About IsItABedBug.co.uk
This site helps UK householders work out what the evidence in front of them supports. It pairs a private five-question checker with plain-English guides that cite their sources.
Who runs this site
IsItABedBug.co.uk is written and maintained by the IsItABedBug.co.uk Editorial Team. We are a small editorial group. We publish under the team name, not under individual names. Each guide and article therefore carries the same byline, and the same standards apply to all of them.
However, we do not claim any pest-control qualification, and we are not insect experts. Instead, our job is to read reliable sources, explain them clearly and show you where each fact came from. When a question needs an expert, we say so.
Why the site exists
Many people who find an odd insect or a bite panic. They then search for answers that mix good advice with sales messages. We wanted a calmer starting point. For that reason, the five-question checker weighs what you can actually see, such as shape, movement, size and where the evidence sits.
The checker runs entirely in your browser, so your answers are never uploaded. However, it is a decision aid, not a diagnosis. For the exact scoring rules and their limits, read the methodology page.
Our independence
IsItABedBug.co.uk is not a pest-control company. We do not inspect homes, identify specimens for you or treat infestations, and we do not sell treatments, products or devices. The advice in our guides does not change depending on whether you ever contact a professional.
There is one optional way to take a next step. For example, if you choose to send the enquiry form, we pass what you typed to a pest-control professional, who may then contact you. In either case, the checker works the same way.
Editorial and sourcing standards
We check every factual claim against a primary or authoritative source before it goes live. Typical sources include the NHS, the Natural History Museum and public health bodies. Each article ends with a list of the sources we used, so you can read them yourself.
Where sources disagree, we say so and use careful words such as "usually" or "typically". Likewise, if we cannot find a reliable source for a figure, we leave the figure out instead of guessing. Our methodology page explains how the same discipline applies to the checker's scoring.
What we will not publish
We do not publish invented statistics, made-up testimonials or unsourced health advice. In particular, we do not claim that a bite pattern can identify bed bugs, because the NHS says marks alone cannot confirm them. We also do not publish a phone number for the site, because we do not run a service line.
Keeping content current
Every guide and article shows a date. Articles show when they were published and, if we later change the facts, an updated date beside it. Therefore, we never change a date just to make a page look newer than it is.
You can browse everything we have published in the blog, or read the core guides on bed bug signs, bed bug bites and common lookalikes.
How corrections work
If you spot an error, an outdated source or a sentence that could mislead, please tell us through the contact page. Start the notes box with the word "Correction" so the message is not mistaken for a pest enquiry, then say which page you were reading and what you think is wrong. Add a link to a better source if you have one.
When we confirm a mistake, we fix it, update the page and change its updated date. Moreover, if the error affected a health or safety point, we say plainly what changed. Our privacy page explains how we handle anything you send us.