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Bed bug spray for mattress

Updated: 22 October 2026

You have lifted the mattress, seen specks in the seam, and the listing in your basket says it treats mattresses. Bed bug spray for mattress use, in this set, means the mattress surface, the frame and the skirting beside the bed. It does not mean the sheets. The NHS says wash bedding at 60°C and tumble dry on hot for at least 30 minutes. The [Bed bug spray](/hub/pest-control/bed-bug-spray) table compares the five cans. Prices are the saved amazon.co.uk listings of 20 October 2026. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Peter F., editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk, did not run a lab test.

You have lifted the mattress, seen specks in the seam, and the listing in your basket says it treats mattresses.

Our top picks

Zero In Zero In bed bug and dust mite killer, two-pack

Best overall

Zero In Zero In bed bug and dust mite killer, two-pack
7.8/10about £11.00
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NOPE! NOPE! bed bug killer spray, 500 ml

Alternative

NOPE! NOPE! bed bug killer spray, 500 ml
7.6/10about £13.99
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Pestshield Pestshield bed bug and flea spray, six-pack

Best value

Pestshield Pestshield bed bug and flea spray, six-pack
5.6/10about £11.99
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On this page
  1. 1.Who is treating the bed, not the flat
  2. 2.What you wash, and what you may spray
  3. 3.How one mattress pass looks
  4. 4.Where a mattress can stops

Who is treating the bed, not the flat

This page is for a renter or an owner dealing with one bed: after a hotel stay, a second-hand frame, or bites that line up with that mattress. You can take the linen off, you can leave the room while a spray dries, and you are not yet looking at a second bedroom or a neighbour's flat. The NHS says a do-it-yourself treatment is unlikely to clear an infestation. If the insects are already beyond this bed, a mattress can is the wrong scale. A spray across the sleeping surface misses the places the insects use. Seams, the piped edge, the underside, the slats, the headboard brackets and the skirting behind the bed are the work. A bite on your arm is not a map of where to squirt.

What you wash, and what you may spray

Strip the bed first. Sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers go through a 60°C wash and a hot tumble of at least 30 minutes. Pillow questions on the Zero In listings are unanswered. Unwashable soft items can be bagged and frozen. The NHS gives two to three weeks. The BPCA has cited at least three days. Do not merge those intervals into one compromise figure. The listings that name the mattress are the Zero In aerosols and NOPE!. Zero In bullets cover mattresses, bed frames and skirting, and they tell you to spot-test. NOPE!, 500 ml at £13.99, names mattresses, bed frames, carpets and soft furnishings, and says non-staining when used as directed. The all-fabrics question is unanswered. On a rented mattress, test a hidden patch anyway.
Zero In Zero In bed bug and dust mite killer, two-pack

Testsieger

Zero In Zero In bed bug and dust mite killer, two-pack
7.8/10about £11.00
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How one mattress pass looks

Take the two-pack as the concrete example: Zero In ZER968, two 300 ml aerosols, 600 ml at £11.00, 4.2 from 8,217 reviews, cyphenothrin and prallethrin, protection claimed for over two weeks. Lift the mattress. Spray the seams and the piped edge, the underside, the frame joints and the headboard, then the skirting and the carpet beside the bed. A film on the centre of the top, and nowhere else, wastes the can. Spot-test first. The pack does not claim eggs. Eggs can still hatch in about a week, so you look again rather than remake the bed the same night.

Where a mattress can stops

A careful bed does not treat the sofa in the next room, the luggage in the hall, or the flat above. If you find insects off this frame, or bites continue after you check again a week or more later, contact the council or a pest controller. Another pyrethroid is a thin answer once a direct spray has already failed. The BPCA has described pyrethroid resistance as widespread. Keep the laundry in the plan even when the mattress looks quiet. Wash on 60°C and do not remake the bed with the same duvet until that is done. The spray dries on the frame. It is not a substitute for the wash.

Common questions

Can I spray bed bug spray on the mattress?
Yes, where the listing names the mattress and you have spot-tested. Zero In and NOPE! name mattresses, frames and skirtings. Spray the seams, the edge, the underside and the frame. Pestshield's mattress question is unanswered, and the bullets name bed heads, carpets and skirtings. Read that bottle first.
Can I spray my sheets and pillows?
No. Wash sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers at 60°C and tumble dry on hot for at least 30 minutes. Pillow questions on the Zero In pages are unanswered. Freeze unwashable items for two to three weeks. Do not blend that NHS interval with a shorter figure from another source.
How long until I can sleep in the bed?
When the spray is dry and the room has been aired. There is no shared minute count. Zero In reviews describe choking fumes. If you cannot leave, do not spray. People and pets stay out until then. A dry mattress is not a yes on the pet question.
Do I spray once and stop?
The two-pack does not claim eggs, and eggs can hatch in about a week. NOPE! does claim eggs, and a review still describes a second spray about ten days apart. Check the seams after that gap. A bug alive after a direct hit means get help, not another can on the sheet.
Will the mattress treatment clear the flat?
No. This page is one bed. Amateur sprays can spread bed bugs, the BPCA warns. Insects in another room, or bites after a second check a week or more later, need the council or a pest controller. Three aerosols on a king bed are still one room.
Which mattress listing has the most reviews?
The Zero In two-pack at £11.00 has 4.2 from 8,217 reviews, with cyphenothrin and prallethrin and an over-two-weeks claim. NOPE! has 4.1 from 1,208 and an egg line, at £13.99 for 500 ml. The three-pack is also 4.2, from 33 reviews. Volume is not a kill rate.

Related pages

Bed bug spray buying guide

Aerosol or trigger spray

Bed bug spray

Best bed bug spray UK: named active, large review file

How to use bed bug spray: laundry first, then residue

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Shelf prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures captured for these five listings on 20 October 2026. An HSE wording without a printed number was not checked against the HSE product list.

  1. NHS, Bedbugs (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  2. HSE, Using biocides (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  3. HSE, UK authorised biocidal products (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  4. HSE, COPR (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  5. BPCA, controlling bed bugs (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  6. BPCA, Bed bugs in 2024 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  7. Medway Council, before and after bedbug treatment (retrieved 20 October 2026)