A Bermondsey family says their home is plagued by bed bugs, leaving their children unable to sleep, causing electricity bills to soar, and ruining their Christmas spirit.
Charlotte and Danny Carlisle live with their four children and nine pets in Lockwood Square. But since April 2024, they say their home has been riddled with unwanted guests.
Charlotte told us: “We noticed our son had bites all down his arm and that’s when we found them. There were bed bugs everywhere – in our bedroom, the boys’ room, the upstairs bathroom.”
“We weren’t sure where they came from,” she continued. “The council was coming to treat them – but they weren’t going.”
After complaining to Southwark Council and receiving treatments they felt were ineffective, the family received an unexpected donation from a church member to fund a £2000 private deep heat treatment for their home.
A few weeks went by and it looked promising, but Charlotte said it didn’t last long. “They came back,” she said. “It turned out they were coming from one of our neighbours.”
Despite having a three-bedroom house, they are now limited to only a few rooms: with the eldest son sleeping in the lounge, and the other three sharing a room, the youngest having to top and tail in a single bed with his sister.
With Christmas just around the corner, Danny added: “We even had to tell our youngest about Santa – he still believed and was getting upset that Santa wouldn’t come because they are not sleeping in their own beds or rooms on Christmas Eve.
“So we had to tell him.”
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“Christmas is ruined,” Charlotte explained tearfully, “I usually have the whole house decorated and it’s all magical like a grotto. But I haven’t been able to this year.”
Danny is also disabled, suffering from Spina Bifida and is sometimes bed-bound and unable to get away from the bugs. “Last night, I was picking them off me.”
Often he is not able to leave the house and because they claim the council has not been informing them when they would come to do the treatments, both he and the three dogs have been inside the property when they have done any treatment – so it hasn’t been effective.
“Were they done properly?” Charlotte questioned, claiming: “A couple of times pest control officers have knocked on the door but by the time Danny has got down to let them in, they’ve gone.”
To ensure they don’t carry any bugs with them when they leave the house, mum Charlotte said she has to do ‘six washes a day on 90 degrees’ to make sure everyone has clean clothes and bed sheets.
“We can only wear clothes that have come straight out the tumble dryer and not been in a room we haven’t seen them in.”
Asked how much that is costing them in electricity, they told the News: “It’s costing a fortune – probably around £80-£90 a week.”
In what was supposed to be the Carlisles’ ‘forever home’, they have been forced to rip up the carpets and strip all of the wallpaper to stop the bugs clustering and minimise the spread. They even had to throw their mattresses away.
They added that they did get an emergency grant from the council to buy new mattresses, but because the bugs haven’t gone they had to throw those too.
“Unless the council treats all the properties surrounding us (nine flats in total) – they will not go away.”
Charlotte, who is a part-time teacher at Southwark Park Primary School, pleaded: “I’m trying to work, I’m trying to raise four children, look after a disabled husband, take them to their after school clubs.
“I can’t sleep – it makes you feel dirty. I don’t want to be here anymore.”
Cllr Sarah King, said: “Bed bug infestations are really unpleasant for residents, and we’ve been trying our best to tackle the issue. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to access the property but we have a visit planned shortly. We hope we’re able to enter the property to start treatment and resolve this issue as soon as possible.”
