Heads up: Bedbug epidemic in Paris

Pay wall.

Your own bedsheets won't help since bedbugs hang out in the bed frames.

Here’s a link to a CNN article on this situation.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/09/30/europe/france-bedbugs-paris-intl-hnk/index.html

From France 24:

https://youtu.be/B4GNCb4O7GY?feature=shared

Here's another informative video:

https://youtu.be/p0HVR3v8Ypk

Bedbugs get into anything fabric. Traveling is known to be one of the great ways to bring home bedbugs. All it takes is one little egg.

And here is a level headed BBC Article on the matter- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66995977

Thanks, isn31c, as usual.

"But the real damage is to an infestee's mental health."

@isn31c - Stuart, that was an excellent article!

I thought this statement was also really interesting - "A third factor may be the decline in cockroaches, thanks largely to cleaner homes. Cockroaches are a bedbug predator."

Who knew cockroaches were good for anything? Having lived in FL for 30+ years and now in Idaho for 20+ I can truly say I do not miss the FL cockroaches and palmetto bugs.....

Everything that lives has a purpose, even rats.

When we mess with one, we sometimes mess with the other

In Texas, we have the big giant cockroaches, I forget what they are called but I have pest control come in every month and my cockroaches are way under control

But i live in congregate housing and we have a bedbug problem. (Maybe it's cause we eliminate the cockroaches???)

Fortunately I have never had bedbugs.

One former resident had a problem so bad, she had to throw out all her furniture and some of it was relatively new and nice. To add insult to injury, she had to pay someone $500 to take her stuff away.

Just a few years back, a very upscale department store in NYC had to shut down and fumigate the entire store because of bedbugs.

Bedbugs are a very serious problem. You can joke about them when you don't have them but if you ever have them, you won't be laughing.

Heads up. There’s a bedbug epidemic worldwide. The only way you can avoid them is not to go any place anywhere. That includes the United States.

75 hotel nights this year, 35 different hotels. US, Europe, Asia. No bedbugs yet.
No Paris either.
Fingers crossed.

I have faith that Paris is/will be on this because of the Olympics next summer. Much is being done to the city in preparation.

"Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne called a meeting of ministers for Friday to tackle the bedbug crisis. The country’s transport minister, Clement Beaune, met this week with transportation companies to draw up a plan for monitoring and disinfecting — and to try to ease what some have called a national psychosis inflamed by the media." (https://apnews.com/article/france-bedbugs-olympics-7ff56cbeed2cbe83e3f623b326a08892).

Above all, stay calm.

Bedbugs just want a human host and they don't discriminate. I have a relative who works in pest control and he's dealt with bedbugs infestations in mansions and five star hotels.

With the Olympics coming it's only going to get worse. Here in Vancouver bedbugs have always been an issue and after the Olympics there were a few years where it was really bad with people finding them in library books, on transit, etc.

I think part of the problem is a lack of education. People don't know to check for bedbugs at their accommodations and how to take appropriate precautions. Travel companies like Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, etc. should provide info on bedbug precautions on their websites and in their guidebooks. Hotels, motels, etc. should also provide info to guests on precautions to help reduce the spread.

I had bedbugs once. The people in the apartment next to mine got them somehow but didn't notice and then they spread to my apartment and i noticed them. The building manager was really good at getting pest control in right away and the problem was resolved within a month.

Just be vigilant when travelling and take appropriate precautions. The articles have good advice and you can find more info online. One piece of advice I would add is after you get home check around your bed daily for awhile to make sure you didn't bring any home with you. I went to Europe this summer and didn't see any bedbugs.

We will be in Paris on October 22 - any advice about how to deal with current bedbug issue would
be appreciated! So far I know to put luggage in bathroom first and look for bedbugs. Do we need
alcohol wipes?

Alcohol has no purpose here. Usual advice is to use luggage stands if provided and to avoid putting luggage in beds. Putting it in the bathroom could work. Otherwise... there's not a ton you can do, but once you're home, if you are worried (e.g. because of suspicious bites) you can put everything that is dryer-safe in a hot dryer for a bit, and quarantine the rest in sealed bags for further heat or freezing treatment (not an experts, details are hazy, sorry)

You can also avoid travel during peak season. I read that bedbug season increases drastically from June through October - evidently they like the warmer months (I'm not including a link but easy to find). Plus there are fewer travelers to spread them around during off-season.

Thank you for your information!

Some practical advice:

How to Check Your Hotel Room for Bed Bugs (4 Must Know Tips)
https://youtu.be/P1uzCGiFVY0