Bedbug Inspections Westminster

Why a Short Let Needs Checking Differently

In a family home, bedbugs are usually noticed by the people who live there, because they are bitten. In a short let the person bitten has often gone home before anything shows, and the next guest may not react at all. Some people have no visible reaction to bites. A flat can go several stays without a complaint, which is why looking beats waiting.

What an inspection covers and what you get afterwards is on the London bedbug inspections page for the full explanation. This page is about fitting inspections into a letting calendar.

Every Place Someone Might Sleep

Serviced and short-let flats are often furnished to sleep more people than the bedroom count suggests. When you book, tell us about every sleeping place, because each one is checked:

• Beds in each bedroom, including any divan base and headboard.
• Sofa beds and chair beds in the living room, which are often forgotten and see the most varied use.
• Folding or travel beds kept in a cupboard between stays.
• Luggage racks, and the wardrobe where guests put their cases.

If the flat is part of a larger building of lets, mention whether the flats either side are let the same way. It affects what we suggest if something is found.

Upholstered headboards, padded ottomans at the foot of the bed and fabric blinds are common in furnished lets, and each has seams and folds worth a close look. List anything like that when you book so the time allowed is realistic.

Timing It Round Your Bookings

1. Look for a gap between guests long enough for the inspection. Ask when you ring how long your flat is likely to take.
2. Ask your cleaner to leave the beds made from the last stay, or at least not to strip and vacuum around them before we arrive. A freshly cleaned flat hides the evidence.
3. Make sure we can get in: key safe, concierge or a named person on site.
4. Keep your phone on. You get an answer on the day, so you can decide about the next booking at once.

If you have a guest who has already reported bites, tell us, and do not let the flat again until it has been looked at.

Between inspections, your cleaner is the one who sees the flat most often. A quick look along the mattress seam at the head end and at the joints of the luggage rack at each changeover costs almost nothing. If they see dark spotting, shed skins or a live insect, ask them to stop, leave the bed as it is, photograph it and tell you. A photograph sent to us usually tells us whether a visit is needed before the next guest is due.

What Happens With the Result

A clear result tells you what was found on the day; it is not a promise about future guests. Our guide to reading a bedbug inspection report explains what each part means and what a clear finding does and does not cover.

If bedbugs are found, the next booking usually has to move. Heat is often the choice for a let flat because it tends to finish in one visit and leaves nothing behind for the next guest; the Westminster heat treatment page covers it. Where a flat can take a course of visits, the chemical option costs less.

Guests Arriving for Longer Stays

Some flats are let for weeks or months at a time rather than nights. A check before a long stay begins gives both sides a starting point. The Mayfair page looks at it from the side of someone arriving for a long summer let, and what they should check on the first night. For many flats under one owner or agent, the commercial page for Westminster covers planning across a building.

Inspections start from £120, with more rooms or several flats quoted on the number involved. Ring 0800 955 1018 and you get the figure before anything is booked.

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