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Bed bug control
Second-Hand Furniture and Bed Bugs
Second-hand furniture is one of the two main routes bed bugs take into a home. Five minutes with a torch on the doorstep prevents most of it.
What to check, and where
Do it outside, before it comes through the door, in daylight with a torch. It takes about five minutes per item.
- Upholstered items. Every seam and every run of piping, both sides of each cushion, under the cushions, along the deck underneath them, and the whole underside including the dust cover if there is one.
- Beds and divans. Mattress seams and label tag, the folded fabric edge of the base, the base corners and underside, and the top of the base where the mattress sits on it.
- Frames and headboards. Every joint and screw hole, the back of an upholstered headboard, and any slot or recess in the design.
- Drawers and cabinets. Runners, the underside of each drawer, the back panel and the corners inside.
You are looking for black spotting first, then shed skins, then eggs. Live bugs are the least likely thing to see in daylight and the least useful thing to rely on.
Photographs on this page are for illustration purposes only.
Kerbside furniture
A mattress, divan or sofa put out on a pavement has a reasonable chance of being there because of bed bugs. It is not the only reason people discard furniture, but it is common enough that free kerbside upholstery is a genuinely poor bet.
The same caution is worth applying to anything that arrives without a history — a house clearance item, something inherited from a property that has been empty, a piece that has been in storage. Bed bugs survive long periods without feeding, so "it has been in a garage for a year" is not reassurance.
If it is already in the house
If something came in recently and bites started afterwards, tell us when it arrived and what it is. That single fact often explains the whole case and tells us where to start.
Do not drag the item back out through the house. That spreads whatever is in it along the route. Leave it where it is, close the door on the room if you can, and ring us.
Most furniture can be treated rather than discarded. Heat in particular deals with a sofa or a bed frame without any need to take it apart or throw it away.
Buying second-hand anyway
Buy second-hand. It is upholstery that carries the real risk, and five minutes on the doorstep covers most of it. Where you cannot inspect something properly, hard furniture is the safer bet.
If you are unsure about something you are looking at, photograph the seams and send it over. We would far rather answer that question than treat the bedroom three months later.
Before you book
Quick Answers
Can I heat-treat a single item myself?
Domestic equipment does not reliably reach and hold the temperature needed throughout a piece of furniture, and a partial job drives bugs deeper into it. Small washable items can go through a hot wash and a hot tumble dry; furniture is a different proposition.
How long can bed bugs survive in stored furniture?
A long time. They tolerate extended periods without a blood meal, particularly in cool conditions, so furniture that has been in storage or an empty property is not safe by default.
Tell Us What You Have Found
Bites, spotting on a mattress seam, or something you have found and cannot identify — tell us what you have seen and where.
Get in touch
Book a Bed Bug Visit
Tell us which rooms are affected, how long it has been going on, and what you have actually found. A photograph of a mattress seam is worth more than any description.
- Phone
- 01908 465226
- Message us on WhatsApp
- sales@miltonkeynespestcontroller.co.uk
- Milton Keynes Pest Controller Service
- Address
- South Row
Milton Keynes
MK9 3DQ - Covering
- Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and parts of Hertfordshire