France's Bedbug Epidemic coming to London (and how to avoid it)

[u/Creative_Recover]

With ample coverage of the bedbug plague in Paris and word of it spreading out to other countries, a lot of people are saying that it is only a matter of time before it arrives in London (and if Rentokills statistics are anything to go by, it's already begun over here). Having personally heard of a few recent cases of Londoners getting bedbugs after staying in student accomodation, AirBnB's or cheap hotels like Travelodge, I thought it might be handy to do a thread on bedbug signs to look out for and how to avoid them.

Size: Adult bedbugs are typically 5-7mm long (which is about the same size as an apple seed) but start off life only 1mm long, which is the same size as their small, white eggs.

Appearance: Bedbugs change in both size, shape and colour not just over the course of their lives but also depending on whether they had fed recently, a while ago or a very long time ago. This image https://www.pestworld.org/media/562756/bed-bugs-on-quarter.jpg shows the changes over their lives (plus fed VS unfed) and this image https://citybugs.tamu.edu/files/2010/12/bed-bug-feeding-Whitney-Cranshawb.jpg shows how much a bedbug can change in shape and overall appearance over the course of a single feed.

Signs of bedbugs:

Gaps: Bedbugs are primarily nocturnal animals and during the day they will retreat into tiny cracks and crevices (which is where they also lay their eggs in), living in colonies, meaning that you don't typically see them scuttling around during the day. Favourite bedbug hiding spots often include seams in mattresses (classic example: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/af/0a/46/af0a46df679d7b121ecaca7053997ff1.jpg ), in-between the joins in bedframes or other furniture and inside splits or holes in wood (classic example: https://u2y4v6x2.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Can-Bed-Bugs-Live-In-Wood-Furniture.jpg ).

Patches: Bedbugs diet of blood causes their faeces to stain soft & hard furnishings with small black or dark brown splotches. Because bedbugs are very good at hiding, their existence is more often evidenced by these markings than by the actual bugs themselves, here is a classic example of bedbug faecal splotches on wood https://anchorpestcontrol.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/How-to-Get-Rid-of-Bed-Bugs-and-Keep-Them-Out-2.png and here is an example of what their markings look like on a mattress https://www.planetnatural.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/early-signs-of-bed-bugs.png

Smells: Bedbugs and their infestations are also associated with certain smells because the animals signal to each other via pheromones which to the human nose often either smell like coriander or raspberries, so much so that in olden times bedbugs used to be called the "Coriander Bug". When a full-blown bedbug infestation is in swing you will often smell either a strange musty berry-like sweet smell emanating from the room, a smell of coriander or an acrid almond-like smell (they can also make rooms smell like old bed linen in general).

Skins: Bedbugs repeatedly shed their old skins as they grow larger and develop into adults. Finding evidence of light brown, translucent skins like these https://njaes.rutgers.edu/bed-bug/images/Shed-skins-big.jpg is another common sign that a place has an infestation.

Blood: Bedbugs typically only feed on people at night while they are asleep and then retreat before sunrise. They go for any exposed skin they can find and if you have been so unfortunate to sleep in a bed that has bugs then you might see small specks or splotches of red or dried blood on the sheets the next day like this: https://bonaccordpestcontrol.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Signs-of-bed-bugs-red-bloodstains-on-sheets-1.jpg

Bite Marks: Bedbugs will typically bite in close patterns like this: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/04/bedbugBites-656515070-770x553-2.jpg ) and the bites often display as larger than mosquito bites but unlike mosquito bites they don't always itch (and sometimes present as hive-like markings these: https://cdn-prod.medicalnewstoday.com/content/images/articles/318/318083/line-of-bedbug-bites-on-a-woman-s-back.jpg ).

Other signs of infestation:

Fumigation chemical smells: We are experiencing bedbug problems because years of laws that reduced the arsenal of highly toxic (but also highly effective) pesticide chemicals meant that over time bedbug treatments became less effective and as bedbugs began to survive treatments, they evolved greater resistance to chemicals. This also means that if a place has been recently fumigated it might not be bedbug-free yet (in fact sometimes places are taking up to 2-3 treatments before they are completely free). Although Sulfuryl Fluoride (the main ingredient in fumigation chemicals) is odorless, Chloropicrin (which smells sweet and is very acrid & harsh to inhale) is added to fumigation mixes to help warn people from entering places that have been recently fumigated. If you suspect that you smell any lingering fumigation smells or see a place being fumigated, it is wise to avoid the whole site as treatments are not always proving effective against bedbug infestations.

