, both heat and chemical treatment are options. Heat usually needs one visit that takes most of a day, with everyone, including pets, out while it runs. Chemical treatment usually means two or three shorter visits; the room is used again once dry. With either, follow the instructions we give on the day about when your child can go back in.

Treatments start from £220. When you ring about a home in Earlsfield, tell us your child's age, whether they share a room and whether they ever sleep in your bed. More on the range of homes across the borough is on the Wandsworth page.

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