Why Are Bed Bugs On The Rise In London? What Is The Best Treatment?
Monty Gordon  –  25/05/2024  –  Pest Control
Have you noticed more bed bug infestations in London lately? You’re not alone. Bed bugs are becoming a significant problem in the city, particularly for business owners in the hospitality industry. This article will delve into why bed bugs are on the rise in London and outline the best treatment options available. Whether you run a hotel, restaurant, or office, this guide will help you understand the issue and how to address it effectively.
1. Understanding The Bed Bug Problem In London
Bed bugs are increasingly common in London due to several factors. Understanding these factors is crucial for effective pest control.
Increased Travel and Tourism
London’s status as a global travel hub brings in millions of visitors yearly. Unfortunately, many unknowingly carry bed bugs in their luggage, spreading infestations across the city.
Resistance to Pesticides
Bed bugs have developed resistance to many common pesticides, making traditional extermination methods less effective and leading to more persistent infestations.
Urban Living Conditions
High population density and close living quarters in London make it easier for bed bugs to spread from one property to another, especially in multi-unit buildings.
Lack of Early Awareness
Many people and businesses are unaware of the early signs of bed bug infestations, allowing the problem to escalate before action is taken.
2. Best Practices For Bed Bug Prevention
Implementing effective prevention strategies can significantly reduce the risk of bed bug infestations in London businesses.
Regular Inspections
Conduct regular inspections of your property, especially in high-risk areas like bedrooms and luggage storage spaces. Early detection is key to preventing widespread infestations.
Employee Training
Train your staff to recognize the signs of bed bugs and to report any suspected infestations immediately. This proactive approach can stop an infestation before it becomes severe.
Proper Waste Management
Ensure that waste, particularly old furniture and mattresses, is disposed of properly. Bed bugs often hide in these items and can spread if they are not handled correctly.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Adopt an IPM approach that combines multiple strategies, including sanitation, monitoring, and chemical treatments, to effectively manage bed bugs.
3. Effective Treatment Options For Bed Bug Infestations
Various treatment methods can be used to eliminate bed bugs, each with its advantages and limitations.
Heat Treatments
Heat treatments involve raising the temperature in infested areas to levels lethal to bed bugs. This method is highly effective and environmentally friendly.
Chemical Treatments
While some bed bugs have developed resistance to certain pesticides, professional-grade chemicals can still be effective when applied correctly by trained pest control technicians.
Cryonite Treatment
Cryonite treatment uses CO2 to freeze bed bugs instantly. It’s a non-toxic method that’s effective against bed bugs at all life stages.
Professional Extermination Services
Hiring a professional pest control service ensures that the infestation is addressed comprehensively and effectively, with follow-up treatments to prevent re-infestation.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are the first signs of bed bugs?
Early signs include small, red bites on the skin, tiny bloodstains on sheets, and the presence of dark spots (bed bug excrement) on mattresses and furniture.
2. How do bed bugs spread in London?
Bed bugs spread through luggage, clothing, used furniture, and close living conditions, especially in high-traffic areas like hotels and public transportation.
3. Are bed bugs resistant to all pesticides?
No, but they have developed resistance to many over-the-counter pesticides. Professional pest control services use advanced treatments to overcome this resistance.
4. Can bed bugs cause health problems?
While bed bugs are not known to transmit diseases, their bites can cause allergic reactions, itching, and secondary infections from scratching.
5. What should I do if I find bed bugs in my business?
Immediately contact a professional pest control service to assess and treat the infestation. Early intervention is crucial.
6. How effective are heat treatments for bed bugs?
Heat treatments are highly effective, as they kill bed bugs at all life stages without the need for chemicals.
7. How can I prevent bed bugs in my hotel?
Implement regular inspections, employee training, proper waste management, and integrated pest management strategies.
8. Are bed bugs visible to the naked eye?
Yes, adult bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed and can be seen without magnification, although their eggs and nymphs are much smaller and harder to detect.
9. How often should I inspect my property for bed bugs?
Conduct thorough inspections at least quarterly, or more frequently if you are in a high-risk area like a hotel or hostel.
10. Can I handle a bed bug infestation myself?
DIY methods are often ineffective. It’s best to hire professional pest control services to ensure complete eradication.
Why Choose BioWise
BioWise are a family run pest control business that services over 500 restaurants, hotels, pubs, offices and private homes across the UK
Customer service has been always great! A massive thank you to Ben for his great work and always being available when needed! 5 stars🌟
If you are looking for a professional and reliable pest control company don’t look any further! After we had the worst experience with two other companies, Biowise came to the rescue and we had no problem since then.5 star
Always excellent job done by BioWise. Very professional and prompt response time. Quality treatment of our all pest control issue. Katie is a top experienced managing member. She always responded even on odd hours.Highly appreciated for your quick response and assign technicians promptly for our Radisson Red Hotel Greenwich O2, London.Good luck guys and keep it up. Highly Recommended BioWise.
