Preparing your home for bed bug treatment: the checklist, re-entry times and the 14-day test

Preparing for bed bug treatment comes down to four jobs: wash the infested room's textiles at 60°C and tumble dry them hot, bag what cannot be washed, clear the technician's access to the bed and skirting boards, and leave the furniture where it is. After a residual spray you stay out until it has dried, usually two to three hours, you do not vacuum for 10 to 14 days after the final visit, and 14 days without live bugs, fresh spotting or new bites is the clearance test.

Why does preparing for bed bug treatment matter so much?

Because the technician has to reach every harbourage, and because badly done preparation spreads the bugs. The BPCA code tells firms to warn customers at first contact that headboards may come off, divan bases will be opened and carpet edges lifted, and lists decluttering, moving items off the walls and bagging laundry as the customer's job. The European code of practice adds that the occupant must be told, preferably in writing, how to prepare without causing dispersal, which is the point most people miss: an unsealed armful of bedding carried to the machine is how one infested room becomes two.

Councils are strict about it: Southwark says treatment cannot go ahead unless every bedroom is accessible, and Lambeth asks for the laundry to be done before each of its two visits.

Before the visit: the checklist

Do these in the room being treated, in this order, and take nothing out of the room except rubbish and sealed bags of laundry.

1. Strip the bed and seal the bedding, curtains and any clothes from the floor into bin bags in the room, then carry the sealed bags straight to the machine.
2. Wash at 60°C and tumble dry on hot for at least 30 minutes; the NHS gives the same figures, and the European code notes that a 40°C wash kills live bugs but not eggs.
3. Put anything that cannot be washed, such as shoes or soft toys, in a sealed bag in the freezer; the NHS says two to three weeks, because a full bag takes far longer to chill through than a single bug.
4. Put dried items into fresh, clean bags and keep them sealed until the course of treatment is finished.
5. Take pictures, mirrors and posters off the walls and remove the headboard if it is detachable.
6. Empty bed storage drawers and anything under the bed into the middle of the room, not into another room.
7. Pull the bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers and sofa well away from the walls so the skirting boards are reachable.
8. Lift the edges of fitted carpet and leave them loose where the technician asks.
9. Vacuum the floor, mattress, base and frame slowly, empty the vacuum straight into the outside bin, and store the vacuum in a sealed bag.
10. Unplug non-essential electrical items and lift them off the floor.
11. Empty wardrobes and drawers only if the technician asks, because over-preparing moves bugs around.
12. Arrange access to every bedroom and, in a shared flat or HMO, to every tenant's room, or the treatment cannot be assured.

What should I leave where it is?

The bed, the mattress and the furniture. The European code is blunt about firms that insist on disposal, which spirals costs when items can almost always be disinfested, and the BPCA code says any disposal must be discussed, agreed and documented first. Dragging a mattress down a communal stair sheds bugs and eggs the whole way, and a new bed is colonised within weeks.

Keep sleeping in your own bed, too: moving to the sofa or a spare room draws the bugs after you, and "stay put" is the advice in every reputable protocol, including the one St Mary's University in Twickenham publishes for its halls. Keep work and school bags out of the bedroom until the course is finished.

What about children and pets?

Out of the treated rooms during the visit and until the residual insecticide has dried, which is Westminster Council's instruction too. Bed bugs are not thought to be spread by pets, so there is no treatment for the animal itself. If you rent, our landlord's guide to pests covers who arranges and pays for the visit.

How long do I stay out after bed bug treatment?

After a residual spray, until it has completely dried, which the European code puts at usually two to three hours and Lambeth Council states as three hours, with the windows open for an hour afterwards. Some contractors specify longer, St Mary's protocol says five hours, so follow the time written on your treatment report, which depends on the product used.

Dry steam on its own leaves nothing to dry, so the only wait is for the room to air, which also stops the damp it leaves behind from turning to mould. Because Pest Stop applies a residual insecticide on the same visit as the steam, plan for the full drying time.

After the visit: the checklist

The fortnight after each visit is part of the treatment, so these matter as much as the preparation.

1. Do not vacuum, wipe or polish the treated rooms for at least 10 to 14 days after the final visit; the residual only works if it is left in place.
2. Sleep in your bed as normal, with the bed off the wall and no bedding touching the floor.
3. Keep laundered items sealed and re-wash the bedding before the second visit, as Lambeth asks its own customers to.
4. Expect the odd bite in the first week or two; eggs laid before the first visit go on hatching for up to three weeks, and the second visit is timed to catch them.
5. Do not buy a new bed, sofa or mattress until the course is finished and the clearance period has passed.
6. Note the date and place of any live bug you see, and keep it on sticky tape or in a sealed bag for the technician.
7. After the final 14 days, clean thoroughly to remove dead bugs, shed skins and old spotting, so old evidence is never mistaken for a new problem.

What happens between visits, and what is the 14-day test?

The second visit comes about two weeks after the first, because eggs hatch over 10 to 20 days and resist insecticides. At that visit the technician repeats the inspection as thoroughly as the first, treats again, and checks any monitors placed under the bed legs. If live bugs are found at the final visit, the European code says a further treatment and inspection follow rather than a sign-off.

Clearance is a period, not a moment. The code recommends post-treatment monitoring to confirm success, and Lambeth tells its residents the infestation usually takes at least two weeks to clear and sometimes longer. Our working test is 14 days after the final visit with no live bugs, no fresh dark spotting and no new bites; until then, keep the bags sealed and the bed where it is.

When should I call back?

Call if you see a live bug after the final visit, if fresh spotting appears on clean bedding, or if new bites turn up more than two weeks after the last treatment. Call before the visit if you cannot manage the preparation, so it can be planned rather than cancelled on the day, and tell us if a neighbour mentions bed bugs, because an adjoining flat is a common source of re-introduction. Every treatment carries a written six-month guarantee, subject to the site survey, so tell us straight away if anything comes back within it.

What to do next

Read how bed bug treatment works and, if you are not yet certain what you have, the signs of bed bugs. Then call Pest Stop Control on 020 3411 2329, Monday to Saturday 8am to 7pm, for a free inspection survey, often the same day. You get a written preparation list with the quote, the bed bug treatment page covers what happens on the day, or send us the details online.