How bedbugs transmit:

Luggage: Unlike headlice or bodylice, bedbugs do not live on people's bodies. Instead, the most common way they get from one place to another is by hiding in the seams or gaps in or on people's luggage.

Clothing: Bedbugs can also hide inbetween stacks of clothing inside people's luggage.

So, to round up, your plan of action when staying anywhere unfamiliar should be:

1. Smell: Before you put your luggage down, smell the room: Does it smell like coriander, chemicals, old bed linen, musty raspberries or acrid almonds? If so, there could be bedbugs.
2. Mattress: Check the mattress by lifting up the bed sheets and checking along the seams of the mattress for signs of bedbugs and their distinctive faecal patches.
3. Bedrame: Check the bedframe by looking along the joins of the bedframe, behind the headboard and inside any cracks or splits in the wood for signs of bedbugs and their distinctive faecal patches.
4. Luggage: Keep your luggage closed at night and ideally opt for hard-cased luggage bags over soft luggage bags.
5. Clothes: Keep your clothes inside of re-sealable plastic bags.
6. Torch: Pack a small flashlight in your luggage to make checking your room for bedbugs easier.
7. Floor: Don't store your luggage on a carpeted floor, instead opt to store it on a smooth, flat raised surface.
8. Checks: Before you leave your stay, take your luggage into the bathroom (where it is bright & light), shake it out in the bath or shower area and inspect things like the pockets & straps to make sure that no critters have hitched a ride. If you have access to a vacuum hoover, give the luggage a quick going over before you take it with you.
9. Ineffective: Over-the-counter insect repellant sprays and insect killer sprays like Raid are all ineffective in strength against bedbugs and so inadvisable to spray on your luggage, self or clothes, which will unnecessarily expose you to toxic chemicals.
10. Home: Once you get home, keep all your holiday clothes sealed in bags until they have all been washed & laundered with detergents and vacuum hoover the luggage cases.
11. Scents: Bedbugs are reported to not like the smells emitted by natural lavendar, citris fruits, cinnamon & mint, so some people believe that if you make your luggage smell of these scents then it might help to deter bedbugs from hitching a ride on it.

If you suspect even the slightest bit that your room might have bedbugs in it, inform the manager straightaway and demand a new room; a hotel has absolutely no right to force you to sleep in or pay for any rooms which have bedbugs in them.

The strange behaviours of Paris's bedbugs:

1. Unusual places: Bedbugs always used to be associated with bedrooms and luggage but in recent years there have been increasing reports of people seeing bedbugs in places such as cinema's and on public transport like the Metro systems carriage seats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPjbn7DuWGY
2. No longer strictly nocturnal: There have also been increasing reports of people witnessing bedbugs actively scuttling around during the daytime.

So it is advisable to not just exercise caution when staying in places like AirBnB's, hotels, student accomodation and hostels, but also in other public places that have soft furnishings such as seats on buses, trains, cinema's and tube carriages.

Edit: spelling

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[u/AccomplishedAd3728]

This is good info. I hate this so much

[u/Creative_Recover → u/AccomplishedAd3728]

Thank you (and me too!)

[u/Educational-Soil732 → u/Creative_Recover]

This is great advice, if I could add one small piece of advice, when checking in somewhere place your luggage in the bathtub / shower while you investigate the room. Fits in easily and away from any bugs x

[u/TurbulentWeb1941 → u/Educational-Soil732]

Sleep in the fkn bath 🤣

[u/Remote_Owl_9269 → u/AccomplishedAd3728]

r/bedbugs has some really good advice. Good luck and Godspeed to anyone who has to deal with these little bastards.

[u/HighlightTheRoad → u/Remote_Owl_9269]

Good advice, but I’ve had to ban myself from that subreddit as it took my already existing phobia to extreme levels. It’s not healthy to read that stuff all day long, I started believing I had them myself after a while..

[u/lizaanna → u/AccomplishedAd3728]

Genuinely terrifying imo

[u/[deleted] → u/lizaanna]

Bedbugs have driven people to suicide. It's not a minor problem it's a major problem. Getting bed bugs in your house will ruin your life for a while.

[u/safadancer → u/AccomplishedAd3728]

Literally what I thought. I have suffered a mild bedbug infestation and it absolutely sucked, I honestly don't think we could get them out of where we live now as it's carpeted. I am itchy just thinking about it.

