'This House Was Horrific': Millions of Bedbugs Found in Cardiff Home as Mattresses Are Incinerated

A pest controller says millions of bedbugs were crawling through mattresses, walls and wallpaper at a house in Cardiff this week. The scale of the infestation forced his team to incinerate beds and their frames.

Gareth Davies, who has worked in pest control for 38 years, said the infestation in the city's Canton area was the worst he had encountered. According to reports, his team wore full protective equipment and used specialist vacuums and insecticide to tackle the outbreak, which he described to the media as horrific.

Bedbugs Crawling Behind Wallpaper

'This house was just horrific,' Davies told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, recalling what happened when his team began lifting mattresses inside the property. He said hundreds of thousands of insects appeared when the mattresses were moved. Bedbugs were also emerging from behind wallpaper, showing how far the infestation had spread through the rooms.

'They were coming out of the wallpaper,' he recalled. Footage of the infestation showed large numbers of bedbugs moving across exposed mattresses and emerging from concealed spaces. Davies said he had never encountered an outbreak on this scale in four decades in the industry.

His team had dealt with a major cockroach infestation only the previous month, which he compared to a horror film, but the Cardiff property presented another difficult job. The precise address has not been disclosed, and the residents have not been publicly identified in reports about the outbreak.

Mattresses and Bed Frames Incinerated

Davies said the first task was to remove as many insects as possible before treating the house. His team used specialist vacuums to collect the bedbugs before moving on to further treatment.

According to his account, the team then applied a specialist insecticide. With mattresses and bed frames heavily infested, the furniture was sealed in bags and sent for incineration rather than returned to use.

Davies said the team had to bag and burn the mattresses and frames because the infestation was so severe. According to experts, bedbugs can remain hidden in tiny gaps, making it particularly difficult to treat homes where an infestation has spread beyond furniture.

NHS Bedbug Guidance

According to the NHS, bedbugs can enter homes on luggage, clothing and second-hand furniture. They commonly hide around mattresses and bed frames but can also settle behind pictures and loose wallpaper.

Bites are often itchy, raised and clustered or arranged in lines. Other warning signs include small blood spots on bedding and brown marks left by the insects.

Davies warned that blood spotting on sheets and unexplained bites should prompt residents to check their bedding. 'As soon as you see them you need to act,' he said.

The NHS advises washing affected bedding and clothing at 60°C and tumble-drying on a hot setting for at least 30 minutes. Regular cleaning can help identify an infestation early, although professional treatment may be needed because bedbugs are difficult to eliminate.

It also recommends checking second-hand furniture before bringing it indoors and contacting pest control services if bedbugs appear. The NHS stresses that bedbugs can be found in clean and dirty properties alike.