Great pest control company. Been using them for a while now and I have recommend them to everyone that I know. Just recently I dealt with Frank he managed to resolve our pest issues on one of the sites.
Biowise has been always very helpful sending professional hands when needed since electricians to plumbers . Very reliable, fast and trustworthy.Big thank you to Katie who’s always there making sure that everything runs smoothly.
Have recently been in contact with BioWise and Katie dealt with all matters amazingly. Professional, informative and very easy to deal with. Was a pleasure to deal with her. Thank you.
Professional service from ben at our london restaurant. Highly recommend Biowise! 🌟
Highly professional and skilled pest control, with dedication and willing to solve problems with pests and rodents. Both Frankie Holland and Matthew Ochello are working hard constantly to ensure all our sites are pest free. Thank you for your hard work.
Very professional and diligent service, Ben is always helpful and supportive with solutions
Frankie is the best. He is very friendly and he knows what is he doing! Always very helpful thank you for your service 🙏. Alexa
Amazing service from Frankie ! Very professional and on point with his duties,Highly recommend !!!
Great service! Ervi is really nice and checking every single place. Highly recomended!
Have been using Biowise for a while now in various buildings across London. The service and team, especially Katie, has been second to none, highly recommend. 5*
Great experience working with BioWise, Katie was great and gave me quick and good service
Ben from Biowise was an absolute pleasure, very friendly, came in and spotted all the mouse holes and immediately fixed them, he explained the process so I knew what was going on and how to help on my end, absolute star 10/10
After using the bigger firms with no signs of improvement I gave Biowise an opportunity. They were thorough and professional at every touch point, detailed reports, great team members and ultimately they delivered positive improvements across the board. Would highly recommend to any hotel, restaurant or facilities director.
I have been working with Biowose for over 10 years. First with the company I worked for and so impressed with Erv and the team, when I set up my own restaurant, I got them involved.They do an excellent job and everyone who I have recommended them to, are very happy with the service.I look forward to growing my brand knowing they are in my corner.Thank you guys!
I’m working for over a year with them and they keep our venue pests free, very good company to work with, Matt our person from the company helped us a lot with trying out our staff to be able to keep our business free of pest
Matt has been keeping our venue pest free since we opened! Great company with great friendly staff! Can’t recommend enough
Do not hesitate!!! Get these guys in, they are fantastic! They are professional and do not leave any room for error. They have done wonders for my business. I will highly recommend to others!
I can’t recommend BioWise enough! Erviol and his team did an absolutely amazing job with my café. From start to finish, their professionalism and attention to detail were unmatched. Erviol himself is not only a fantastic owner but also a pleasure to work with—always ensuring everything was done perfectly. The quality of their work speaks for itself, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. If you’re looking for excellence, BioWise is the way to go!
I can’t explain the frustration I was going through. Pests became a massive nightmare and our current pest control company at the time wasn’t good. At all.Then we signed up with BiowiseHonestly, I can go on and on about how good they are, but what counts more than most is the service the technicians provide when they come round. They tackle problems hour side of normal hours and accommodate flexiblity when required. Always polite.Thank you guys for all your hard work!
Took Biowise on, for a group of Steakhouses, about 11yrs ago, never looked back. Erv and his team are the best in the business, Proactive, communicative and they don’t mess around!Would recommend all day long…
Fantastic work over the past months from Ben N! Really had an impact on our pest control, we could not be happier! Keep up the good work! 💪
Have been dealing with Ben N, for a year now, and it’s always a pleasure . He has a friendly demeanor and always on the job! Great working with him as always!
Very happy with the customer care provided by Ben, super friendly and reliable! Always on time and happy to help with any issues.
Biowise have been amazing with our pest control here Ben from the team has been looking after us since we opened our doors 3 years ago he’s very informative when asking him questions and he always give good advice and suggestions
Great service from Ben N. Helping our locations for months now and always great service all the time
We have been using Biowise for over 2 years now. We have Ben N as our site controller. His very vigiliant, detailed, honest and reliable. He provides us with top quality service.
Well done, Ben is available and really kind in explaining to me everything I needed to knowadvise
Ben N. has been a regular at our café for the past two years, and his service as a technician is always outstanding. He is highly skilled, professional, and brings a positive attitude to every interaction. His dedication to excellence and attention to detail make him a valued member of our community. I highly recommend Ben N. for his technical expertise and exceptional customer service.
