What "emergency" means to us
Most pest control firms quote you a date next week. That works for a wasp nest. It does not work for bed bugs. A female bed bug lays up to five eggs a day and those eggs hatch into biting nymphs in 6–10 days. Every 24 hours you wait, the infestation roughly doubles in active biting population and spreads further through the property — into the sofa, into the second bedroom, into the neighbouring flat through wall sockets and skirting voids. Speed matters.
Our emergency service is built around that reality. We hold one full heat rig back from the daily schedule specifically so we can deploy it within hours of a confirmed call. We run treatments seven days a week, evenings included, and overnight for commercial properties that cannot close during the day. From Camden (NW1) to Canterbury (CT1), from Watford (WD17) to Wandsworth (SW18), the response model is the same: phone triage, photo confirmation, on-site within the same calendar day wherever we can.
How the emergency callout works
- The call (5 minutes). You ring 0204 569 0701. A technician — not a call centre — takes the details: postcode, property type, number of rooms, when you first noticed bites, when you need access. We ask you to send two or three close-up photos of any insects, casings or blood spots on the sheets so we can confirm species before we mobilise.
- Photo confirmation (15 minutes). We identify the species from your photos. Common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is what we treat. If the photos show fleas, carpet beetles, booklice or a bite reaction with no insect evidence, we tell you honestly and refer you to the right service — we do not sell heat treatments to people who do not need them.
- Slot allocation and price (call ends). You get a firm arrival window and a fixed written price before you hang up. No "from" pricing, no day-of surprises. Payment is taken on the day, by card or bank transfer, after the treatment is complete.
- Prep brief. You receive a one-page WhatsApp brief covering what to bag, what to leave out, where to put pets, and what to do with food and medication. Prep for emergency jobs is deliberately minimal — we know you do not have a week to declutter.
- On-site. The crew arrives in an unmarked van (discretion matters, especially in flats and hotels). Industrial electric heaters and ducted fans go in. We raise the room above 55°C and hold every monitored point above the lethal threshold for at least two hours. Wireless probes log the temperature curve so you have an audit trail.
- Cool down and walk-through. Once the room cools you can re-enter immediately — no chemical re-entry window. We walk you through the property, point out the kill sites we found, hand over your written guarantee, and brief you on the 48-hour aftercare.
Why heat is the only sensible choice in an emergency
When you are out of time, chemicals are a trap. A pyrethroid spray takes 7–14 days to show its full effect on the adult population, does not kill the egg stage, and in modern UK bed bug populations (which carry kdr knockdown mutations and elevated P450 enzymes) often does not even kill the adults reliably. You end up booking visit two, visit three, throwing out the mattress, and you still have bites. That is not a treatment plan, that is a chemical cycle, and an emergency cannot afford a cycle.
Heat is a single-visit physical kill. Bed bug proteins denature at 45°C for adults and 47–48°C for the egg stage. We hold the whole environment above 55°C, the eggs cook in the seams of the mattress, the adults cook in the headboard joints, the nymphs cook behind the skirting boards. There is no biological mechanism a bed bug can evolve against its own body temperature. One visit, one kill, done.
Who calls us for emergency work
- Landlords with a check-in tomorrow morning.
- Hotels with a guest complaint and a fully booked weekend.
- Hostels and HMOs in Camden, Westminster and Newham where a single flagged room threatens the whole block.
- University accommodation in Cambridge, Guildford and Egham at the start and end of term.
- Care homes in Bromley, Sutton, Watford and St Albans facing a CQC follow-up.
- Families with bitten children, especially after a return from a hotel stay or international travel.
- Discharged patients returning home from hospital where the unit will not re-admit until the property is certified clear.
- Removal firms who have just opened a stored sofa or mattress and found live insects.
Emergency coverage map
Our emergency rota covers every London postcode (E, EC, N, NW, SE, SW, W, WC), the full Hertfordshire belt (AL, WD, SG, EN, HP), Bedfordshire (LU, MK40–MK45), Cambridgeshire (CB1–CB25, PE1–PE9), Buckinghamshire (HP, MK1–MK19, SL), Essex (CM, RM, IG, SS, CO, CB11), Kent (BR, DA, ME, CT, TN) and Surrey (GU, KT, RH, CR, SM, TW). Outside the M25 ring our same-day window stretches to 6 hours; we will tell you on the call exactly when we will be there.
