Preparing for a Treatment

Everything

The Common Ground

Whatever the pest, four things apply.

Say who is in the property. Children, pets, anyone pregnant, anyone with a respiratory condition, anyone who reacts badly to stings. Fish tanks matter particularly — cover them and turn off the air pump before any spray treatment, because fish are extremely sensitive.

Clear access to where the work is. Under the sink, the loft hatch, the meter cupboard, the side gate.

Do not clean the evidence away beforehand, and do not use a shop product in the days before — both make the job harder.

Plan to be out of the treated rooms for as long as you are told, which is usually a few hours and occasionally longer.

Bed bugs

The One Where Preparation Decides the Outcome

More bed bug treatments fail on preparation than on product, so this list is not optional.

• Strip the beds and wash bedding at 60°C, then tumble dry hot. Bag it straight from the machine.
• Bag clothing and soft furnishings from the affected rooms and keep the bags sealed until you are told otherwise. Do not move bags to another room.
• Pull furniture away from the walls where you safely can, and empty bedside units.
• Vacuum thoroughly, then seal and bin the bag outside immediately.
• Do not throw the mattress out before the visit. It usually does not need to go, and dragging an infested mattress through the house spreads it.
• Do not start sleeping in another room. This is the single most common way a one-room problem becomes a whole-house one — they follow you.

A heat treatment has a different list, which the technician gives you, and it is generally less work because the heat does what the chemistry cannot reach.

Fleas, cockroaches and rodents

Shorter Lists

Fleas. Vacuum everywhere thoroughly first, including under furniture and along skirtings, and bin the bag outside. Wash pet bedding hot. Make sure pets are treated by a vet — a house treatment with an untreated pet in it is a temporary result. Keep off treated carpets until dry, and then keep vacuuming: the vibration is what triggers the remaining pupae to hatch into the treated area, which is the mechanism, not a failure.

Cockroaches. Pull out appliances if you safely can, clear the cupboards under and beside the sink, deal with grease behind the cooker, and fix any dripping tap. Bait competes with whatever else is available. And do not spray anything — repellent products scatter them and ruin a gel treatment.

Rats and mice. Clear the areas where bait or traps will go, secure all food in hard containers, and deal with the bins. Tell us about pets and about anywhere a child could reach. Keep feeding birds to a minimum until it is over.

Afterwards

What Normal Looks Like

The commonest worry after a treatment is seeing more activity, not less. For several pests that is exactly what should happen.

Fleas keep appearing for two to three weeks as pupae hatch. Cockroaches come back three or four weeks later as egg cases hatch, which is why a follow-up is timed rather than optional. Rodents may be more visible initially as bait takes effect. Wasps keep returning to a dead nest for a day or two.

What is not normal: activity at the same level after the expected window, a completely new location, or nothing changing at all. That is when to ring rather than wait, and it is what a guarantee is for.

Ventilate as instructed, do not wash treated surfaces until you are told you can — washing a residual treatment off is the other common way a good job fails — and do the proofing.

Short answers

Drain Blocker Questions

Going further

Drain and Rat Guides