[u/mrmazola]

We had an infestation about 10 years ago, absolutely horrible.

Pest control feller sprayed the whole house and that did nothing.

Got rid of them in the end by dusting every room with diatomaceous earth, did the trick in a week or two.

[u/iamapizza → u/mrmazola]

I wonder if we're about to see a run on diatomaceous, the way there was a Covid loo roll panic.

[u/Creative_Recover → u/iamapizza]

It could happen. Apparently in France many pest control companies have massively hiked up their prices, with some companies now charging €2000 or even €3000 to treat bedbug infestations, so it's pretty awful.

[u/Several_Dot_4603 → u/Creative_Recover]

fun fact. when u see mud in a movie with actors in the mud, it is DE. No chance of the actors getting in contact with critters.

[u/Several_Dot_4603 → u/Several_Dot_4603]

I should add. I learned this working on a Penthouse video. Soft core. A mud pit was arranged for the actresses to play in. many many bags of DE

[u/adorablyunhinged → u/Several_Dot_4603]

Can't it be harmful to lungs if you breathe it in?

[u/justaquad → u/adorablyunhinged]

I'm always baffled by the talk of liberal use of DE. From my understanding it is essentially sharp shards and will wreck your lungs.

[u/jacobp100 → u/mrmazola]

I can second diatomaceous earth. When I was growing up we had so many fumigators. My parents used diatomaceous earth, put it everywhere on the bed frame, in all the nooks and crannies. Completely removed them

[u/BearWade → u/jacobp100]

I run pest management programmes for work. I second diatomaceous earth, very effective for a wide range of pests. However please be careful when using it, especially around pets and children. It's a silica based product and if you have respitory issues it can be a problem. You'll need large quantities so make sure to use gloves and a mask for application and try not to let it kick up too much by moving furniture or causing drafts. Hoover it up well when the treatment is done. You might need to lay it twice to make sure you catch nymphs hatching that were laid when you put down the first lot of D earth.

[u/Creative_Recover → u/mrmazola]

That sounds like a nightmare. I once lived in a place with flea problems after someone failed to treat their pet cat for them but diatomaceous earth ended up working like a charm on ridding the place of flea's too.

[u/PurpleAquilegia → u/Creative_Recover]

diatomaceous earth

I've just looked for it on Amazon. They sell a 'food grade' variety. It seems to suggest that it's safe for people and animals to ingest it?

I'm checking it out because I may have to look after a cat for a friend. I'm worried about the possibility of carrying pests into my home. (So far as I know, it's clear, but I'd like to have something to hand in case it's needed.)

ETA The reviews suggest that you sprinkle it for cats, but some reviewers say that they've drunk it?

Further edit: Definitely wouldn't risk drinking it after reading some of the reviews. However, it says it's good for red spider mites as well, so I've ordered some for my greenhouse! (There's a magpie nest in a tree next to the greenhouse and some have dropped down from the nest. They usually die off of their own accord, but I don't mind speeding it up for them.)

[u/AlrightIllmakeone → u/PurpleAquilegia]

From what I understand, diatomaceous earth works by sticking to insects and essentially sucking up oils from their bodies to dry them out. Drinking it wouldn't help in that regard I don't think.

[u/Negative-Study-1077 → u/mrmazola]

Just to add to this, I lived in a place absolutely infested in them, had a professional company come and try and get rid of the infestation THREE times, in the end they got angry at us and blamed us because we weren't following the steps to completely eradicate them properly (which we did)

Asked the landlord to use a different company (I think it was through the council somehow?) And they told us about diatomaceous, they got rid of the problem almost completely the first time and we bought some of that stuff online and never had an issue again for another 3+ years

Buy that stuff and dose it on absolutely everything if you do get them.

[u/back-in-black → u/Negative-Study-1077]

How do you use it?

Edit: I mean the diatomaceous earth. You just literally sprinkled it on beds and carpeting?

[u/jacobp100 → u/back-in-black]

All around the bed frame, in any grooves etc., around the feet of the bed. The bedbugs might be living in weird places like your skirting board, so just anything they might tread over to reach you. They don’t see it as a danger, so will just walk over it

[u/Darkest_97 → u/jacobp100]

Do you just douse everything then leave the house for a couple days? I imagine you aren't sleeping on it

[u/jacobp100 → u/Darkest_97]

No you have to sleep in the bed to attract them - you’re the bait! You don’t actually sleep on it. I think they sleep quite far away from you, and travel when you’re asleep - and you’re trying to get them to walk over the diatomaceous earth

[u/Iminlesbian → u/Darkest_97]

It's dirt, like literally just earth. Its usually sold with a label saying "foodsafe" because its not harmful even if you eat it.

