Bed bug inspection and treatment across the City of Edinburgh, EH1 to EH17 and EH28 to EH30
Inspection and treatment for Edinburgh homes, lets and premises, arranged around the building you are in. A tenement flat on a shared stair, a five-bedroom HMO in Marchmont and a Festival-season short let each need a different plan, and this page sets out what that plan looks like.
Most of the city's housing is flats, and a flat is never treated in isolation. How the building is put together decides where bed bugs can travel, who else needs to know and which method makes sense.
Marchmont, Bruntsfield, Leith Walk, Gorgie, Dalry, Easter Road
What is different
Bugs move between flats through shared walls, floor voids and pipe runs off the common stair. The flat above, below or across the landing is often part of the picture.
Usual approach
Inspect your flat and, where neighbours agree, the flats either side. Spray and steam courses suit most tenement flats; heat works but needs care with heavy plaster and old wiring.
Southside, Newington, Polwarth, Leith, Gorgie
What is different
Three or more unrelated sharers means an HMO licence in Scotland. Bugs travel along the hall between bedrooms, so one room is rarely the whole story.
Usual approach
Treat every bedroom plus the shared rooms in one planned course, with each tenant preparing on the same day and a written report for the licence file.
Old Town, New Town, Haymarket, Leith Shore
What is different
High turnover brings bugs in luggage. In August the Festival fills every bed in the city, and a booked week cannot be cancelled lightly.
Usual approach
A dog or visual survey between guests, then heat where the unit has to be back in use quickly. Keep the report with your licence papers.
City centre, Haymarket, Pilrig, Newington, Corstorphine
What is different
One guest report can mean the rooms either side, above and below are involved. Linen moving through the building spreads them further.
Usual approach
Close the room, survey its neighbours, treat out of hours, and return each room to sale as soon as the method allows.
Stockbridge colonies, Morningside, Portobello, Corstorphine, Currie
What is different
Fewer shared walls, so an infestation usually started inside the home: travel, a visitor, second-hand furniture.
Usual approach
An inspection maps the rooms, then a spray course or a single heat day. Often the most straightforward job in the city.
Quartermile, Fountainbridge, Granton, Western Harbour
What is different
Service risers and corridors link the flats. The building manager or factor may already be handling other cases.
Usual approach
Tell the factor early. Heat is easier to carry in where there is a lift; residual spray at the edges guards against bugs coming back from next door.
Whole-home figures for a private firm, VAT included, from published UK price lists checked October 2026. Edinburgh firms price within the same bands. A guide, not a quote.
| Home | Spray course | Heat |
|---|---|---|
| Studio or one-bedroom flat | £280 to £550 | £700 to £1,100 |
| Two-bedroom flat | £320 to £650 | £900 to £1,400 |
| Three-bedroom flat or house | £360 to £750 | £1,000 to £1,700 |
| Four-bedroom flat or house | £400 to £850 | £1,200 to £2,000 |
| Five bedrooms or more (often an HMO) | £450 to £950 | £1,400 to £2,200 |
| Inspection on its own | £60 to £120 | |
Top-floor tenement flats with no lift: heat equipment is heavy, and some firms add £50 to £150 for carrying it up and down the stair.
Scotland has its own tenancy and licensing law, so advice written for England often does not apply here.
| If you are | Usually |
|---|---|
| An owner-occupier | You arrange and pay for treatment. In a tenement, tell your neighbours and the factor, because treating one flat while the next stays infested rarely lasts. |
| A private tenant | Report it to the landlord or agent in writing. Under a Private Residential Tenancy the landlord must give at least 48 hours' notice to come in, which is enough to set up an inspection. Who pays depends on how the bugs arrived and on the tenancy terms. |
| In an HMO | The licence holder deals with it. A licensed HMO must be kept in good condition, and one untreated room soon affects the rest of the flat. |
| A council or housing association tenant | Report it to your housing officer as you would a repair, and ask whether neighbouring flats will be checked. |
| A short-let host | You arrange treatment, keep the report and, if a guest was affected, keep a record of what you did and when. |
See the Repairing Standard guidance for private landlords, mygov.scot on landlord access and HMO licensing in Scotland.
What you do before the first visit makes treatment quicker and cheaper.
Do
Do not
The NHS advice on bedbugs covers bites and when to see a pharmacist.
| Method | How it works | Visits | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inspection | A methodical search outward from the bed, ending in a written finding of which rooms are affected. | One, under an hour | Bites with nothing seen; deciding scope in a let |
| Spray and steam course | A professional residual product on seams, joints and edges, with steam on mattresses and upholstery. | Two or three, about 14 days apart | Most flats; tenements where neighbours may reinfest |
| Heat treatment | Rooms and contents raised to a lethal temperature and held there, measured with probes inside furniture. | One long day, then a check | Failed sprays; sofas and divans; rooms needed back fast |
| Detection dog | A trained dog and handler search rooms quickly and indicate where bugs are. | One survey | Hotels, halls, short lets, whole buildings |
Three short stages. The more you tell us about the building and what you have found, the better the match and the closer the first price.
We are an introduction service, not a pest control firm. How this works.
Stage 1 of 3Location
We will look for a bed bug specialist covering your postcode and contact you with their name. If you are happy with them, we pass the request on and they arrange the visit. If not, it stops there.