The Chair Nobody Mentions
Ask somebody which furniture is in their bedroom and they will say the bed, the wardrobe and the bedside tables. The chair in the corner does not get counted, because it is not really furniture in their mind — it is where clothes live.
From a bed bug's point of view it is one of the better objects in the room: upholstered, full of seams, within the feeding radius, and never moved.
The Four Bedroom Chairs, In Risk Order
- The reading chair. Somebody sits in it for an hour or more most evenings. Hours of stillness with a host is the measure that matters, and this is the only bedroom chair that scores on it
- The nursing chair. Same measure, often at night, often for long stretches
- The clothes chair. Nobody sits on it, but worn clothing from a bed is piled on it every night — contact rather than a host
- The decorative chair. Genuinely low risk. It has the seams, and nothing ever happens on it
The clothes chair is the interesting one. It is not at risk because somebody sits on it. It is at risk because clothes that were on a bed are put on it every night, which is exactly the contact that moves insects between a bed and a sofa. It is a shorter version of the same journey.
Where To Look On a Chair
- Underneath first. Tip it over and look at the dust cover, the frame and the webbing. Any tear in that cover, and inside it
- The crease where the seat meets the back, with the cushion out
- The seams and piping of the seat cushion, both faces
- The seam where each arm meets the seat
- Button recesses and tufting, on a buttoned chair
- Leg and castor recesses, and any screw plate underneath
Starting underneath rather than with the cushion finds it faster in most cases, and it is the step people skip.
Why a Chair Is Harder Than a Bed
The same reason any upholstery is. A mattress has surface geometry — piping, seams, labels — all of which opens out. A chair has an interior: frame, webbing and padding behind a stapled dust cover, with no route in unless that cover is opened.
That is why a chair with activity confined to the cushion seams and the underside is usually treatable, and one with activity inside the frame through a torn dust cover often is not.
Crowthorne: Say It When You Book
"One bedroom" and "one bedroom with an armchair in it" are two different jobs, and the second one is only slightly bigger if it is known about in advance. Discovered on the day, it either extends the visit or gets left out.
- Count any upholstered item in a bedroom as part of the room
- Say whether anybody sits in it for long stretches
- Say if it came into the house second-hand
- Clear the clothes off it before the visit — into the room, not out of it
Do not move the chair to another room. It is light, it is awkward, and moving it "out of the way" during preparation is one of the standard ways a living room joins a bedroom job.
Bed bugs in Crowthorne? Pest Control Specialists Berkshire treats bed bugs from £220 for the first room. Bed Bug Treatments in Crowthorne has the full detail, or call 0118 336 1366.