Heat treatment is priced differently to a chemical programme, and understanding why makes the figures easier to judge. A chemical programme is a series of visits. Heat is one controlled operation per treated area, using equipment that raises the whole space to a temperature lethal to bed bugs at every life stage, including eggs. You are paying for equipment, power and a technician monitoring the space, not for a repeat schedule.
Typical figures
- A single room is typically around £750.
- A whole house generally starts from £1000 and rises with the number of rooms treated.
Treat those as a guide rather than a quote. The survey is what produces the actual figure, and it exists because the honest answer depends on how far the infestation has already travelled.
What moves the figure
- How many rooms need treating. The main driver. Heat is applied to a defined area, so the price scales with the number of areas rather than with the severity within any one of them.
- How far the infestation has spread. A survey may find activity beyond the room you reported. Treating the reported room alone when the insects are already next door is the most common cause of a failed treatment, so the scope follows the evidence.
- Access and power. Upper floors, narrow stairwells and limited electrical supply all affect how long the setup takes and occasionally what equipment is needed.
- Property type. Flats in converted buildings carry a reinfestation risk through shared voids. That does not necessarily change the price of the treatment, but it does change the advice around it.
- Preparation. A prepared room heats more evenly and is treated more thoroughly. Preparation costs nothing and improves the outcome.
Why heat often works out cheaper than it looks
Compared visit for visit, heat is the more expensive option. Compared across a whole job, it frequently is not.
A chemical programme is typically two or three visits at minimum, spaced so that insects hatching from surviving eggs are caught by a later application. Each of those visits carries a cost, and each requires the household to prepare and vacate again. Heat is normally a single visit per treated area, kills eggs directly rather than waiting them out, and ends the problem in a day.
Where heat is clearly worth it: severe or long-running infestations, cases that have already failed a chemical treatment, properties where insects have spread beyond the bedroom, and situations where the household cannot tolerate weeks of ongoing treatment, such as a let being turned around or someone reacting badly to bites.
What the price should include
- A survey establishing which areas need treating and why
- A written figure before any work begins
- Monitoring throughout, so the whole area reaches and holds the target temperature rather than just the middle of the room
- Clear preparation instructions in advance
- A statement of what happens if activity is found afterwards
For the method itself, including how it compares to chemical and what preparation involves, see bed bug heat treatment. For the wider pricing picture across both methods, see bed bug treatment cost.
Get a quote
Tell us how many rooms are affected, how long you have been aware of the problem and whether anything has already been tried. We will give you an indicative figure on the phone and a firm written one after the survey.