Bed bug treatment in Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth
Bed bugs are the hardest thing on this list to get rid of, and anybody who tells you different is selling you something.
They’re not about cleanliness either, whatever you’ve been told. They travel in luggage and in second-hand furniture, and they get into very tidy homes. People take this one personally more than any other pest we deal with, and there’s no reason to. You’re not the first house in PE this week, and you won’t be the last.
They hide in seams, headboards, skirtings and behind loose plug covers, not just in the mattress. One treatment usually isn’t enough, so the follow-up two weeks later is planned in from the start rather than sprung on you afterwards.
You’ll have to do some of the work too
We’ll tell you what to wash and at what temperature before we come out.
Treating a house without that is money down the drain, so it isn’t optional. It is also the one part we cannot do for you.
Why they’re hard to get rid of
Bed bugs are resilient and hard to spot. They hide in the smallest cracks in your furniture and they multiply quickly. They get into the seams of a mattress, and if there is a hole anywhere in it they move inside and breed there.
They are active at night and spend the day in cracks and dark spaces around the bedroom. They can live in other parts of the house, but they prefer to stay close to their food source, which is you. They also survive for months without a blood meal, which is what makes them so difficult to clear, and they adapt quickly. Homes, hotels, offices and public transport all get them.
Without the right training and the right chemicals, most attempts at doing it yourself fail.
How to tell
- Small itchy red bites on your skin, often in a line or a cluster.
- Rusty or dark spots on the bedding. That is bed bug droppings.
- Tiny white eggs, eggshells and shed skins where they hide.
- A musty smell that wasn’t there before, from the pheromones they release.
- Blood spots on sheets or pillowcases, usually from rolling onto one in your sleep.
- Clusters of black mould-like spots on the mattress, usually near the seams and often at the end where your head goes.
The treatment, in three parts
- Inspection. We go through the area where you’ve seen activity to find the hot spots and decide on the treatment. Cupboards, doors, mattresses, furniture, carpets, walls and curtains all get looked at.
- Chemical treatment. Specialised insecticides, safe for people and pets and lethal to bed bugs, applied for thorough coverage rather than spot by spot. We use ULV fogging alongside the spray so it reaches the parts of a room a sprayer cannot.
- The follow-up. Two weeks later, and it is not optional with bed bugs. The spray kills adults but does not penetrate the eggs, so the follow-up is what breaks the life cycle. Skip it and you start again.
Questions we get asked
How did they get into my home?
Bed bugs are very good hitchhikers. They come in on luggage, on clothing, or in a handbag that was at the office or on public transport.
Are they dangerous?
They don’t transmit disease. The bites cause itchy welts and, in some people, an allergic reaction. The bigger cost is the stress and the lost sleep, and that is real.
How long does treatment take?
Most treatments take about one to two hours, depending on the size of the place and how bad it is.
Can I stay in the house?
In most cases yes, but we will move you from room to room, because each room needs to be empty until the treatment has dried.
How do I stop it happening again?
Don’t bring second-hand furniture in without going over it properly first. Use mattress encasements. And check your bags when you come back from travelling, which is how most of them arrive.
What it costs
Spray plus ULV fogging, with a follow-up two weeks later.
| House | Treatment | Follow-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 bedroom | R1 380 | R1 093 |
| 4 bedroom | R1 610 | R1 208 |
| 5 bedroom | R1 840 | R1 380 |
| 6 bedroom | R2 128 | R1 668 |
VAT included. Newton Park, Sydenham and Algoa Park are inside the Gqeberha price. Further out there’s a travel charge, and those are on the prices page.
Prices can change. We keep the site up to date as best we can, and the price we quote you before we start is the one you pay.
Tell us what you’re seeing
Tell us what you’re seeing and where. A photo of the mattress seam helps more than you’d think.
Or phone 061 905 0514 if you’d rather talk to a person.