Great experience. Frankie was very professional and a genuinely great guy. Would recommend!!
We use Biowise across our London Portfolio for all things pest related. Ben N is highly professional and deals with any issues we have, in a prompt and efficient matter. Thank You Ben
We have worked with BioWise for several years now, I would recommend them to anyone. The engineers are always helpful, friendly and respectful while working around our site. Ben N is our current engineer and has been for over a year now, he is very helpful and knowledgeable and does a fantastic job.
Highly recommend biowise. Great team and work ethics! Ben is always polite and on time.Couldn’t recommend enough.
Biowise have eliminated our pest problem completely over the past few years and I would highly recommend their great service, pricing and engineers to anyone. Ben N is the engineer that looks after our site, very polite, punctual and thorough.Thanks guys 👍
I would highly recommend this company, very happy with the results. Everyone is very professional, helpful and extremely prompt with any questions you might have. Special mention to Nadia and Ben, they are great and so helpful, I couldn’t be happier !
Best company, great service.Enea was a very professional and kind and he did very very good job.
Very good experience with them since the beginning, fair prices, always helpful. Special mention to Ben who was always responsive and delivered what he said. Strongly recommended
Ben has always done a great job with us and has certainly improved the pest situation. Always professional and generally good guy
Excellent quality work done by Matthew, would definitely recommend this company.
Had a pleasure of working with BioWise for good few months, and the experience was excellent! If you get to work with Ben count yourself lucky – very professional, responsive and efficient. Bonus points that he’s also very personable and enjoys a good chat. Would highly recommend!
I’ve been working with Ben since Jan when I start managing at Notting Hill Coffee Project and I have to say he is by far the best I’ve worked across my hospitality experience. His due diligence, great communication and always in good mood (hence why staff likes him so much). But the feature I appreciate the most it is his good will, he has help me with two issue that had notting to do with his duties, including spotting a leak in my boiler and made enough pic and videos so i can send to the supplier. It’s a 5 Star!
Extremley professional, friendly and courtious. Extremeley effective and helpful.
Ben Dunn has been looking after our business for a while now and I couldn’t speak more highly of him. Always professional and never lets us down. Having worked with numerous pest control companies in the past I can easily say Ben has outdone himself. Highly recommend
This company is professional and friendly, extremely efficient and our operator Ben Dunn especially goes above and beyond and his visits are always a pleasure. Highly recommended 🙂
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I am thrilled to share my positive experience with BioWise, a company that truly exceeded my expectations. After a disappointing encounter with a previous company that left my house in shambles for four weeks, I was understandably stressed, especially being pregnant. However, BioWise turned what was once a nightmare into a stress-free journey.From the initial conversation with Ana, it was evident that BioWise values customer satisfaction. Ana’s warm and professional demeanour immediately put me at ease, making me feel confident that my home was in capable hands. The transparency and communication throughout this process has been commendable, addressing my concerns and outlining a plan to restore my house.Rajmond is the skilled technician assigned to the job. His expertise and attention to detail have been apparent from the start. Working on the interior wall insulation, painting, and fixing wardrobe rails and drawers, Rajmond showcased a level of precision and commitment that was truly commendable. The transformation in my room is nothing short of remarkable.What impresses me most about BioWise is their dedication to ensuring a high standard of work. I am genuinely grateful for the professionalism and efficiency displayed by the BioWise team, and I couldn’t be more appreciative of the positive impact they’ve had on my home. I wholeheartedly recommend BioWise to anyone seeking reliable and top-notch maintenance services.
BioWise is very proffesional people and they doing an amazing job every single visit. Every time they are taking immediate action to fix the issue 👏 it’s pleasure to cooperate with company like this . Thank you for your commitment
Ben it’s has been a super star for the last couple of years servicing our restaurant in soho. Thank you for good service!Happy Xmas
I’ve been using their services for 2 years and it has been a great experience. Professional, experienced and responsive, especially Enea and Matt who make you feel you are in safe hands. Highly recommend their services.
We use Biowise for our Pub in Northampton Town Centre. We have worked with Matt for a while and it’s been a very positive and lovely experience. There’s never been any issues with receiving reports on time or getting in touch with someone in emergencies if needed. Response has always been quick and issues dealt with in a very professional and timely manner. Couldn’t recommend someone more 🙂
10/10 investigations and service from Ben Dunn at BioWise as usual! Has done a number of jobs for us over the past few months and is always on time, professional and goes above and beyond to sort out any issues! Will highly recommend BioWise for any pest control needs! Thanks Ben!
