Home · Compared
I spent £4,700 trying to get rid of bed bugs. Here's what each fix actually did.
A retired bookkeeper from Leicestershire · As told to the Vorinta team · 8 min read
I kept every receipt. Over eight months I tried five different fixes and spent £4,698 on bed bugs.
This is what living with them was really like, what each fix cost me, and the one that finally solved it.
What living with bed bugs is really like
People think bed bugs are about the bites. The bites are the least of it. The worst part is the feeling that your own bed isn't safe.
I'd lie awake at two in the morning, certain I could feel something crawling on my leg. I'd switch the light on and go over the sheets with a torch, then lie there for an hour, unable to settle. Some nights I gave up and slept on the sofa with the lamp on.
Every morning there was a new itch somewhere, and I'd check the pillowcase for little spots of blood before I'd even put the kettle on. I kept my clothes in sealed bags, washed everything twice, and stopped having friends round, because I couldn't bear the thought of them taking something home with them. I felt dirty in my own house, and I was exhausted all the time.
What my life looks like now
Today I get into bed, switch off the light and sleep through until the morning. I don't check the sheets with a torch any more, and I don't wake up itching.
My clothes are back in the wardrobe, the sofa is just a sofa again, and last month I had my friends from church round for lunch for the first time in a year. My home feels like mine again.
I did finally solve it. But it took me eight months and most of that money was wasted. So here is every fix I tried, in the order I tried them, what each one cost and why it didn't last, so you can skip straight to the one that did.
The bill
When I sat down at the kitchen table and added up the receipts, I couldn't believe it: £4,698 in eight months. Most of it, £3,950, went on a single heat treatment that I paid for when I was at my wits' end.
- No: Sprays and foggers: £68
- No: Powder for the skirting boards: £12
- No: Covers and washing: £48
- No: A new bed and mattress: £620
- No: Heat treatment: £3,950
1. Sprays and foggers from the shop
I started where most people start: the supermarket. I bought three rounds of sprays and foggers at £15 to £40 each time, £68 in all. With a fogger, you set it off, leave the room for hours, and come back to a smell that hangs around for days.
The fumes gave me a headache every single time, and I'd wake up with a dry, sore throat. Worse, they seemed to make things worse: a week after the first fogger, I had bites on my arms after an evening on the sofa in the lounge, a room that had been fine until then.
In the end, they didn't help at all. A spray only kills the bugs it actually touches, and the ones hiding in the cracks, and their eggs, were never touched.
- No: Cost: £68 over three rounds
- No: Headaches and a smell for days
- No: Seemed to spread them to the lounge
- No: Didn't help at all
2. Powder along the skirting boards
Next I bought a £12 tub of diatomaceous earth, a white powder you puff along the skirting boards. It's cheap, and people online swear by it.
It got everywhere: fine white dust on every surface, which I hoovered up and put down again, week after week. And it simply didn't work. It was as if they'd got used to it. Within a fortnight there were fresh bites, just as before.
- Cost: £12
- No: White dust on every surface
- No: Didn't work: fresh bites within a fortnight
3. Mattress covers, hot washes and the tumble dryer
I bought zip-up mattress covers for £48 and started hot washing and tumble drying every sheet, towel and curtain, every week. The NHS recommends washing at 60 degrees and at least 30 minutes in a hot dryer, and it's good advice.
It helped a little, and I still do it. But it never stopped them, and the hours it took every week wore me out.
- Cost: £48, plus hours every week
- No: Exhausting, week after week
- No: Helped a little, never stopped them
4. Throwing out the bed and the mattress
Then I spent £620 on a new bed and mattress, and a weekend waiting for the council to collect the old one from the pavement.
Two weeks later, there were bites in the new bed. The bugs had never only been in the mattress. They were also in the headboard, the skirting boards and the edge of the carpet, so they simply moved into the new bed.
