TRAVEL
Bedbugs Are Invading Paris en Masse!
Source: Getty Images
As thousands of fashionistas descend upon Paris for Fashion Week, the city is dealing with a more unwelcome (and less stylish) visitor – Bedbugs!
According to Forbes, Paris is dealing with an outbreak of bedbugs in hotels, public transportation, theaters, and rental apartments, with travelers posting their encounters with the blood-sucking insects on social media.
The problem is so bad that French transport minister Clement Beaune has said he will have a meeting this week to undertake further action” to “reassure and protect” the public, Forbes reports.
Neighboring countries are worried about the pesky critters traveling across the border – or even across the English Channel. According to the Independent, Eurostar has ordered a deep cleaning of its trains to prevent the bedbugs from traveling to the UK.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers is always our number one priority and the presence of insects such as bedbugs on our trains, is extremely rare,” a spokesperson for Eurostar told the Independent. “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.”
With the Paris Olympics less than a year away, Paris officials urgently want to implement an action plan to rid the city of bedbugs.
“The state urgently needs to put an action plan in place against this scourge as France is preparing to welcome the Olympic and Paralympic games in 2024,” the capital’s deputy mayor, Emmanuel Gregoire, said in a letter to Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne this week, according to Reuters.
Bedbugs are parasitic insects that feed on the blood of humans and animals while they sleep and hide in mattresses, bed frames, and upholstered furniture. Bedbugs often occur where a lot of travel takes place as their bodies allow them to fit into crevices in luggage and clothing, with tourists unwittingly bringing the bugs home from vacation.
According to the CDC, Those experiencing symptoms from bedbug bites are advised to wash clothing and fabrics at high temperature and contact pest control services to treat their home.