Very happy with the service from BioWise. Over the years they have been extremely reliable. Their technicians, especially Enea is always punctual and goes above. Thank you guys!
Ben at Biowise comes to carry out checks every month and does a really thorough job. He never misses an appointment and is always happy, bright, bubbly and professional. I would defiantly recommend Ben for any pest control needs.
An exceptional company with exceptional standards with family run approach and attention to detail. Technician Ben always goes above and beyond and nothing is ever too much. Ben is a true asset to the company. Keep up the good work. Biowise A++
BioWise service our venue, we couldn’t be any happier and highly recommend their service to any establishment considering their services.
I met Mat from Biowise about 2 years ago whilst having major problems with pests etc I got him in and he sorted the problem out fully. I have since got them to do other sites I look after and the difference is immeasurable ! Great company with great people, hardly surprising they are doing well!
matt was excellent at helping me with my wasps nest. he had a great plan and it worked first time round outstanding performance also !
Ben has always been good but a few points do put him over others we have used in the past.He is extremely conscientious of both guests (in that he doesn’t go traipsing through the restaurant but rather waits outside to give me a wave if anything needs to be actioned or reported), staff (one of the rare people who speaks with the team to find out issues rather than just walking around) and timing (an awareness of service and when is appropriate to arrive for an inspection).I have also always been able to get in touch with him personally should I have questions/issues rather than having to go through HO or waiting for call backs.There are very few reasons I ever leave reviews online however the pro-active/ personal/ courteous and ever friendly service Ben provides is something I found is slowly being lost nowadays and is the reason we have stayed with the same company for so long as a business.The only reason I am leaving 5 stars is due to there not being a 6th star to add.
A Google User
13:33 07 Dec 23
Ben has always been good but a few points do put him over others we have used in the past.He is extremely conscientious of both guests (in that he doesn’t go traipsing through the restaurant but rather waits outside to give me a wave if anything needs to be actioned or reported), staff (one of the rare people who speaks with the team to find out issues rather than just walking around) and timing (an awareness of service and when is appropriate to arrive for an inspection).I have also always been able to get in touch with him personally should I have questions/issues rather than having to go through HO or waiting for call backs.There are very few reasons I ever leave reviews online however the pro-active/ personal/ courteous and ever friendly service Ben provides is something I found is slowly being lost nowadays and is the reason we have stayed with the same company for so long as a business.The only reason I am leaving 5 stars is due to there not being a 6th star to add.
Ben has been great and consistent on delivering a great service.His attention to detail and commitment to excellence plays an important role to the business on keeping the standards high. Would recommend Ben to other businesses in needing this type of service.
Have using biowise since 2014 and Ben has been great and very helpful, very professional in his job .
Fantastic service. Very attentive technicians. Ben and Enea are always on the ball.
Most helpful company I’ve worked with; Our officer Enea is efficient and professional as well as being a cool dude 🙂
I would recommend BIOWISE as the best pest control service provider in London….Ben has been working with us for quite a long time and his services are one of the best. He addresses all the problems in a professional and in a efficient manner.Thanks a lot BEN for your service!!!!
I have been working with Ben Dunn from Biowise since August, and he has been an absolute delight, he is always checking in with me and the building I run at Bob W and always finds the time to pop in should I call him at the very last minute, he always offers to help in other avenues of the building especially when I have a lot on my plate.. I really appreciate his work ethic and responsibility toward the building when it comes to pest control, besides all that, always attends the building with a soda for me, which is really kind 🙂 Thaaaaanks Ben! You are the best!
The manager Erviol was so helpful and eager to answer all my questions and inspect my place thoroughly. He is so professional and has been 15 years in his job. I was really reassured and felt supported in such difficult situation when you think you have infestation. I would like to thank him and the team so much!
Highly recommended.The service was amazing, came out the same day and gave me a lot of information and got rid of my mice problem on the first go. The staff are so friendly and they offered a follow up appointment to check everything over. Ana was who I spoke to and she was so kind (even tho it was 11pm) and Ben came and done the job next morning and he went above to make sure I was ok and to get the job done right. Biowise is amazing and I wouldn’t go anywhere else for pest control!!!!
We Service London
BioWise was founded in 2010 by Ana and Erviol and we have slowly expanded our team as the business has grown.
We operate numerous commercial pest control contracts across London. In areas such as Mayfair, Islington, Soho, Chelsea, Marylebone and The West End.
BioWise were honoured to be awarded Most Trustworthy Family-Run Pest Control Enterprise South Easy England 2024
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