Where we deliver this service
We respond across London and the Home Counties on the same day. Click any location below for postcode-level coverage, response times and pricing for that exact area.
- CamdenNW1, NW3, NW5, WC1
- WestminsterSW1, W1, W2, WC2
- IslingtonN1, N5, N7, EC1
- HackneyE2, E5, E8, E9, N1, N16
- Tower HamletsE1, E2, E3, E14
- SouthwarkSE1, SE5, SE15, SE16, SE17
- LambethSW2, SW4, SW8, SW9, SE11, SE24
- WandsworthSW8, SW11, SW12, SW15, SW17, SW18
- NewhamE6, E7, E13, E15, E16
- BrentNW2, NW6, NW9, NW10, HA0, HA9
- EalingW3, W5, W7, W13, UB1, UB6
- CroydonCR0, CR2, CR7, SE25
- WatfordWD17, WD18, WD19, WD24, WD25
- St AlbansAL1, AL2, AL3, AL4
- Hemel HempsteadHP1, HP2, HP3
- StevenageSG1, SG2
- LutonLU1, LU2, LU3, LU4
- BedfordMK40, MK41, MK42
- CambridgeCB1, CB2, CB3, CB4, CB5
- PeterboroughPE1, PE2, PE3, PE4
- Milton KeynesMK1, MK2, MK3, MK9
- High WycombeHP11, HP12, HP13
- RomfordRM1, RM2, RM3, RM5, RM7
- ChelmsfordCM1, CM2, CM3
- ColchesterCO1, CO2, CO3, CO4
- Southend-on-SeaSS1, SS2, SS3
- BasildonSS13, SS14, SS15, SS16
- MaidstoneME14, ME15, ME16, ME17
- CanterburyCT1, CT2, CT3, CT4
- DartfordDA1, DA2, DA9
- BromleyBR1, BR2, BR3
- GuildfordGU1, GU2, GU3, GU4
- Kingston upon ThamesKT1, KT2
- WokingGU21, GU22
- EpsomKT17, KT18, KT19
Frequently asked questions
How fast can you actually be on site for an emergency bed bug treatment?
In Greater London and the M25 ring we are normally on site within 2–4 hours of the call. In Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent and Surrey we run a 4–6 hour same-day window, and outside that we book the first slot the next morning. Emergency means emergency — we keep one heat rig held back specifically for same-day jobs.
What counts as an emergency bed bug situation?
A new tenancy moving in tomorrow, a hotel guest reporting bites, a CQC inspection on the calendar, a visibly distressed child, a discharged hospital patient returning home, a landlord facing rehousing duties, a hostel or HMO with a flagged room. Anything where waiting a week is not an option. We treat those jobs same day.
Do you need confirmation that it is bed bugs before treating?
Yes — we send photos and treat only after a positive identification. If you are not sure, we offer a separate paid inspection (deducted from treatment cost if it goes ahead). Treating a non-bedbug bite reaction wastes everyone's money.
What does an emergency call-out cost?
There is no premium for the emergency response itself — you pay the standard heat treatment price for the size of your property. We quote a fixed, written number before we mobilise, with no day-of surprises.
Can you treat overnight or out of hours?
Yes. We run treatments through the night for hotels, hostels, student accommodation and shift-worker households where daytime access is impossible. Out-of-hours work is quoted on the call.
Do you cover postcodes outside London?
Yes. We work right across Greater London, Hertfordshire (AL, WD, SG, HP, EN), Bedfordshire (LU, MK40–MK45), Cambridgeshire (CB, PE), Buckinghamshire (HP, MK, SL, HP), Essex (CM, RM, IG, SS, CO), Kent (CT, ME, TN, DA, BR) and Surrey (GU, KT, RH, CR, SM, TW).
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