Why this page exists
Bed bug advice online is often vague, and some of it comes from firms that sell treatment. Because readers deserve to see where each claim comes from, we show our working. This page explains how we choose sources and what we leave out.
Every guide on the site lists its sources at the foot of the page. We open each source before we cite it, and we drop any claim we cannot check. Specifically, we do not rely on search snippets or second-hand summaries.
Source hierarchy
We rank sources in a fixed order, because some are better placed to answer a question than others.
- Medical statements follow NHS guidance, for example on bites, washing temperatures and when to see a GP.
- Housing and council statements link to GOV.UK or to the council’s own page.
- Product safety statements follow the Health and Safety Executive.
- Treatment method claims use peer-reviewed research where we can find it, such as the heat and steam studies listed below.
- Practical monitoring advice may come from specialist suppliers. We label those clearly, since a supplier has a commercial interest.
Where sources disagree, we say so, and we prefer the more cautious reading when safety is involved. Meanwhile, we tell readers which body to ask.
Some research is older than the products shops now sell. In those cases, we use the study to explain how a method works, not to promise a result in your home.
Dates, prices and council pages
Council services, fees and eligibility change often. For that reason, we do not present a council price as a London-wide fact. If a price appears, it comes from a page we fetched, and we write it as “listed at £X when checked in October 2026”.
Sometimes a council page does not show a price, or blocks automated checks. In that case we leave the figure out and send readers to the council. Our cost guide follows this rule, and so do the London area guides.
Commercial separation
LondonBedbug.co.uk does not collect enquiries or run adverts. It uses Google Analytics with consent mode set to deny analytics and ad cookies by default, so it only counts visits in aggregate. The help button opens BedbugExtermination.co.uk, a separate site with its own terms and privacy information. We refer readers there, and we make that clear.
Reading this site does not imply any contractor relationship, service availability or outcome. Likewise, we do not claim accreditations, guarantees or reviews that we cannot show. Our articles in the blog follow the same rules as the guides.
What we do not do
We do not diagnose bites from photographs, because bites alone cannot identify bed bugs. We do not say who is liable for treatment in a tenancy, because that depends on the agreement and the facts. We do not name a “best” contractor, since we cannot test one.
We also avoid cure claims such as “instant” or “guaranteed”. Instead, we describe what each method can and cannot do, using the research we cite.
Corrections
If you spot an error, tell us which page it is on, what is wrong and what source shows the right answer. We then check the source ourselves, and we fix the page if you are right. When we change a page, we update its date and, for a material change, say what changed.
Check advice that depends on a product label or on your tenancy again when you act. A page that was right in October 2026 may be out of date by the time you read it. Our area guides show where local services differ, so check yours before you rely on any general statement.
Sources and further checks
Open each source before you act, because council services, prices, tenancy rules and product labels can change. We list the pages this guide relied on when it was last checked.