An apparent upsurge in bedbugs in French cities including Paris has sparked concerns that the infestation could be spreading on transport networks to other countries.
According to local reports, the bloodsucking parasites have been found to be spreading in other cities with large populations that are popular tourist destinations, including Lyon, Marseilles and Toulouse.
Social media posts suggest that the bugs have been spotted running rampant on the Paris metro system—on which around 1.5 billion journeys are made a year—and could be spreading on trains to London, the U.K. capital. The insects have also been spotted at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
On Friday, the deputy mayor of the French capital, Emmanuel Gregoire, described it as an “infestation” and urged the national government to intervene. Clement Beaune, France’s transport minister, vowed to convene a meeting of transport operators, but stressed to reporters on Wednesday that “there is no resurgence.”
Products used to eradicate bedbugs on display at the Hygiene Premium pest control shop in Paris, France on October 3, 2023 and, inset, one of the parasites on display at the Bed Bug Summit in Washington D.C. on February 2, 2011.
MIGUEL MEDINA/JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images
He added that the government was speaking to experts about the situation and would help the travel networks bring in improved control measures.
Bedbugs—parasitic insects of the genus Cimex—have been around at least as far back as ancient Greece and are found across the globe, but have enjoyed a resurgence in recent decades due to areas of high density and more expansive population movement.
The bloodsucking insects could be spread further afield by the hundreds of thousands of fans who are visiting France in September and October for the rugby World Cup.
Experts have said the noticeable rise in prevalence in the past few years has been linked to a return of worldwide travel following the coronavirus pandemic.
“What promotes their spread is our lifestyles, as well as mismanagement of infestations and impoverishment,” Jean-Michel Berenger, an entomologist at a medical research center in Marseilles, told Le Monde newspaper. “Big cities that local populations and tourists move through are ‘favored,’ that’s for sure.”
He said aside from social media posts, the increase in prevalence noted by officials was based on a rise in trade for pest control companies. The bugs are unable to fly or jump, so their primary means of transit was on objects such as suitcases, Berenger added.
According to one study, bedbugs can live up to 300 days without feeding, but on average they survive for between four and six months. But this, coupled with their expanding presence on transport networks, has raised concerns that the outbreak in Paris could prompt an uptick elsewhere.
The same day Gregoire proclaimed an infestation in the French capital, one X, formerly Twitter, user posted images of a bedbug they had taken, purportedly on a London to Paris Eurostar train—which connects the two cities via the Channel Tunnel—in the early morning on September 25.
David Cain, a microbiologist and founder of London-based exterminator Bed Bugs Ltd, told British newspaper The Independent that the bugs would easily be able to survive the journey.
“I have known people go on day trips to Paris, not even staying in hotels or other high-risk activities, and come back with them,” he said. “Paris has been a popular link for the last six years. Business is already booming.”
A Eurostar spokesperson told the newspaper that the presence of bedbugs on their trains was “extremely rare,” adding: “The textile surfaces on all of our trains are cleaned thoroughly on a regular basis, and this involves hot-water injection and extraction cleaning, which has proven highly effective in eliminating bugs.”
Approached for comment, the U.K. Health Security Agency said it did not usually monitor the spread of bedbugs “as they don’t transmit disease,” but directed Newsweek to a September statement by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, which noted a 65 percent increase in bedbug callouts recorded by leading pest control firm Rentokil.
“Reports of bedbug activity tend to increase in the summer as people travel more,” Natalie Bungay, technical manager at the British Pest Control Association, said. “The lack of travel during COVID-19 lockdowns meant bedbug issues were few and far between, so it’s not surprising we’re now seeing a rapid rise in callouts.”
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