Crawling pests
Bed bugs
- Stay out of the property
- 6 to 12 hours, and until dry
- Don't wash or wipe
- 7 days
- Light vacuum
- After 5–7 days
- Follow-up treatment
- In 14 days
Get your home ready
Before we arrive
What we do on the day
- We inspect first: mattress seams, bed frame joints, behind the bedhead, skirting boards and bedside furniture.
- Then we treat the bed frame, mattress seams, skirting boards and carpet edges. Only a product registered for the job goes near a mattress, and only where its label allows.
- Eggs can hatch after the first treatment, so a follow-up treatment 14 days later is standard.
After treatment
- Do not re-enter the property for 6 to 12 hours, and not until it's dry
- Do not wash or wipe treated surfaces for 7 days
- Light vacuuming after 5–7 days is recommended
- A follow-up treatment 14 days later is standard
Common questions
How long does it take to work?
Activity may continue for 7–14 days as bed bugs contact treated surfaces.
Why am I still getting bites?
Newly hatched bugs may still emerge before contacting treatment.
When can people and pets go back in?
People and pets stay out of the property for 6 to 12 hours, and until it's dry. Your technician will confirm the time.
Is there a warranty?
We'll go through what's covered before you book.
Can bed bugs spread to other rooms?
Yes. They travel in bedding, clothes, bags and furniture. Until we've treated, keep things from the affected room in that room, and bag washable items before you carry them out to wash.
Do bed bugs spread disease?
They're not known to spread disease, but the bites can itch and swell. See your doctor if a bite becomes infected.
How do I avoid bringing them home from a trip?
Check your luggage when you arrive and again before you leave, look at the bed for signs, and look over your bags and clothes when you get home.
Signs you've got bed bugs
- Bites are often the first sign. Some people don't react to them at all, and a bite can take days to show.
- Small blood spots on sheets or the mattress, from bugs that were squashed.
- Rusty or dark spots of droppings on the mattress, bedding, walls or skirting boards.
- Shed skins and eggs, often tucked along mattress seams.
- The bugs themselves: flat and oval, about half a centimetre long, light brown, turning rust red after they feed.
- A sweet, musty smell once there are a lot of them.
- They mostly feed at night, so you rarely see them during the day.
Where bed bugs hide, and how they get in
Where they hide
- Mattresses, especially along the seams.
- Bed frames, bedheads and bedside furniture, in the joints, seams and cracks.
- Sheets and blankets.
- Cracks in walls and wooden floors, carpet edges, skirting boards and behind loose wallpaper.
How they get in
- On luggage, bags and clothes, often after a stay away from home. They turn up anywhere people sleep, from hotels to trains.
- In second-hand furniture, especially beds and bedroom furniture, and furniture picked up from the kerb.
- With visitors who have them where they've been staying.
Keep them away
- Inspect any second-hand furniture you bring into your home after treatment
- Wash clothing as soon as you return home from travel
- Reduce clutter around sleeping areas
What happens next
Booking the treatment
Bed bugs need a full treatment of the room and everything soft in it, their eggs and hiding spots included. A follow-up treatment 14 days later is standard, and is charged separately. The follow-up is $220.
Still have a question?
Call us and we'll help. If you're still seeing activity after the times on this page, let us know.