Stay in the same bed for now
Moving to another bedroom feels like the obvious response, but it usually just gives bed bugs a second room to establish in. Keep sleeping where you normally do while you work out the scale of the problem, and avoid carrying loose bedding or clothing between rooms in the meantime.
What you're actually looking for
A bed bug is small and reddish-brown once fed, roughly the size of an apple pip, and it crawls rather than jumps. Small dark spots along a mattress seam, tiny pale shed skins, or the insects themselves are what confirms it - bites alone are not reliable evidence, since reactions vary hugely between people.
Shared houses and rented terraces
A lot of the borough's older terraced housing, particularly around Barking town centre and Chadwell Heath, is let out room by room or split into flats, and bed bugs travel easily along shared hallways and between rooms in that kind of arrangement. Telling other occupants as soon as you find something gives the whole household a better chance of catching it early.
Who to tell
Tenants should notify a landlord or agent straight away and check what the tenancy agreement says about pest problems. In a block of flats, particularly the newer buildings at Barking Riverside, it's worth letting the managing agent know too, since bed bugs can spread along shared walls between flats without either household realising at first.
Getting ready for a visit
Most preparation is straightforward: washing bedding on a hot cycle, bagging clothing that's been near the bed, and clearing floor space around the bed frame and skirting boards so nothing is missed. There is usually no need to throw the mattress out.
Booking bed bug treatment in Barking and Dagenham
Bed bug treatment in Barking and Dagenham runs £220 for the first room and £120 for each additional room, and because around Chadwell Heath, where terraced and semi-detached streets on the borough's northern edge, it is worth mentioning which rooms you have checked when you book bed bug treatment, with what a visit involves set out on the Barking and Dagenham bed bug treatment page.
