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Bed bugs invade Paris

139 replies

ohsuzannah · 03/10/2023 12:18

news.sky.com/story/cost-of-living-latest-paris-france-bedbugs-train-strikes-nhs-doctors-greggs-airbnb-12615118

Omg my skin is crawling reading this, I'm so glad I'm not travelling this year 😰

OP posts:
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Peachonthebeach · 03/10/2023 12:21

I think the UK is not much different sorry op 😬
London hotels are full of them

mindutopia · 03/10/2023 13:14

I just got back from Spain and had them in one hotel there (thankfully, the last one). We used to live abroad in a place where they are quite common. Not to say they aren't in the UK/Europe, but they are much more common residentially in the country we lived in, not just in hotels. They are horrific and it took so long to get rid of them as everyone in the building (about 50 flats) had to deal with them as they'd disappear and then re-appear from next door. So I am hypervigilant when it comes to them after all that. All clothes/luggage went straight into the chest freezer as soon as we got home and then was well cleaned after a week, so has been dealt with. But yes, they are awful.

IMustDoMoreExercise · 03/10/2023 13:25

I think they are going to be in all major cities soon.

I've been worried about them for over 10 years but most people haven't even heard about them. Even if they have heard of them don't realise how difficult and costly it is to get rid of them.

I always check for bed bugs when I stay in a hotel and I am always worried about bringing them back home.

IMustDoMoreExercise · 03/10/2023 13:29

The problem is there is nothing you can do with all the travel to less developed countries where they are everywhere.

You can get them in the most exclusive hotels. They do not discriminate.

It has been a ticking time bomb for the last 10 years but unless you stop international travel. There's nothing you can do about it.

I actually resist staying in hotels for this very reason and only stay away from home when I have no other option.

Highandlows · 03/10/2023 13:53

Oh how disgusting! I am staying with friends soon. Hopefully this is mainly in hotels but it says no one is safe 😫

grayhairdontcare · 03/10/2023 16:53

@Highandlows I read at the weekend that they are on public transport and in homes.

parameciumparty · 03/10/2023 16:55

George Orwell wrote about bedbugs in Paris in his book Down & Out In Paris & London.

We must be going back to the good old days.

YukoandHiro · 03/10/2023 16:56

London is the same. Watch out if you travel on the Northern Line. Rentokill put out a statement recently about how they're the fastest growing pest in the UK

Thefacethatlaunchedathousandchips · 03/10/2023 17:00

I'm a bit paranoid about bedbugs! My dh thinks I'm mad, but i react horribly ti insect bites, so the thought of these wee buggers is awful.

I love secondhand clothes but might go back to only buying things I can tumble dry after reading this 😬🤢🐜

Jitterybugs · 03/10/2023 17:20

I saw it being discussed on tv this morning. I always thought that bed bugs were barely visible to the naked eye and they were detected more so by evidence of minute insect poo marks on bedlinen, skin bites etc. But the video clip shown on tv this morning from the Paris Metro and a hotel bedroom they could clearly be seen. They were like small beetles. Folk were standing in the Metro carriages while the bugs were crawling round the empty seats 🤢

wayyour · 03/10/2023 17:31

I also thought they weren't visible to the naked eye. I'm not going to Google search.

I Hope that isn't true about London hotels.

Peachonthebeach · 03/10/2023 19:48

They are massive, as big as a little ladybird 😩 I stayed at a London Hotel (well known chain) and the smell of the room when I entered was so strange, like almonds/marzipan. I fell asleep , watched tv for an hour or so and awoke with a sore red rash all over my face . Weirdly within hours my child had something similar , I figured it was some new face cream we’d bought.
anyway I woke in the night, switched the light on and could see them walking up the walls. Horribly, I’d left my case open on the floor and found a further one inside , and on inspection the carpet had loads in 🙈🙈🙈.
Apparently they do have a really distinctive almondy smell when they’re plentiful, I’ll know it immediately if I ever (heaven forbid) smell it again, it’s really unusual.

everetting · 03/10/2023 19:50

That is really worrying.
And I have stayed in poor countries but always in decent hotels and never come across bed bugs. The only friends who have stayed in dirt cheap places where you are not sure they have washed the sheets.

