Waking up with itchy bites, or finding small dark spots on your mattress seams? Our bed bug treatment combines steam and professional insecticides to clear bed bugs from homes, rentals and businesses across Bexley and South London. I’ll check every place they hide, explain what I find and tell you exactly how to prepare, so the treatment works first time. Call me for a price over the phone.
Bed bugs are good at staying hidden, so most people notice the signs before they see a bug. Check your bedroom for these.
Bed bug bites are itchy red bumps, often in a line or small cluster on skin that is exposed while you sleep, such as the arms, neck, shoulders and legs. Not everyone reacts to bites, so one person in a bed can be covered while the other has none.
Look along the seams, piping and labels of the mattress and at the corners of the bed base. Small black or dark brown spots are bed bug droppings. Rusty or red smears on sheets and pillowcases are from bugs crushed while feeding. You may also find pale, empty skins shed as young bed bugs grow. In a heavy infestation, some people notice a sweet, musty smell.
Adult bed bugs are flat, oval and reddish-brown, about the size of an apple seed. After feeding they become rounder and darker. Young bed bugs are smaller and paler, and the eggs are tiny, white and usually tucked into seams and cracks.
Bites around the ankles and lower legs, especially in a home with pets, are more often fleas. Itching with no visible insect can be mites. That is why we always confirm what we are dealing with before we treat.
Bed bugs live close to where people sleep and rest. The most common places are mattress seams, the joints and screw holes of bed frames, headboards, bedside tables and the skirting boards around the bed. As numbers grow, they spread to sofas and armchairs, curtains, picture frames, plug sockets and cracks in walls and floors. They can go for months without feeding, which is why an empty room is not enough to get rid of them.
Having bed bugs has nothing to do with how clean your home is. They hitchhike in luggage, bags, coats and second-hand furniture, and they travel easily between flats in the same building. Hotel stays, holidays, busy public transport, overnight guests and moving into a previously occupied property are all common starting points. We see them in every type of property, from family homes to student houses and hotels.
If you have searched for how to get rid of bed bugs, you will have found plenty of sprays, powders and foggers. The problem is that most bed bugs are hidden deep in seams and cracks where sprays don’t reach, the eggs are not killed by many products, and some bed bug populations have become resistant to common insecticides. Foggers can also drive bed bugs further into walls and into other rooms.
Moving to the sofa or the spare room usually makes things worse, as the bed bugs follow and spread. The best thing you can do is leave everything where it is and get a professional inspection.
Every treatment starts with a thorough inspection of the bedroom and surrounding rooms to find out how far the infestation has spread. I’ll show you what I find and explain the plan before any treatment begins.
We use steam treatment on mattresses, bed frames, headboards, sofas and other furniture. High-temperature steam kills bed bugs and eggs on contact, without chemicals, and it reaches into seams and joints where bugs hide. We combine it with professional insecticide treatments applied to cracks, crevices, skirting boards and other harbourage areas, which keep working after we leave.
Even the best treatment can miss a few eggs, and they hatch over the following days and weeks. That is why our bed bug treatment is carried out over three visits, timed to catch the young bed bugs as they hatch and before they can breed. Each visit, we check for activity and treat any areas that need it.
Good preparation makes a big difference, and we will give you clear instructions when you book. Usually this means washing bedding, clothes and soft items from the affected rooms on a hot wash and drying on a hot setting, then storing them in sealed bags. Clear clutter from under the bed and around the room so we can reach skirting boards and furniture, and vacuum thoroughly before we arrive. Please don’t throw furniture away before we have seen it, as it can often be treated, and moving items around the house can spread the bugs.
We will tell you how long to stay out of treated rooms, which is usually a few hours. In most cases we’ll ask you to carry on sleeping in your own bed, as it draws any remaining bed bugs out onto treated surfaces. Hold off vacuuming treated areas for as long as we advise, and let us know about any new bites or signs before the next visit.
In rented property, who pays for bed bug treatment often depends on when and how the bed bugs arrived, and what the tenancy agreement says. If they were there before the tenant moved in, or they are spreading from other flats, the landlord is usually expected to deal with it. In HMOs and blocks of flats, treating a single room rarely works, and the best results come from inspecting neighbouring rooms too.
We work with landlords, letting agents and managing agents across Bexley and South London, from shared houses near Tooting to flats around Croydon and Lambeth. Hotels, hostels and care homes can arrange regular inspections through our commercial pest control service. Moving into a new property? A new property pest inspection checks for bed bugs before your furniture goes in. For other insect problems, see our insect control page.
It depends on the number of rooms affected, the size of the property and how established the infestation is. Call us with a few details and we will give you an estimate over the phone.
Our standard bed bug treatment is three visits. Bed bug eggs hatch after the first visit, so follow-up treatments are what make sure the infestation is fully cleared.
Steam kills eggs on contact, and our follow-up visits deal with any young bed bugs that hatch from eggs we could not reach.
Usually not. Most mattresses can be treated with steam and insecticide. Throwing furniture out before treatment can spread bed bugs through the house, so wait until we have inspected it.
We plan every treatment around the people and pets in the home. Tell us about babies, young children or pets when you book, and we will explain exactly what precautions to take.
It is possible, as bed bugs can hitch a ride on clothing and bags, but it is much less common than picking them up from hotels, second-hand furniture or neighbouring flats.
Rentokil-trained and Level 2 certified, so you know you’re in safe hands.
We don’t just show up, treat, and leave. We walk you through exactly what we found, why it happened, and what we’re doing to fix it.
Pests don’t work 9 to 5, and neither do we. We’re available when you need us most.
We are Level 2 certified technicians, fully insured, and members of BPCA, BASIS Prompt and RSPH. You’re in safe, qualified hands.
Hundreds of satisfied clients across South London have trusted us to get the job done right, and we back every job with a satisfaction guarantee.
We’re not a faceless national company. We’re local, we care about our community, and we treat every property as if it were our own.
Call us or fill out the contact form. We’ll assess your situation and give you a straight, honest estimate over the phone.
Our technician visits your property, carries out a thorough on-site inspection, and begins treatment right away.
We carry out a 3-visit treatment programme to make sure the problem is fully resolved, not just temporarily patched.
Job done. Your property is protected, and you’ll know exactly what was done and why every step of the way.
Same-day response available
Out-of-hours and weekends
Rodent proofing specialists
