Bed Bug Traps

Interceptor traps sit under the legs of a bed or item of furniture and catch bed bugs as they climb up or down. Some use a textured surface or a lure; others rely on the bed bug's own movement towards a host. They contain no insecticide.

Place them under bed legs, near skirting boards, or close to areas where you suspect bed bug activity, such as furniture and mattresses.

Traps are best used alongside cleaning, sprays and powders. They will not clear an infestation on their own, but they are the most reliable way to confirm whether you have bed bugs and whether treatment is working.

Bed bug traps are suitable for home use when used as directed. Place traps out of reach (for example, under bed legs or along skirting boards where children and pets can't handle them) and avoid areas where they could be chewed or played with. Dispose of used traps carefully.

Count what the interceptors catch each week and write it down. Falling numbers mean the treatment is reaching them even if you can still see the occasional bed bug. Numbers that hold steady or rise after a full treatment cycle mean a harbourage is being missed. This is the reason to use interceptors at all, because judging by whether you can still spot bed bugs tells you very little.

Two possibilities. The traps are not under every leg, so bed bugs are reaching the bed by another route - check whether the bed touches a wall, headboard, curtain or bedside table, since any contact gives them a bridge that bypasses the legs. Or the harbourage is in the bed itself rather than the room, in which case they never cross the floor at all. Check mattress seams, frame joints and screw holes, and treat those directly with a powder worked into the gaps.

If activity continues after a full treatment cycle, if it has spread beyond one room, or if you are in a flat or shared building where the source may be next door. Bed bugs are among the hardest pests to clear as a DIY job and escalating early often costs less than repeated part-treatments. Look for a qualified pest controller with BPCA membership.