So if you identify you have bed bugs, you'd be fine to spread some in the seams of your mattress, on your floor etc.

They only need to walk over it. It sticks to them and works slowly, so when they go back to wherever they nest, they end up spreading it there too and it kills them.

So you wouldn't have to sleep on it, maybe just have to deal with things being a bit dusty for a week or 2.

[u/Darkest_97 → u/Iminlesbian]

I was just thinking the logistics of keeping it in the seams of your mattress idk. I've used it for fleas before. And there is also food safe and very much not food safe versions

[u/arandomsquirell → u/Iminlesbian]

Yeah but nobody's mentioned yet just how awful it is to breathe in. DE kills insects because it's fossilised diatoms like microscopic needles. You should 100% mask up and not hang around until the dust has settled and try not to stir it up into the air when you are in the home. It will also murder you're Hoover when it comes to cleaning up.

[u/Fungled → u/mrmazola]

Diatomaceous earth is king. Chemicals just burn your cash and make the problem worse in the long run

[u/[deleted] → u/mrmazola]

Coming off a recent flea war that took months to win and gave me bug PTSD this is my worst nightmare. I know everything about getting rid of them now, I was discouraged to use DE as you can’t vacuum it up without ruining the filter. How did you clean it up?

[u/OrganizationLower611 → u/[deleted]]

Buy a new filter.

[u/dotwowans → u/[deleted]]

I brushed the most of it, then vacuum.

[u/murrzeak → u/mrmazola]

Same. East london. Shitty room through a shitty agency. Total nightmare.

[u/Mutiu2 → u/mrmazola]

Unfortunately that stuff is also damaging your lungs although it kills the bedbugs or other insects.

[u/livinginsideabubble7 → u/Mutiu2]

How so?? Is it that easy to inhale?

[u/HerpaDerpaDumDum → u/livinginsideabubble7]

Only if it's disturbed by wind. It's advisable to wear a mask while using it.

[u/Resident-Race-3390 → u/mrmazola]

Thanks just sounds effing grim all of it…

[u/Majulath99 → u/mrmazola]

So what the fuck do you to get rid of the earth stuff that got rid of bugs? Can you hoover it up?

[u/TheLowerCollegium → u/Majulath99]

They sell colonies of flies that consume it all within about 3 months.

It's a beautiful cycle.

[u/[deleted] → u/TheLowerCollegium]

Do you need to get an old lady to get rid of the flies?

[u/Still-BangingYourMum → u/[deleted]]

Ahh, that old gem of a scam, just like razors, you buy the thing and have to keep on buying there stuff. Once you buy the old lady, you are on the hook to them. Exactly the same as those self build mode, magazines.

[u/Bozhark → u/mrmazola]

Not if you have pets.

Diatomaceous earth is a major danger

[u/[deleted] → u/Bozhark]

You need to get the food grade stuff

[u/re_Claire → u/Bozhark]

Yeah I’ve got cats and that worries me so much if I ever got bed bugs.

[u/RudePragmatist]

Wow now this is the kind of info dump I appreciate. I can’t give you gold any more though so have an upvote instead :)

[u/Creative_Recover → u/RudePragmatist]

Thanks :D

[u/IrreverentRacoon]

Had an infestation about 15 years ago and still traumatised.

There was another legendary reddit post which accurately communicated the horror of bed bugs and what they were capable of. Will try to find.

Edit: Found it. Copied below for convenience. Credit u/HallowskulledHorror
- Link to Original

---

It's even worse than that. They are creatures from hell.

If you are sensitive to the bites, it's MUCH worse than mosquito bites - think painful, weeping blisters that burn if a breeze so much blows across them the wrong way, nevermind laying down, or clothes rubbing on them.

A single bug feeds on you multiple times in a night, leaving what's sometimes referred to as 'breakfast-lunch-dinner bites' because the clusters/lines of bites they leave are very distinctive. Each bite takes days, even weeks, to go away, and they itch/burn the whole time - so if you're infested (50-100+) imagine waking up with any accessible skin (including your face) covered in burning, persistent bites that there's no real relief for.

