You must do the following before a bed bug treatment:

• Vacuum all floors and soft furniture thoroughly to remove any debris, eggs or live insects etc., especially in bedrooms and other areas used by people for sleeping. The vacuum bag or contents of the vacuum must be carefully placed inside 2 plastic bags and sealed before putting the bag in an outside waste bin.
• Hard floor surfaces should be swept and washed or vacuumed.
• Empty wardrobes, drawers etc. and wash the contents on the hottest wash possible. Clothes and bedding should be placed inside plastic bags in the rooms where bed bugs are active before being carried to the washing area/laundry so that insects do not fall off on route.
• Strip the beds and wash bedding in the hottest temperature that the fabric will allow (check manufacturers guidelines). Alternatively, you should tumble dry all clothing and bedding for at least an hour on high heat.
• Remove all possessions from the floor (books, toys, magazines etc.) so that as much of the area as possible can be treated. Pull furniture away from walls to allow treatment behind.
• Where possible, metal or wooden beds and other known harbourages should be dismantled to allow them to be thoroughly treated. Box/Divan beds may need to be destroyed as they cannot be effectively treated.
• Children and pets should not be present during treatment. Fish tanks should be removed or covered. Any open food should also be covered or removed.
• Whenever possible the only items in a room when treatment commences should be the bed and empty furniture. 
• After treatment keep out of the property until the insecticide has dried. If it is not possible to stay out of the house, you should, as far as possible, stay out of the treated area(s).
• When the insecticide has dried the treated rooms must be occupied and bedrooms slept in as per normal use, this is extremely important as normal occupation of the property will draw the bedbugs out and into the residuals of the insecticides as they are attracted to the carbon dioxide we exhale. Non-compliance could result in treatment failure.
• You may see some bedbugs for a number of days after treatment. This is due to eggs hatching. The insects will die once they come into contact with the insecticide.
• Do not vacuum for at least 3 weeks following treatment. The longer you leave the area without vacuuming the greater the chance that treatment will be successful.
• If cracks and crevices are harbouring bed bugs some minor water staining may occur from a water based insecticide being spayed into these areas. We cannot be held responsible for making good any subsequent damage to painted surfaces or papered walls. Any cracks along skirting boards should be filled after the treatment has been carried out.

Failure to carry out the above pre-treatment requirements will result in the appointment being cancelled and a call out fee charged.