Common bedbugs don’t spread diseases, but they are an itchy nuisance
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If you are a light sleeper like me, you can definitely feel it when bedbugs crawl on your skin.
My brief encounter with these ravenous insects in a prestigious manoir near Paris last year left me with long lines of red wheals down my back, arms and legs, and an itch so unbearable and relentless that I had to take prescription-strength antihistamines for more than a week.
Fortunately, I knew the simple, immediate steps I had to take to keep the apple seed-sized bugs from coming home with me. Many others haven’t been so fortunate. As it prepares for millions of visitors to arrive for the 2024 Summer Olympics, the city of Paris is battling a “significant resurgence” of these blood-sucking bugs, in the words of Emmanuel Grégoire, the deputy mayor.
Not only are bedbugs now in people’s homes, they are also in hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, cinemas and public transportation systems and are rapidly spreading throughout France, says Grégoire. He is urging the country’s federal government to act immediately to rein in the crisis, starting with financial assistance so that lower-income families can afford effective treatment for their homes. Professional extermination usually requires several house calls, costing well over €900.
But the state of panic has been fuelled by social media posts and international news coverage that exaggerate a much less serious problem, says Arezki Izri at the Sorbonne Paris North University. There is no scientific evidence of any increase in infestation rates this year, despite all the media attention.
The only existing survey of bedbug infestations in France showed that 11 per cent of French homes were infested between 2017 and 2022. Izri thinks rates in 2023 are probably about the same – and are roughly equivalent to rates in other major cities in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia.
“People are going crazy over a media buzz,” he says. “I had a woman call me in a panic today threatening to jump out a window because she’s terrified she brought home bedbugs from a trip. What we need is better education about these bugs.”
Common bedbugs (Cimex lectularius) and tropical bedbugs (Cimex hemipterus) are two of about 90 species in the Cimex genus that consume human blood, with the other Cimex species mainly targeting bats and birds. They can harbour up to 40 kinds of bacteria, fungi, parasites and other infectious agents, but so far there is no evidence that they transmit any diseases to humans.
Still, their saliva causes mild to severe allergic reactions in up to 90 per cent of those they bite and can bring about secondary skin infections and sleep deprivation. They can also lead to psychological issues, mostly related to the stress of getting rid of the bugs and social stigma, even though studies show socioeconomic status and cleanliness have nothing to do with infestation rates.
Humans and bedbugs have been cohabitating ever since they both lived in caves 11,000 years ago – and probably before. Eighty years ago, potent insecticides like pyrethroids began to be used wipe out large populations of the bugs in industrialised nations. Entire generations of people came to know bedbugs as something almost folkloric.
That was until 1990, when bedbugs started making a comeback, as mutants that survived insecticide treatments gave rise to lines of genetically resistant bugs. Despite news reports suggesting a sudden epidemic, Paris has actually been hosting a gradually growing population of bedbugs for decades.
The strong revival of tourism following the end of covid-19 lockdowns could, in theory, have increased the risk of infestations in Paris – especially given that France is a hotspot for tourism and that French people tend to travel a lot, says Izri. That equates to millions of tourists swapping beds as they move luggage that could be unwittingly carrying parasitic passengers from hotel to Airbnb to overnight train couchette, then back home.
While the bugs can’t fly or hop, they are adept crawlers that can easily run from one apartment to the next in the same building, and they can travel on used furniture as well as on people’s clothes and bags wherever they go.
Importantly, though, this doesn’t mean France is exporting bedbugs across the planet. On the contrary, says Izri, it is possible that many of the country’s bedbugs are imported from the UK, the US or any other country with its own resident bedbug population.
To reduce risks, travellers should check mattress seams for tiny black waste stains, keep luggage closed and up high or in the bathroom and immediately hot wash and dry clothes once back home. If an infestation occurs, people should act quickly and without panicking to place clothes, pillows and blankets in -20°C (-4°F) freezers for two hours, and have other items professionally heated to 180°C (356°F). Chemical treatments should be avoided, as they contribute to insecticide resistance, pollute the environment and generally give a false impression of being effective, says Izri. If you experience an adverse reaction to bedbug bites, consult your doctor.
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