Bed Bug Infestation and Treatment Case Study – Wandsworth, South West London.

It has been eight weeks since you arrived home to your Wandsworth flat in South West London, after a holiday in New York. Within weeks of arriving home you had started to get the odd bite on your body. Nothing major, you thought at the time, putting it down to being late summer and probably mosquitos. Some days there were no new bites, so you didn’t think much more of it, getting on with your busy life in Wandsworth.

Over time the frequency of the bites increased, always appearing in the morning. You started to notice spots of blood on the bed sheets as well. It is now that alarm bells start to ring in your head. Am I allergic to something? Am I sick? Being a sensible person you visit your local GP surgery in Wandsworth. The GP after establishing you don’t have a dog or cat, rules out fleas. The verdict, suspected case of Bed Bugs.

“I’m a clean person” you say to yourself. I wash my sheets, vacuum and clean my flat regularly. How has my Wandsworth flat become infested with Bed Bugs? After doing some research on the internet (Wandsworth council pest control bed bugs) you are reassured to learn cleanliness has nothing to do with getting Bed Bugs. They probably hitched a ride in your suitcase from the hotel you stayed in recently.

Frantically you pull the sheets off your bed. With a picture of a Bed Bug on your phone, you hunt for the the nasty biting culprit. It does not take you long to find a couple of Bed Bugs, hiding out in the seam of the mattress. Almond shaped insects about 5 to 6mm long clinging to the mattress. Disgusted by the sight of them, you leave the room in a hurry.

What next? You consider ordering some DIY products from the internet, but remember what happened when you tried to fix the sink. Does my local taxes, paid to the local council Wandsworth, provide a free service for Bed Bugs? Unfortunately not. Not wanting to make the Bed Bug situation worse, you opt for getting the professionals in. After talking to one of your Wandsworth neighbours. Indigo Pest Control is recommended to eradicate the Bed Bug infestation. So you phone them up and book an appointment to have your bedroom treated. The person on the phone reassures you, the problem Bed Bugs can be removed. A list of preparation instructions is provided. This includes removing bedding, clothing and sealing them in thick plastic bags. Practical advice is given not to move objects from the bedroom to other rooms, without sealing them in thick plastic. This is to stop the infestation spreading throughout the flat.

The day of the treatment arrives. You have to be out of the property for six hours after which time the flat is completely safe to return to. The Technician from Indigo Pest Control is very professional, positively identifying the Bed Bugs. You show him the one you had been asked to stick to some sticky tape as evidence.

A risk assessment is carried out, which includes checking there are no fishtanks or pets in the property. The Pest Control Technician explains which product he is going use in the property. These included an insecticide to quickly kill the biting pests, an IGR (Insect Growth Regulator) to stop any Bed Bug Eggs or Bed Bug Nymphs from developing into adult Bed Bugs and finally a long lasting insecticide. It is these professional use only products that give the pest controller the edge over the Bed Bug compared to DIY products available in Wandsworth shops. These DIY products often have poor quality ingredients, that don’t last long enough. A resident often kills a few Bed Bugs with DIY sprays and powders but is unable to deal with the hidden eggs and nymphs and within days or weeks the infestation has returned. This is where the knowledge and professional use only products, the trained pest controller has at his disposal, help to win the war on Bed Bugs in Wandsworth.

The pest controller will return to your Wandsworth home in 14 days to inspect and carry out the second treatment. A huge weight is taken off you mind, to know the situation is being resolved. In the meantime you have been advised to carry on as normal, sleeping in the affected bedroom and washing the bedding regularly. Vacating the room after the treatment, to sleep in another room, could make the situation worse be spreading the Bed Bugs to other rooms or making them less active which could prolong the process of eradication.

The next morning after the pest controller did his stuff, NO MORE BITES. In the following days you may find the odd dead or dying Bed Bug. By the time the Pest Control Technician revisits there is no live bed bugs to be found. On the follow up visit the pest control technician explains the need to apply a further long lasting insecticide.

Several weeks have passed since the last visit from the pest controller in Wandsworth and not a Bed Bug or bite in sight.