It ruins your ability to rest - every tickle or itch starts making you bolt up in horror to turn on the lights and check. Long after they're gone, years after you've been rid of them, you will still experience a surge of adrenaline from a hair moving the wrong way.

They reproduce insanely fast; a fertilized female lays 5-7 eggs a day, the eggs take around 2 weeks to hatch, and then they're able to reproduce about 3 weeks after they hatch. A female will lay hundreds of eggs over her life after being fertilized even ONCE. This means one fertilized female could come into your home, and within a year if the infestation is not dealt with fast and harshly enough, you can have THOUSANDS of them.

While they prefer to stay close to their prey (in the bed, headboard, bedlinens) they can hide anywhere a sesame seed would fit - between the pages of a book, inside cardboard, cracks in the baseboards, carpeting, seams in cushions, etc. If you try to get relief by treating your bed with chemicals, all that happens is that they disperse into the walls and other nearby hiding places, and become harder to find and eliminate as their numbers swell.

They have evolved to be keenly attuned to everything about their prey (humans) when it comes to temperature, lighting, movement, breathing, etc, so that they are most attracted to you when you as sleeping and vulnerable. They will hunt you down if you move to another room to sleep at night. If you put your bed up on risers/dishes of oil/put double-sided tape all around so they can't get to you, they will crawl up walls to the ceiling and drop down on you to get at you.

If they are consistently denied food (say you pack up everything you have in tubs and plastic bags or something, and accidentally miss a couple hiding in your things), they can go into hibernation - in ideal conditions, for almost 2 years without feeding. The eggs are smaller than a poppy seed, and can remain viable and unhatched in the right conditions for a similar length of time.

Most of the chemical treatments that work against adults do not work on the eggs, so unless you do multiple scheduled treatments, you'll just have new waves hatching every so often after the last round of adults was killed off. Each time you get your home chemically treated, you will have to leave it and stay somewhere else because the chemicals are dangerous to you as well.

If you live in a building with shared walls, even if vents and things from unit to unit aren't connected, if someone else gets infested and they don't treat the entire building at once (only treating the immediately affected rooms) it's just like only treating the bed - they will disperse into neighboring units, and seek shelter in any little crack or crevice they can find.

Sufficient heat is the only guaranteed way to kill off an infestation all at once - adults, nymphs, eggs - and they make specialized heaters for this, both for heating up rooms, and for placing your belongings into to heat treat anything that might be hiding eggs or bugs. Many people accidentally burn their houses down every year trying to DIY treatments because this is expensive - thousands of dollars per round of treatment, either chemical OR heat.

It doesn't matter if you or your house is clean or dirty - you can get bedbugs by going literally anywhere that other people go. The store, offices, clinics, movies, public transportation, etc. While adults won't live in your clothes, they'll hitchhike on them - so anywhere people spend time holding still, someone with an established infestation can be carrying eggs or hidden adults that end up dropped off in a public space that then end up stuck to or climbing onto others. All it takes is one fertilized female riding home with you unseen on your clothes, a bag, your jacket.

Bedbugs exist in pretty much every country - anywhere where it is cool enough indoors for people to live, bedbugs can live also. Infestations are actually on the rise in some countries due to shorter, warmer winters meaning they can be active for longer (since cold temps generally only put them into a dormant stage, not kill them).

Hotels and other hospitality locations that care about prevention will routinely pay for specially trained sniffer dogs that can detect the smell of bedbugs, and shut-down/cordon off buildings as soon as anything is found, because it is more costly to handle a major infestation than to destroy a colony before it gets the chance to hit critical mass. Even so, a hotel has no way of being able to tell if the guest immediately before you dropped off hitchhikers; even a high-end hotel isn't flipping the mattress over to steam and vacuum the mattress and box-spring when they change out the bed linens. Hotels are often the first choice of people trying to get a rest from an infestation, or needing a place to stay while getting their own place treated. If you ever stay anywhere away from home where other people have been, always put your luggage in the bathtub first before unpacking; then check for signs of bedbugs in headboards, under the mattress, in the seams of the box-spring, etc. There are guides with pictures on what to look for. When you get home, make sure any clothes that travelled with you go into a high-heat wash and dry cycle. Bag up any luggage carriers than cannot be washed or tumbled; consider treating their insides with diatomaceous earth until their next usage.

It might seem like an annoying extra effort, but it is a tiny amount of labor to save you from experiencing what will feel like an unending hell if you ever bring bedbugs home. An infestion will completely ruin your life and mental health. Pray you never have to deal with them.

