Guardian staff handed bedbug detectors amid office infestation

The issue first came to light in September, when staff were informed they should not attend the office during treatment efforts.

Whispers of mysterious insect bites had reportedly been doing the rounds in the newsroom since as early as January, months before the infestation was formally acknowledged.

Now, as a precautionary measure, the company are said to have made home monitoring devices available to any member of staff who wished to check whether the pests had followed them beyond the office.

The Guardian declined to comment.

Union representatives took sharp issue with the way management was characterising the problem. The NUJ chapel officers’ email noted both a consultant and HR had implied the recurring infestations might stem from employees carrying bugs into the building from their homes.

“We do not think it likely that anyone is bringing in pocketfuls of bedbugs, and we would be concerned by any communication that appears to shift the blame to staff as it may discourage individuals from reporting new outbreaks,” the email stated.

Crucially, the chapel officers pointed to photographic evidence showing insects at various developmental stages within the office, including early “instar” phases – essentially juvenile bugs.

The discovery of multiple bedbugs inside a single office chair further bolstered the union’s argument that the creatures were breeding on-site rather than being ferried in by journalists.

Pest control teams conducted a thorough sweep of the premises, targeting chairs, soft furnishings, desk undersides, and the junctions where walls meet floors – all prime hiding spots for the parasites.

In the worst-affected zone, office chairs were removed to a garage and cut open for inspection. One yielded what was described as a “small volume” of bedbugs – fewer than ten, all deceased.

Traps deployed throughout the building captured three live specimens, flushed out by the treatments.

Additional chairs from neighbouring desks were randomly selected and examined, though none revealed further evidence of infestation.

Multiple insecticides were deployed in rotation to prevent the bugs from developing chemical resistance.

The company also brought in a specialist consultant with experience tackling infestations at upmarket hotels, who assessed the problem as being at a more advanced stage.

Female bugs can deposit up to five eggs daily, typically in narrow cracks and crevices near their hosts – whom the correspondence bluntly identified as the newspaper’s own employees, describing them as “food sources”.

These eggs, roughly the size of two grains of salt, hatch within a fortnight into nymphs that begin feeding immediately.

Bedbugs are notorious for their ability to spread rapidly by hitching rides on clothing and belongings, making containment a persistent challenge in shared workspaces.

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