The NHS and councils publish bed bug advice, and the pages do not all say the same thing. This guide compares the NHS bedbugs page with the pages of four councils in England (Lambeth, Hastings, Rochdale and Brighton and Hove) and one in Scotland (West Lothian), all read on 1 November 2026. The NHS page was last reviewed on 1 May 2026; the council pages show no date. Arrangements can differ from council to council, and some pages describe a service for the council’s own tenants only. This guide covers treatment and preparation, not health advice about bites.
Who treats a home, and who pays?
The NHS page says that anyone who thinks they have bedbugs should contact their local council or a pest control service, because it is very difficult to get rid of bedbugs without help: they can be hard to find and may be resistant to some insecticides.
- Hastings lets residents book a bed bug appointment online and tells housing association tenants to contact their housing association provider. Fees are on a separate charges page.
- Rochdale says it offers domestic pest control treatment for bed bugs, booked by phone, with prices on another page.
- Lambeth describes home treatments as two visits, three weeks apart, with an adult present throughout each visit.
- Brighton and Hove’s page is about council properties: treatments are free to its council tenants and leaseholders, and it says it can arrange another treatment free of charge if the first is not successful.
- West Lothian (Scotland) says it is currently treating bed bugs only in its own tenants’ homes because of ongoing service delivery challenges. It states that the council has no legal duty to provide a pest control service for bed bugs, but does have legal powers to require an owner to have effective treatment carried out.
Washing, freezing and heat: the figures differ
The NHS, Lambeth, Hastings, Rochdale and West Lothian pages each give 60 degrees Celsius for washing. The NHS says to wash affected bedding and clothing on a hot wash (60C) and tumble dry on a hot setting for at least 30 minutes. It adds that these steps are unlikely to get rid of bedbugs completely. Lambeth gives 60 degrees Celsius for both washing and tumble drying, the latter for at least 30 minutes. Brighton and Hove instead says to use the hottest wash possible and to check labels first.
For items that cannot be washed, the freezer times quoted differ:
- NHS: in a plastic bag in the freezer for 2 to 3 weeks.
- Lambeth: in a deep freezer for at least three days.
- Hastings: in the freezer for at least four days.
- West Lothian: freezing at a minimum of minus 17 degrees Celsius for 10 hours. It says its listed conditions (hot washing, hot drying, dry cleaning or freezing) are the only ones that will kill all stages of the insect.
The text of the pages does not explain the differences. A council arranging a treatment may give its own instructions for the visit.
Furniture and clutter: keep it, move it or bin it?
Rochdale says not to remove furniture from affected rooms, because in most cases beds and furniture can be treated and need not be disposed of; a torn mattress that is difficult to treat should be disposed of after being made unusable and sealed. Brighton and Hove asks tenants not to throw away belongings, saying most items can be treated and that throwing things away can spread bedbugs; anything that must go should be bagged and sealed before the household waste, and not given away, donated or left in communal areas.
Hastings puts it differently: before a treatment, clear clutter and unwanted items such as toys, books, boxes and shoes, and put items being disposed of in a bin or take them to a waste facility. Lambeth lists moving beds and furniture away from the walls, removing headboards and emptying bed storage, but says not to move anything out of the rooms to be treated apart from rubbish and clothing to be washed. The NHS says not to keep clutter around the bed and not to bring secondhand furniture indoors without carefully checking it first.
After the visit: vacuuming, the bed and the repeat visits
The instructions on vacuuming point in different directions depending on the stage. Hastings asks for thorough vacuuming before treatment. After treatment, Lambeth says not to vacuum, wipe or polish treated rooms for at least two weeks, and Brighton and Hove says not to vacuum for a minimum of 3 weeks because it could remove the treatment product.
Both Lambeth and Brighton and Hove say to keep using the bed. Lambeth says sleeping in the bed as normal helps to eradicate the bedbugs, and that a new bed should wait until the infestation is completely eradicated. Brighton and Hove says using treated areas as normal helps draw the bedbugs out and keeps them in one place. Both give a three-hour minimum before the treated room is used again (Lambeth: wait three hours before re-entering; Brighton and Hove: keep doors to treated rooms closed for at least 3 hours).
On timescale, West Lothian says treatments commonly take over 4 months of weekly or bi-weekly visits, with a risk of re-infestation if the original infestation is brought in by guests. Brighton and Hove says that after 3 weeks the testing monitor can be used to check whether more bedbugs appear.
The bottom line
The NHS says to contact the local council or a pest control service, and the council pages describe different services: Hastings, Rochdale and Lambeth offer treatment booking or visits, Brighton and Hove treats its council tenants and leaseholders free of charge, and West Lothian is currently treating its own tenants only. Five of the pages give 60 degrees Celsius for washing, but the pages differ on freezer times, vacuuming periods and whether to throw items away. Follow the instructions given by whoever carries out the treatment, as the pages themselves differ.
Sources
- Bedbugs, NHS, page last reviewed 1 May 2026, read 1 November 2026 (nhs.uk)
- Bed bugs, Lambeth Council (England), page undated, read 1 November 2026 (lambeth.gov.uk)
- Pest control: Bed bugs: information and advice, Hastings Borough Council (England), page undated, read 1 November 2026 (hastings.gov.uk)
- How to identify and control bed bugs, Rochdale Borough Council (England), page undated, read 1 November 2026 (rochdale.gov.uk)
- How to report and treat bedbugs in council properties, Brighton and Hove City Council (England), page undated, read 1 November 2026 (brighton-hove.gov.uk)
- Bed Bugs, West Lothian Council (Scotland), page undated, read 1 November 2026 (westlothian.gov.uk)