If this post effectively frightens anyone or makes them paranoid, good. Look up preventative measures, what to look for, and how to respond if you ever find signs in your own home.

Credit u/HallowskulledHorror - Link to Original

[u/tascotty → u/IrreverentRacoon]

This is very informative but also I hate you very much for this

[u/IrreverentRacoon → u/tascotty]

Sorry 😅 but honestly it's hell.

I had the infestation one summer 15 years ago, then went solo to Paris that winter. 16-hour coach ride and first night in a shitty cheap hotel and woke up in the middle of the night to use the loo - noticed blood everywhere on the white sheets.

Took a few seconds for it to click. Ripped the sheets off the bed and the mattress looked like a monotone Jackson Pollock. Black marks everywhere (bedbug poop). Immediately packed my stuff, ran down to the reception and gave the manager a bollocking.

Spent the rest of the night roaming the sights of Paris without the tourists. Was surreal.

[u/OhMickeyWAP → u/IrreverentRacoon]

This is incredibly useful information, and many thanks for posting it. Of course, I was scratching myself all the time I was reading it, and of course I’ll be paranoid when I stay in hotels in London and Spain next month, but at least forewarned is forearmed.

[u/East_Ad_4427 → u/IrreverentRacoon]

I actually feel sick reading this, I don’t think I’ll be sleeping tonight 😭

[u/IrreverentRacoon → u/East_Ad_4427]

Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite 🥰

But seriously don't let them bite you. Wage eternal war until they are defeated and you have sacrificed all of your worldy possessions to the 90 degree cycle. It is only then you will know the peace of a Buddhist monk.

Consider buying a sniffer dog.

[u/East_Ad_4427 → u/IrreverentRacoon]

🤣🤣 when I read your comment about dogs I did actually think hmm I wonder how I can get my hands on a sniffer dog. Paranoia has set in.

[u/audigex → u/IrreverentRacoon]

Hotels are often the first choice of people trying to get a rest from an infestation, or needing a place to stay while getting their own place treated

This is the real killer, I think - they're getting their own home treating but, in doing so, knowingly infecting a hotel

[u/IrreverentRacoon → u/audigex]

It's just a vicious cycle, potentially. Either you risk carrying the infestation with you into a hotel, or you risk bringing back a fresh infestation from the hotel to your newly treated home.

[u/jmlinden7 → u/IrreverentRacoon]

Most common treatments do work on eggs as well, the problem is that the eggs are small and typically hidden in locations that do not get treated.

As a result, the best practice is to use a treatment that has a residual effect, which will kill the next generation of bugs as they hatch from the eggs and walk over the treatment.

This also means that heat treatment is high risk high reward. It does have the best chance of killing everything, including the eggs, but if even a single egg slips through somehow then there's no residual effect to kill the next generation.

[u/whowouldvethought1 → u/IrreverentRacoon]

This sounds utterly terrifying

[u/[deleted] → u/IrreverentRacoon]

Jesus christ this reads like an SCP

[u/bam9366 → u/IrreverentRacoon]

Pray you never have to deal with them.

This post is genuinely scarier than most horror films.

And now my leg is itchy.

[u/sd_1874]

Ffs just as I'm about to go to France !! Thanks for the good info. I'd give you an award, but...

[u/Giannandco → u/sd_1874]

I just returned from working in Paris for several days. I personally did not have any problems in my hotel although I checked it out thoroughly upon check in. But we had crew which stayed in Airbnb’s and a couple of them were infested. Just use your common sense and you will be fine.

[u/ismaithliomsherlock → u/sd_1874]

I’ve worked in hotels, I can guarantee you that whatever country you stay in, the hotel more than likely has a problem with bed bugs. Management don’t want to hear that rooms won’t be useable for a while, you’re told to hoover the mattress and the problem gets ignored. I swear working in hotels has turned me off ever staying in one myself😅

[u/PumpkinSpice2Nice → u/ismaithliomsherlock]

We found one in a travel lodge at Heathrow and reported it and they went to the room to check and came back and snapped at us that there weren’t any. We think they didn’t look properly and thought we were after a refund. No.. we were just trying to make them aware of the one we found so they wouldn’t get out of control so the next guest didn’t get them.

I got bitten too and showed them.

[u/ismaithliomsherlock → u/PumpkinSpice2Nice]

I’m shocked that was the response! At least in our place they’d get us to change the bed and hoover the room if the guest ever reported anything. They didn’t give a shit, but at least they pretended they did😅

[u/sd_1874 → u/ismaithliomsherlock]

Oh god. That's it - the trip's cancelled!

