What Gets Mistaken for Bedbugs
Bites are the reason almost everyone rings, and bites are the worst evidence there is. Some people come up in a row of welts within hours; others share the same bed and show nothing at all for weeks. You cannot read a population off a person's skin.
These are the things we are routinely called to that turn out not to be bedbugs:
- Fleas — bites round the ankles and lower legs rather than on the torso and arms, and usually a pet in the property
- Carpet beetle larvae — the hairs cause a reaction that looks very like bites, and the larvae are found at the carpet edge
- Bird mites — nearly always a nest in a soffit, a chimney or a loft, and the timing gives it away
- Skin conditions — eczema, hives and reactions to a new detergent all get read as bites by a worried household
- Nothing at all — after a hotel stay or a news story, an itch becomes evidence. This is more common than you would think and there is no shame in it
What an Inspection Actually Covers
We work outward from where a person sleeps, because that is the only place a bedbug population can be sustained, and we search in the same order every time so nothing gets skipped.
- The bed. Mattress seams and piping, the label pocket, the divan underside and vents, every joint and screw hole in the frame, and behind the headboard.
- The two metres around it. Bedside furniture, drawer runners, the carpet edge, skirting, sockets and light switches.
- The rest of the room. Upholstered chairs, curtain hems, picture frames, loose wallpaper, wardrobe corners.
- Adjoining rooms. Anywhere somebody has been sleeping since this started, including the sofa if the household moved onto it.
- Entry routes. Party walls, pipe runs and connecting doors where the property shares them with a neighbour.
What You Get Afterwards
You get an answer on the day, in plain terms, and a written report that says:
- Whether it is bedbugs, and if not, our best view of what it is
- Where they were found and in what numbers
- How long it has most likely been going on — staining and shed skins tell you a lot
- How far it has spread, and which rooms are clear
- Which treatment we would recommend, and honestly what it would cost
When an Inspection Is Worth the Money
Not always, and it is worth saying so. If you have a live bedbug in a jam jar and spotting along the mattress seam, you do not need us to confirm it — ring and book the treatment.
An inspection earns its keep when you are not sure what you have; when a previous treatment did not hold and you need to know why; when you are buying, letting or taking over a property; when a tenant has reported something and you need a position before spending; or when a guest has complained and you need to know whether the rooms either side are clear before you sell them again.
Bedbug Inspections London — Questions
How much does a bedbug inspection cost?
Inspections start at £120. Larger properties and multiple units are quoted on the number of rooms, and you get that figure on the phone before anything is booked.
What should I do before you arrive?
Nothing. That is not politeness, it is the point — do not strip the bed, do not deep-clean and do not spray anything. The evidence is what we have come to read, and a cleaned room can hide a fortnight of history.
Can you tell how long it has been going on?
Usually, and fairly closely. The amount of staining, the shed skins at different sizes and whether there are eggs present between them give a decent picture of how many generations have been through.
Do you use dogs?
We work on visual inspection with a torch and a thermal camera. A good detection dog is a genuinely useful tool in large properties; a poorly handled one produces false positives that cost somebody a treatment they never needed.
What if you find nothing?
Then you have your answer, you have it in writing, and you have not spent several hundred pounds treating a room that did not need it. If it turns out to be fleas or carpet beetle we will tell you that and what to do about it.
Inspections — Questions Answered in Full
Written up in full — how each one works, what it costs you and how it goes wrong.
Bedbugs, or Something Else?
A walkthrough you can do tonight with a torch, and what to do with what you find.
Read more →
What Happens During an Inspection
From your side of it: how long, whether you stay, what we will ask and what we will move.
Read more →
The Places That Get Missed
Beyond the bed and the two-metre radius: the harbourages that survive a mediocre inspection.
Read more →
The Early Signs, and the Timeline
Week one to month six. What is detectable when, and why 'early' is mostly invisible.
Read more →
Inspection First, or Straight to Treatment?
When the £120 saves you money, and when it is £120 you did not need to spend.
Read more →Bedbug Control Across London
Every service runs on the same two treatment routes and covers all 33 boroughs. Start at the bedbug control London page if you are not sure which one you need.
Tell Us About the Property
Tell us what you have seen and where, and we will tell you whether an inspection is worth your money or whether you should go straight to treatment.