_ Cimex lectularius/ Cimex hempiterus (Bed Bugs)

_Bedbugs are small blood-sucking insects that can live in cracks and crevices in and around your bed.  Attracted by your body heat and carbon dioxide, they crawl out at night to bite your exposed skin and feed on your blood, just as mosquitoes do. They are not attracted to dirt, so a bedbug infestation is not a sign of an unclean home. Bedbugs are not dangerous. They do not transmit any human diseases and most people do not develop any serious skin reaction.

Bedbugs look a bit like lentils. They are oval-shaped, flat and reddish-brown, and up to 5mm long. Bedbugs need to feed on blood to be able to mature, but they are very resilient. Adults can survive for up to a year without feeding.

Not everyone develops a skin reaction to bedbug bites, but some people will develop itchy red bumps one to nine days later, usually on the face, neck, hand or arm. These are often mistaken for mosquito bites, but while mosquito bites tend to be random in pattern, bedbugs bite in a straight line.

Preventing an infestation

It can be difficult to avoid bedbugs as they can be transported so easily.  The best thing you can do is inspect your mattress regularly for telltale signs and take immediate action if necessary.

If you think you have a bedbug infestation, please contact us immediately.

_ Tenancy Agreement

Unless the Tenant can prove that Bed Bugs were in the Property when he moved in, it is the Tenant’s responsibility to carry out at the Tenant’s expense any requirements for disinfection of the Property and to remove the infestation within 7 days from the notice served by the Landlord, engaging a well known and trained expert in a treatment of Bed Bugs infestations.

After the expiry of three months since the commencement of the Tenancy any infestations at the Property would be considered to be due to an act or omission of the Tenant.

It the Tenant fails to carry out any requirements for pest control disinfecting or fumigating the Property, in the event of any infestations arising during the Tenancy, the Tenant agrees to pay a fee of £150 to the Landlord at the end of the Tenancy.