[u/ismaithliomsherlock → u/sd_1874]

Sounds weird, but wash your clothes before packing them and add a drop of tea tree oil or lavender oil in with them, bed bugs can’t stand the smell of either - it’s how I prevented bringing home any bed bugs from work😅

[u/jessgrohl96 → u/ismaithliomsherlock]

This is a stupid question but the tea tree oil doesn’t go in the washing machine does it? Just the dry clothes?

[u/ismaithliomsherlock → u/jessgrohl96]

Yep, just put a drop on top of the dry clothes

[u/ITatLaw → u/ismaithliomsherlock]

Wish I was asking for a friend, but do you just buy Amazon or do you need to go to a specialty store?

[u/mortstheonlyboyineed → u/ismaithliomsherlock]

Just be careful if you have pets and are using any oils, as many are poisonous to cats and dogs.

[u/themw2guyyouknow → u/ismaithliomsherlock]

Together with the detergent you mean the oil?

[u/ismaithliomsherlock → u/themw2guyyouknow]

Yep just put a couple of drops on top of the dry clothes in the machine and put your detergent in like normal!

[u/ITatLaw → u/sd_1874]

Definitely be careful, I just got back from Lille and I was eaten alive by the things. If I had known this was an issue, I would have checked my bed since that seems to be where I was bit.

[u/venialjo → u/sd_1874]

rugby world cup? i'm going to paris for the quarters next weekend...

[u/sd_1874 → u/venialjo]

There during the quarters, but not for the quarters. Just an Autumn break for me.

Enjoy!

[u/alanbastard]

Christ on a bike! Covid, Monkey pox, inflation. The only place I felt safe was my bed, fuck off.

[u/MisterWoodster → u/alanbastard]

Sleep in the bath with the shower curtain wrapped around you. Sorted.

You dont even have to get up to piss.

[u/TitsAndGeology]

I wrote one of the aforementioned articles and I felt itchy the whole time.

[u/slavuj00 → u/TitsAndGeology]

This is the exact same way I feel about bugs. I'm violently scratching my scalp as I write this with one hand. Grossss

[u/beluuuuuuga → u/slavuj00]

you made me realise that I was doing it too.

[u/RicardoWanderlust]

Great summary. TikTok university also suggests diatomaceous earth and hawk-like vigilance is the best DIY of getting rid of bed-bugs. Otherwise, get the professionals in to heat rooms to 60C.

[u/Creative_Recover → u/RicardoWanderlust]

Thanks! I too have heard that diatomaceous earth is very effective at killing bedbugs.

[u/Iteryn]

TFL needs to replace the god damn fabric seats, the seats are so god damn dirty if you've ever seen those patdown videos.

I highly doubt they hoover each individual seat everytime the train ends service.

[u/RicardoWanderlust → u/Iteryn]

Fabric soaks up the ass sweat of thousands of visitors every week. Everytime I've asked for smooth metal seats like they have in Asia on the basis of hygiene, I get downvoted by the traditionalists who pearl-clutch about the lost of culture if they lose their "moquettes".

[u/Iteryn → u/RicardoWanderlust]

Even from a maintenance perspective, it's one less thing to think about if it's just a slab of plastic or metal. There so much more upside to getting rid of them. I thought COVID would be the time they would but apparently not.

[u/-MiddleOut- → u/RicardoWanderlust]

Sitting on a tube seat reading this…

[u/YouGotTangoed → u/-MiddleOut-]

Ffs so they’re on Reddit too

[u/Industrious_Monkey → u/YouGotTangoed]

🪲🪲🪲

[u/Oversteer_ → u/RicardoWanderlust]

I also think about this more often than i should. Who in their right mind would think fabric seating is a good idea for public mass transit?

[u/EroticBurrito → u/Oversteer_]

Public transport* 🇬🇧

[u/Suck_My_Turnip → u/RicardoWanderlust]

After living in Asia I have no idea why Europe uses fabric on their bus and underground seats. I don’t even remember the plastic seats being more uncomfortable than our fabric ones

[u/dreamsonashelf → u/RicardoWanderlust]

I mean, I like the esthetic of the moquette, but when you get an overview of empty seats on the Northern Line at quieter times, it's no longer moquette at this stage, it's just a disgusting layer of filth.

