Why a sofa can become infested
Bed bugs are drawn to the warmth and breath of a resting person, not to the mattress as such. Someone who naps on the sofa every evening, or sleeps on it regularly, gives them the same chance to feed. Upholstery then offers plenty of seams and folds to retreat into.
Where to check a sofa
- Along the piping and seams of the seat and back cushions
- Under the cushions, in the crease where the seat meets the back and arms
- Inside the zips and inner covers of removable cushions
- The underside, where a thin dust cover is stapled to the frame
- Around the legs, feet and any exposed wooden joints
- The folding mechanism and thin mattress of a sofa bed
Armchairs, recliners and futons
Recliners have moving parts, springs and hollow spaces that are hard to see into. Futons combine a mattress with a slatted wooden frame. Both deserve a careful look if anyone regularly falls asleep in them.
Wooden and hard furniture
Bed bugs do not need fabric. They shelter in the joints of bedside tables, the runners of chests of drawers, the back panels of wardrobes and the spots in flat-pack furniture where screws and dowels meet. Cracks in old wooden pieces suit them well. The further a piece stands from where someone sleeps, the less likely it is to be involved.
Signs on furniture
The clues match those in a bed, namely dark spotting, pale shed skins, tiny eggs and live bugs, but they are much harder to spot on patterned or dark fabric. A torch held at a low angle makes a real difference. The first signs of bed bugs describes each one in detail.
Should you get rid of the sofa?
Not straight away. Hauling a sofa out before the room is treated can drop bugs along the hallway, stairs and shared areas on the way, and the room it leaves is still affected. Some pieces are worth keeping; others are too damaged or too awkward to inspect. That call is easier to make once the extent of the problem is known, and the same thinking applies to beds, as keeping your mattress explains.
If furniture does have to go
- Wrap it fully in heavy plastic sheeting before it is moved
- Label it clearly as infested with bed bugs so nobody takes it home
- Arrange a council bulky waste collection instead of leaving it on the street
- In flats, never leave it in a corridor, stairwell or shared bin store
Buying second-hand
Used sofas, chairs and bedside tables can be good value, but look them over outside before they come into the home, paying most attention to the underside and the seams. A sofa or bed frame left behind in a place you have just moved into, in Cricklewood or anywhere else, deserves the same inspection. Other ways bugs arrive are covered in how bed bugs get into a home.
Making furniture easier to check
- Choose smooth pieces with few seams for a spare bed or sofa bed
- Keep the space under sofas and beds clear of bags and boxes
- Run the vacuum crevice tool along cushion seams as part of normal cleaning
- Avoid piling clothes and bags on an upholstered bedroom chair
Leather and faux-leather sofas give bugs fewer places on the surface, but just as many underneath and in the stitching.
Counting rooms for treatment
If bed bugs are in the living room sofa as well as the bedroom, that is two rooms. Bed bug treatment in Brent is £220 for the first room and £120 for each additional room, so that example comes to £340. Mention which furniture is involved when you book a visit.
