Reading a Bedbug Inspection Report: Westminster

The report is short on purpose. It is meant to be read by the person who lives there, and often passed to someone else as well: a landlord, a managing agent, the owner of a short-let flat. Each part answers one question. Read them in order and the next step is usually obvious.

Was It Bedbugs?

The first finding is the yes or no. If it is yes, it will say what was seen: live insects, eggs, shed skins, dark spotting, or a mixture. Live bugs or eggs are firm evidence. Old spotting on its own can point to an earlier problem that is no longer active, and the report will say which way we read it.

If it is no, the report gives our best view of what the cause was instead. That might be another insect, such as fleas or carpet beetle, or it might be that nothing was found that would explain the bites. Where the answer is something we would not treat, it says who to talk to.

Where, How Many and How Long

Next comes location. It names the rooms and then the spots within them: the mattress piping, a particular joint of the frame, a stretch of skirting behind the headboard. This is the part to read closely, because it shapes the treatment. A problem found only in the bed is a different job from one that has reached the edges of the room.

It also gives a view on numbers and on how long it has most likely been going on. That comes from the amount of staining and the mix of skin sizes. It is an estimate, not a date, but it helps a landlord or host think about when the problem arrived.

Which Rooms Are Clear

The report says which rooms were checked and found clear, not only which had signs. People skip this part and should not. In a flat it tells you whether the living room sofa needs to be in the treatment; in a short let with two bedrooms it tells you whether one can stay in use.

What a Clear Result Does and Does Not Promise

A clear result means nothing was found on the day in the places a bedbug lives, searched in order from the bed outward. That is a real answer, and for many people it is the end of the worry.

What it cannot do is look forward. It describes that visit. A guest arriving that evening with a bag from somewhere else can start a new problem, and a very new introduction of a handful of bugs may leave very little to see. So a clear report is good evidence about the past, not a promise about next month.

• If bites carry on after a clear result, keep any insect you catch and ring us.
• If you let the flat, a clear report is a record for that date, so keep it with the booking dates.
• If a guest reports something later, the earlier report helps show when things changed.

The Recommendation and What to Do Next

The last part is what we would do and roughly what it would cost: heat or chemical, which rooms, and why. Treatments start from £220, and the figure depends on the rooms and the route. You are not obliged to book anything.

1. Read the rooms listed with signs, and the rooms listed as clear.
2. Check the recommendation matches what you can manage: a day out of the flat for heat, or a course of visits for chemical.
3. If you rent, send the report to your landlord or agent with your written notice of the problem.
4. If you host guests, hold off new bookings in affected rooms until they are treated.
5. Ring 0800 955 1018 with any question about what a line means.

Hosts checking a flat between guests will find more on the Westminster inspections page. For what the visit itself involves, see what happens during an inspection, and for the two routes, the heat and chemical pages.

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