Pests in a new flat after moving in
An empty flat is the best possible moment for pest control, and it is the moment almost everybody misses. Once the furniture is in, the same treatment becomes harder, more expensive and less complete.
Why treatment is more complete in an empty flat
In an empty flat every surface is freely accessible: skirting boards around the whole perimeter, wall gaps, sockets, pipe runs, cupboard recesses. There is no furniture to move and nothing to clear away or cover.
The result: the treatment covers essentially 100% of the risk zones, takes less time, and there is no need to arrange to be out of the property for several hours.
A practical recommendation: if you are buying or renting a flat where insects are suspected — or you simply want the certainty — have the treatment done before the furniture goes in, not after.
What to check before moving in
Signs are far easier to spot in an empty flat than in an occupied one:
- Skirting boards and wall gaps — dark specks, shells.
- Behind sockets and light switches — a common bedbug harbourage.
- Kitchen unit recesses, especially where the fridge and cooker stood — cockroach signs.
- Ventilation openings — whether the grilles are in place and meshed.
- Wallpaper edges and lifted areas — bedbugs hide underneath.
If the previous occupants left furniture behind, assess it critically — see bedbugs from second-hand furniture.
The check takes about five minutes during a viewing, and it can save several hundred euros later.
Handling your belongings during the move
Moving house is one of the most common moments at which pests are transferred — either from the old home to the new one, or the reverse.
- Wash all textiles at 60 °C before packing them, not after unpacking. Bedding, curtains, clothing.
- Use new boxes, not supermarket cardboard. Used boxes from a shop or warehouse are a classic route for cockroach egg cases.
- Do not store boxes in the bedroom while you unpack. Hallway or balcony.
- Vacuum upholstered furniture before it is loaded, and put the bag in a bin outside.
- Unpack promptly. Boxes left sealed for months in a new flat are a favourite harbourage.
If you have already moved in
If insects turn up after you have moved in, the useful thing to establish is whether they were in the flat already or came with your belongings.
- Points to a pre-existing infestation: the insects appear within the first days, concentrate in places where none of your things are, or are found behind sockets and in the skirting boards.
- Points to something you brought: the insects concentrate around one particular item of furniture or one box, and there are no signs anywhere else in the first weeks.
Practically this only affects what to do with that specific item — the treatment is similar in both cases. If the flat is rented, see also pests in a rented flat.
What people find in the first month
Some of what turns up in a new flat is not an infestation at all, and it is worth knowing the difference before booking anything.
- A handful of dead insects behind an appliance. Often the residue of a treatment the previous occupants had, or of a colony that starved once the flat stood empty. No live insects, no fresh droppings, nothing to do.
- Fleas biting in the first week. Classic for a flat that stood empty. Flea pupae lie dormant for months and hatch when they detect movement and warmth — that is, when you move in. See flea treatment.
- Silverfish in the bathroom. A humidity indicator rather than an infestation brought in. Check the ventilation first.
- Autumn arrivals at the windows. Ladybirds and shield bugs looking to overwinter. They do not breed indoors and they leave in spring.
What does warrant a call is anything with live insects, fresh droppings, or bites that repeat. Describe what you have found in the enquiry form and we can usually tell you which of these it is before anyone travels — including when the answer is that no treatment is needed.
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