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For short-term and holiday lets
Bed Bug Heat Treatments for Short-Term & Holiday Lets
Treated between bookings, with no residue and nothing for the next guest to notice.
The Situation
Short-term and holiday lets have the highest guest turnover of any accommodation, usually the least on-site supervision, and a review system that makes a single bad experience expensive for a long time.
The combination that causes trouble is turnover plus gaps. Nobody sleeps in the property between bookings, and an empty property is where bed bugs sit quietly and wait — they can go months without feeding. A property that has been empty for six weeks is not a property that is clear.
Photographs on this page are for illustration purposes only.
The window
Between Bookings Is Worth Using
An empty property is the ideal thing to heat treat. Nobody has to be moved out, everything can be opened up, drawers pulled, furniture moved off walls, and there is no negotiation about when the work happens.
It is also the cheapest version of the job, because occupied treatments take longer and need more care around belongings.
So if a guest has reported bites, the gap before the next booking is the window. Cancelling one booking to treat properly is almost always cheaper than a review saying there were bed bugs, which will sit on the listing for a very long time.
Photographs on this page are for illustration purposes only.
Between guests
What to Check, and What Not to Do
If you or a cleaner services the property between bookings, the same four places apply as anywhere: mattress piping at the head end, divan base and access panel, behind the headboard, and the frame joints. Sofa beds count as beds and are checked more rarely than they should be.
What not to do, if something is found:
- Do not take the mattress out through the property. Bag it in the room if it is going.
- Do not move soft furnishings to another room or to your own house.
- Do not spray it. Most consumer products repel and scatter them.
- Do not take the next booking and plan to deal with it afterwards.
Photographs on this page are for illustration purposes only.
Managing it remotely
When You Do Not Live Nearby
A lot of let property is managed at a distance, sometimes through an agency or a cleaner who is the only person who ever goes in. That works fine as long as somebody can let us in and somebody can make a decision.
What we need is access, a named decision-maker, and an idea of the booking calendar. What you get back is what was found, what was done and what is outstanding, in writing, which is also what you need if there is any question with a guest or a platform afterwards.
Where a cleaner is your eyes on the ground, it is worth spending ten minutes showing them the four places to look. It is the cheapest monitoring available.
Short answers
Heat Treatment Questions
Can you treat between bookings?
Yes, and an empty property is the best version of the job - faster, more thorough and usually cheaper than an occupied one.
The property has been empty for weeks. Are they gone?
No. Bed bugs can go months without feeding, so an empty property is not a cleared one.
A guest has reported bites. What now?
Do not take the next booking and deal with it after. Get it inspected in the gap - bites are not proof on their own, and knowing either way is worth the call.
Do you work with letting agents and managers?
Yes. We need access, a named decision-maker and a rough idea of the calendar.
Do you check sofa beds?
Yes. They are beds, and they get checked far less often than they should.
Will there be anything for the next guest to notice?
No residue and nothing to wipe down. Once the property has cooled it is back to normal use.
Accommodation and rental property
If You Manage Somewhere People Sleep
The problem is different when the bed is not yours. These set out what changes.
Where we cover
Heat Treatments Across the Area
Across Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and into Hertfordshire. Homes, flats, hotels, guest houses, lets and shared accommodation.
Talk to Somebody Who Has Done It Before
No call-out fee, discreet attendance where arranged, and a straight answer about how far it has got.
Get in touch
Book a Heat Treatment
Tell us where the property is, when the next booking starts, and who can let us in.
- 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