Mytholmroyd · 03/10/2023 19:54

IMustDoMoreExercise · 03/10/2023 13:25

I think they are going to be in all major cities soon.

I've been worried about them for over 10 years but most people haven't even heard about them. Even if they have heard of them don't realise how difficult and costly it is to get rid of them.

I always check for bed bugs when I stay in a hotel and I am always worried about bringing them back home.

Me too! My son who is going to London with school soon was just laughing at me when I said I was going to check the bed bug register to look up the hostel where they are staying!

I always put my luggage in the bath and do the check!

Peachonthebeach · 03/10/2023 20:11

It’s a wake up call when you learn the extent of the problem. When you look into the costs involved in treating them should you be unfortunate enough get an infestation in your home, not to mention the emotional stress (and huge physical workload )it really makes you cautious.

Mytholmroyd · 03/10/2023 20:26

It is - I am paranoid about them having stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast quite a few years ago that had them. My daughter got badly bitten a couple of months ago in a nice hotel in Croatia - none of her luggage came back in the house.

AuntieJoyce · 03/10/2023 20:31

Mytholmroyd · 03/10/2023 19:54

Me too! My son who is going to London with school soon was just laughing at me when I said I was going to check the bed bug register to look up the hostel where they are staying!

I always put my luggage in the bath and do the check!

Oh, tell us more about the bedbug register!!

wayyour · 03/10/2023 20:36

They are massive, as big as a little ladybird 😩 I stayed at a London Hotel (well known chain) and the smell of the room when I entered was so strange, like almonds/marzipan.

😱

IMustDoMoreExercise · 03/10/2023 20:49

Mytholmroyd · 03/10/2023 19:54

Me too! My son who is going to London with school soon was just laughing at me when I said I was going to check the bed bug register to look up the hostel where they are staying!

I always put my luggage in the bath and do the check!

Yes, my husband used to laugh at me too, but has slowly realised what a nightmare they are to get rid of and how they are spreading everywhere.

I read that you can get sticky traps which you put round the bed. I think I might get some for the next time I stay in a hotel.

AutumnFroglets · 03/10/2023 20:53

I thought they were very small too. Ladybird size?? 😱

IMustDoMoreExercise · 03/10/2023 20:56

AutumnFroglets · 03/10/2023 20:53

I thought they were very small too. Ladybird size?? 😱

I think they are smaller than ladybirds.

Absolutely45 · 03/10/2023 20:56

Stayed in a Hotel in Plymouth Devon, eaten alive! got a full refund.

Whereas spent 4 weeks in France a few weeks ago, no such problems but it was all private accommodation.

Peachonthebeach · 03/10/2023 20:59

Well the adult ones are like apple pip size. But they ENGORGE and become big and fat .
AND… they can stay dormant for a year if food and conditions aren’t good but then liven up again 😱

cushioncovers · 03/10/2023 21:01

I've had bedbugs at home after my exh brought them back with him when he was travelling for work. It was one of the most stressful things I've ever had to deal with. It cost me hundreds of pounds in professional treatments. A new bed and bedding as well as hours and hours of boil washing clothes and soft toys and what I couldn't boil wash I had to put in the freezer for days at a time. I caught it early on and was very lucky I didn't have to rip all the carpets up as well.

SpaceChocolatel · 03/10/2023 21:09

I briefly worked in the office for a pest control company. (Not UK). We would get loads of calls from youth hostels in particular. It was always recommended that they should have the infected room treated, plus rooms either side, above and below. They would never get all the recommended rooms treated, just the identified infected room. So they would keep coming back, plus the volume of travellers coming through... I imagine most hotels would do the same and not get it fully treated due to cost and loss of earning closing the adjacent rooms.