Photo: RNZ / Quin Tauetau-Tohitau
Picture yourself in France and what do you see? Perhaps your itinerary includes waltzing through the wonders of charming French architecture, enjoying fresh bread and cheese and wine outside the Eiffel Tower, or soaking in the sea breeze of Côte d'Azur.
What you probably are not envisioning is restless nights fighting off the devilish little creatures known as bedbugs, or punaises des lits, which are currently plaguing France's largest city.
As the knockout stage of the Rugby World Cup approaches, tourists are flocking to Paris to witness all the action at Stade de France. And it seems the bedbugs are, quite literally, coming along for the ride.
Videos shared online show the insects crawling over seats on the Paris metro, on high speed trains and at Paris' Charles-de-Gaulle airport.
Sightings have also been made at hospitals, cinemas and schools across the city.
Photo: RNZ / Quin Tauetau-Tohitau
But while widespread videos claim a bedbug invasion, French government officials said media coverage had largely blown the problem out of proportion.
At a crisis meeting held last week, French transport minister Clément Beaune said there was "no resurgence" of bedbugs, and that people "must not fall into madness" over the little critters.
He said of 50 reported sightings, "zero [have been] proven" so far, and that while reports might rise in the coming weeks and months, cases occur "in all major cities and major metropolis."
"It is not a phenomenon that arose now," Beaune said.
In a later post to X (formerly Twitter), he said he would gather public transport operators to "inform them about countermeasures and how to do more for the protection of travellers."
Earlier this week, France's Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau also issued reassurances and said there was "no reason for widespread panic."
Photo: RNZ / Quin Tauetau-Tohitau
Experts echoed these statements and said while there had been a surge in the bedbug population globally, many recent sightings were false, and contributed to unwarranted panic.
Pest-controller Romain Morzaderc told Ouest-France newspaper that "in 99 percent of cases, yes, there are nasty black insects, but no, they are not bedbugs".
While pest control website creator Nicolas Roux de Bézieux said for every three out of four calls he received, the problems turned out to be due to other reasons entirely.
Unfortunately for them, the notion of blood-sucking creatures feasting on your body in the dead of night had just proved too powerful.
And with some saying the supposed growing population of the parasites was due to a newly developed immunity to insecticides, public concern had not been entirely dismissed.
A man steam sprays under a mattress to eliminate bedbugs in Paris, France, on 8 October, 2023. Photo: Magali Cohen / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP
So what can you do to avoid bug beds while travelling?
- Learn how to identify them: adult bed bugs are light reddish-brown, flat, and oval-shaped, while baby bugs are much smaller, white-yellow and hard to see
- Look out for their markings: blood stains, skin sheds, droppings and something resembling cracked pepper are key signs the critters have holidayed in your bed before you
- Search your accommodation thoroughly: check the sides of your bed, under the mattress and behind the bed frame, as well as upholstered furniture and drawers of night stands
- Keep your luggage high off the ground or near tiled floors: this environment is hard to reach and less inviting for them. Maybe chuck your suitcase in a dry bathtub and call it a day
- Complain: if your room has bedbugs, you can tell your hotel manager and ask for another room - it's OK
- Wash all clothing at a high temperature immediately upon return home, or just burn the whole suitcase
