Do I have to throw out my mattress if I have bed bugs?

Binning it is the first thing most people think of, and it makes sense: the mattress is where the bites happen. But bed bugs also hide in the bed frame, the headboard, along the skirting and in the bedside table. Put a new mattress into the same room and it can pick them up quickly. That is a lot of money spent for a problem that comes straight back.

Where bed bugs actually hide

• Mattress seams, piping, labels and corners.
• The bed base and frame: joints, screw holes, slats, the fabric under a divan.
• The headboard, especially where it meets the wall.
• Furniture near the bed: bedside tables, a chair with clothes on it, the sofa if someone sleeps there.
• The room itself: skirting boards, carpet edges, behind picture frames, cracks in the wall.

Signs to look for are dark spots like felt-tip dots, pale shed skins and tiny white eggs in seams. Our bed bug guide shows them, and our page on droppings and egg cases helps you tell them apart from other marks.

What to do instead

1. Encase the mattress. Use a zipped cover made for bed bugs. Bugs inside cannot get out to feed, and new ones have no seams to hide in. Keep it closed for as long as the maker advises, and check it for tears.
2. Encase the base too if it is a divan or box spring.
3. Fit interceptors under each leg. These cups catch bugs climbing up and show you whether they are still around.
4. Hot wash and tumble dry bedding on the hottest setting the fabric label allows.
5. Clear the area around the bed. Bag clutter, keep nothing under the bed, and pull the bed away from the wall.
6. Have the room treated by a professional. Bed bugs rarely go with DIY alone.

If a child is being bitten: wash the bites with soap and water and keep nails short. A pharmacist can suggest something for the itch. See a doctor if bites look infected or your child seems unwell. Do not spray a child’s mattress or bedding unless the product label clearly allows it.

When replacing does make sense

Sometimes it is the right call. A torn mattress that cannot be encased properly, a heavily infested divan base or upholstered headboard, or an item a professional says cannot be treated. Ask them to tell you which items, and why.

Timing matters. Buy the new one after the room has been treated, not before, or it becomes the bugs’ new home. To get rid of the old one, wrap it fully in plastic and mark it clearly as having bed bugs, so nobody takes it home. Then use your council’s or local authority’s bulky waste collection. Do not leave it on the street unwrapped.

After a holiday

A suitcase that was stored under a bed is a common way in. Unpack on a hard floor or in the bath, hot wash and dry the clothes, hoover the case’s seams and zips, and store it away from bedrooms. Our page on bringing bed bugs home from a hotel and our page for travellers cover the habits that stop it next time.

One bug and some bites is worth taking seriously, but it is also the best moment to act. A small, early problem is far easier to treat than one that has spread to other rooms. If you have just found it, start with what to do tonight.