Bed bugs and fleas in Enfield and Barnet

How can I tell bed bugs from fleas?

Both bite, and each is easy to blame on the other. A few pointers:

• Bed bug bites tend to appear overnight on skin left uncovered in bed, often in a short row or cluster. Fleas bite around the ankles and lower legs during the day, and bite the pet far more than the people.
• Bed bugs leave small dark specks on sheets, mattress seams and the bed frame. Fleas leave fine black grit in pet bedding and carpets.
• Bed bugs are reddish brown, flat and about the size of an apple pip; you may find them, or their pale shed skins, in the piping of a mattress, behind the headboard or in the folds of a sofa. Fleas are smaller, darker and jump.
• Bed bugs are usually found in homes with no pets; fleas almost always arrive with a cat or dog, or sometimes with a fox that uses the garden.

Bites are not reliable on their own, because people react differently and some do not react at all.

Does having bed bugs mean my home is dirty?

No. Bed bugs are not a sign of dirt. They are carried in luggage, on second-hand furniture, in clothing and through the walls of flats, and they turn up in spotless homes as readily as untidy ones. What matters is how quickly they are found and how thoroughly they are treated. Embarrassment delays the enquiry and makes the job bigger.

Where do bed bugs come from?

Often a trip: a hotel, a hostel, a night on a friend's sofa. Sometimes a second-hand bed, sofa or chest of drawers. In flats and converted houses they can move between homes along pipework and through gaps in walls, so a problem that keeps returning may have its source next door. They hide close to where people sleep and come out at night to feed.

How does a pest controller treat bed bugs?

The first step is an inspection to confirm bed bugs and find how far they have spread. Treatment is then usually one of two approaches, or both:

• insecticide applied to the bed frame, mattress seams, skirting, furniture joints and other hiding places, with more than one visit to catch the eggs that hatch afterwards
• heat treatment, which raises the temperature of the room or the furniture high enough to kill every stage at once

Your part matters as much as theirs. Expect to be asked to strip the beds, wash bedding and clothing at 60 degrees or tumble dry on hot, bag items that cannot be washed, pull furniture away from the walls and clear the floor, and to avoid moving things to other rooms, which spreads the problem. Do not put the mattress out on the street, since that passes them to the next household and is usually unnecessary.

What about fleas?

Adult fleas on the pet are a small part of the population. The eggs drop off into carpets, rugs, pet bedding, sofas and the gaps between floorboards, where the larvae develop over weeks, which is why fleas return after you think you have dealt with them. Treatment therefore has two halves:

• the pet, treated with a product recommended by a vet and kept up to date
• the home, where a pest controller applies an insecticide to carpets, soft furnishings and floor edges that deals with the adults and stops the larvae developing

Vacuum thoroughly beforehand and daily afterwards, empty the vacuum outside, and wash pet bedding on a hot wash. Fleas can also appear in a home that has stood empty, when the vibration of people moving in wakes dormant pupae; this catches out people moving into a property where a pet once lived.

I rent my home. Who should deal with it?

Tell your landlord or letting agent in writing straight away. A tenant is usually responsible for an infestation they have caused, for example by bringing in infested furniture or keeping a pet without treating it. Where the building's condition lets pests in or lets them spread, or an infestation was present when the tenancy began, the landlord's repairing duties can apply, and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 covers homes unfit to live in because of an infestation. In a block of flats, the managing agent needs to know, since treating one flat on its own rarely works. This is general information, not legal advice.

Will one visit be enough?

Rarely for bed bugs, and often not for fleas. Eggs resist most insecticides, so a follow-up visit two or three weeks later is normal to deal with what has hatched. Ask the controller at the outset how many visits their plan allows for and what they need you to do in between.

What should I include in my enquiry?

• what you have seen: bites, specks, live insects, or a scratching pet
• which rooms are affected and how long it has gone on
• whether you have travelled, bought second-hand furniture or had guests recently
• whether you have pets and whether they are being treated
• whether you live in a flat, and whether neighbours have mentioned the same
• your postcode and a phone number you answer

What happens next?

With your consent, the enquiry goes to one local pest controller who takes on work in your postcode, if one does, and to nobody else. They will contact you to ask more and to discuss an inspection. We are an enquiry service, not a pest controller, and we cannot say when anyone can come. If nobody covers your postcode, we tell you and share nothing.