- No: Cost: £620
- No: A weekend and a council collection
- No: Bites in the new bed two weeks later
5. A pest control firm and a whole-house heat treatment
By then I'd have paid anything, and I very nearly did. The quote for a whole-house heat treatment on our three-bedroom house was £3,950. We had to be out of the house for the day, and the night before, we packed the contents of every cupboard and drawer into bags.
It worked for a while, and there was a chemical follow-up visit as well. About six weeks later, the bites came back, and £3,950 had gone.
- No: Cost: £3,950
- No: Out of the house for a day, every cupboard packed
- No: The bites were back after about six weeks
Why none of them lasted
Every one of those fixes was a one-off: you treat the house once, then you wait and hope.
What I wanted was something working in every room, every night, without me having to remember to do anything.
- Bed bugs hide in the cracks: behind the headboard, along the skirting boards, and behind sockets and picture frames
- A spray only kills the bugs it touches, and then it wears off
- The eggs hatch a week or two later, after the treatment has gone, and it all starts again
- They also spread from room to room on clothes and laundry
6. A Vorinta plug-in in every room
I bought six plug-ins for £68.99, with free delivery, and put one in every room: both bedrooms, the spare room, the lounge, the hall and the dining room. It took me two minutes to plug them all in.
A small light comes on to show each one is working, and that's it. It sends out a high-frequency sound, day and night, that most adults can't hear. Each one covers one room, because the sound doesn't travel through walls.
Looking back, it beat every other fix on the list. The heat treatment alone cost 57 times as much, and over a year the six plug-ins come to under 19p a night for the whole house.
- Unlike the sprays: no fumes, no headaches, no leaving the room
- Unlike the powder: no dust on every surface, nothing to hoover up
- Unlike the new bed: nothing thrown out, no waiting for the council
- Unlike the heat treatment: £68.99 once, not £3,950, and no day out of the house
- Unlike all of them: it isn't a one-off. It's on in every room, every night
We've had no bites since.
Why I'd order today, not next month
Every night you wait is another night of checking the sheets with a torch, another morning with new bites, and more time for the eggs in the cracks to hatch. I waited eight months and spent £4,698. You don't have to.
If the family is coming for Christmas, don't leave it until December. Order now, and they're in every room well before anyone arrives.
- Plug one into every room where someone sleeps or sits, starting the day they arrive
- Keep up the NHS routine alongside them: bedding washed at 60 degrees, half an hour in a hot dryer, clutter away from the bed
- Check the mattress seams with a torch once a week
- If it's a large infestation, call your council or a pest controller as well
Try it for 60 days, or get every penny back
Order today and try them in your own home. If you're not happy, email us and we refund every penny, delivery included. You don't post anything back.
Vorinta Bed Bug Plug-In
One plug-in for every room. Into the socket, its lights on, working day and night. No sprays, no smell, nothing on the bed.
- Plugs into any UK socket, runs day and night
- No chemicals, no refills, nothing on the bed
- One per room: the sound doesn't go through walls
- Free UK delivery from 3
- 60 days, every penny back
- Secure checkout
- Plug
- UK 3-pin
- Covers
- One room
- Runs
- 24 hours a day
- Power
- Under 3 W
P.S. I'd give anything to have those eight months back. You don't have to lose them: choose your pack above, and they'll be in your sockets in 2 to 5 working days.
Questions people ask before they order
Is it safe with grandchildren and pets in the house?
There are no chemicals, and nothing goes on the bed, the sheets or the children. Most adults can't hear it. Dogs and cats hear higher sounds than we do: most ignore it, but if yours seems unsettled, move the unit to another room. Don't use it in a room with hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits or other small pets.
How many do I need?
One per room. The sound doesn't go through walls, so each room needs its own. Most people start with 3: the bedroom, the spare room and the lounge. For a whole house with hallways, 6 or 9.
What if it doesn't work for me?
Email us within 60 days of delivery and we'll refund you in full. That's the whole guarantee.