Bed Bugs: What to Do in the First 48 Hours

Confirm it before you act

Bite reactions vary enormously between people and some show nothing at all, so skin is unreliable evidence. Physical signs on the bed are what count.

Check the mattress seams, the base, and the joints of the frame. Rust-coloured spotting on the sheets is the commonest first sign; dark specks along the headboard or the skirting behind the bed come next. If you find one, catch it in a jar rather than crushing it — identification is genuinely useful.

Do not throw the mattress out

This is the expensive mistake and it is extremely common. Dragging an infested mattress through a hallway distributes bed bugs along the route, which in a shared building means you have just extended the problem to your neighbours.

In most cases the mattress is treatable. Wait for the inspection before disposing of anything at all.

Do not start spraying

Consumer sprays are largely repellent. They will not clear the population and they will scatter it — from one room into two, or from a bed frame into the skirting and the adjoining wall. That makes the professional treatment harder and more expensive.

Equally, do not move to the sofa. People frequently do, and it relocates the infestation to the living room while leaving the bedroom population intact.

What does help

Strip the bed and wash the bedding hot, then tumble dry hot — heat is what kills them. Keep the washed items away from the room until treatment. Reduce clutter around the bed so the technician can actually reach the harbourage.

If you are in a flat or shared building, tell the managing agent. Bed bugs move between units through wall voids and treating one flat while the one next door goes untreated rarely holds.

Expect two visits

Eggs are the stage nothing reliably reaches, and they hatch after the first treatment regardless of what was used. The follow-up is timed to that hatch. It is not an upsell — it is the visit that finishes the job.

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