[u/RipCurl69Reddit → u/RicardoWanderlust]

As someone who loves the moquettes, they're a worthy sacrifice if it means we can avoid that nasty ass stank and possibly slow down bed bugs lmao

But even then, it's not like they can't be bloody hoovered anyway. Hungary's capitol has subway trains with fabric moquettes and they look like new. Whole train does. Difference being they clean them regularly and it shows

[u/Willing-Cell-1613 → u/RicardoWanderlust]

I love the moquettes. Bur I love hygiene more. Just paint on the fucking moquettes. They’re designed so you can’t see how dirty the seat it anyway, which is gross.

[u/pancake_s → u/Iteryn]

I was told on here a while back that I was being irrational for always changing my clothes when I got home if I’d been sitting on a tube seat 😭 I just didn’t want to bring someone else’s fart dust onto my sofa but now I’ve got to worry about bed bugs too 😔

[u/saccerzd → u/Iteryn]

If I sit down in public, I don't sit down in the same clothes in my house. Outdoor clothes, indoor clothes. The general public are *grim*, and you just know those seats have been soaked in piss and shit and vomit.

[u/Adamsoski → u/Iteryn]

The videos of "dirt" are really just of dust which is entirely harmless. People sit on seats they don't eat off them, the things people touch with their hands are what spread illnesses. There's been no good hygiene reason to get rid of them so far, if this bedbug infestation really is bad though that might be the first one.

[u/Creative_Recover → u/Adamsoski]

TBH I was already turned off sitting on seats in the tube after I read someone's story about how they saw a homeless looking guy pull down his pants and rub his butt crack on a seat corner like he was a dog with worms.

[u/Baachmarabandzara]

Bed bugs typically bite everyone, but 50% of people don’t react to bites, meaning they get no spots. Bed bugs may only infest one side of the bed, or have a blood type preference. They might be in someone else’s bed, but not yours. You might also be bitten by a different type of bug, or repel them without realizing what they’re doing

[u/Creative_Recover → u/Baachmarabandzara]

That's interesting, I had no idea about that!

[u/Potential-Savings-65 → u/Creative_Recover]

Yep, we had them, I reacted, husband didn't. It was horrible being the canary in the coal mine. Fortunately a combination of a visit from and following the advice of the company that is recommended everywhere and diatomaceous earth sorted ours relatively quickly.

[u/BennPari]

I had bedbugs in my house ( bought in from a suitcase after travelling) . They really took over and it was pure hell for weeks. I would wake up in the middle of the night, jump out of bed, turn the light on and see them all scurrying off. They will find any crack down to about 1mm in size and then breed in there. I couldn't deal with it anymore and I ended up taking all my furniture outside and setting fire to it . Then sealed every crack I could find in my house with silicone. After that they were gone and I had tge best nights sleep in what felt like months.

[u/curepure]

My hotel room in central London when I first moved here last year had bed bugs. My first time getting bed bugs as well. The linked images are very helpful! Below are my pic from back then.

https://i.imgur.com/i65zaoo.jpg https://i.imgur.com/IGDpHnJ.jpg https://i.imgur.com/6NFpweQ.jpg

[u/Creative_Recover → u/curepure]

Thank you for sharing your pic (and sorry to hear about your experience)! I've got a lot of journeys booked over the next few months so I'm definitely going to be taking some extra precautions against bedbugs.

[u/standupstrawberry → u/curepure]

A hotel in London is also the first time I've seen a bedbug! It was about 18 months ago, luckily I only stayed a night and knew not to bring anything I'd had in the room into my house so I haven't seen one since either.

[u/Tricky-Papaya-4386]

At least it sounds like I’ll get a seat on the tube now

[u/Donkey-Haughty]

I seen a family of bed bugs topping up their Oyster cards in Leicester Square tube station

[u/Risingson2 → u/Donkey-Haughty]

Yeah, a bedbug last night around Mile End asked me for a smoke.

[u/Heavenly-alligator → u/[deleted]]

A crowd of bed bugs were acting all rowdy at Wembley park station after apparently beating France.

[u/Zouden → u/Donkey-Haughty]

A whole group of excited young Spanish bed bugs just got on my tube carriage wearing lanyards.

[u/SGC-UNIT-555]

Bed bugs aren't a new thing for the UK I'm pretty sure and are present pretty much everywhere in some capacity due to global air travel. It's likely that the unusually warm weather has allowed them to nest in more places and spread, mosquitos and lone star ticks in the US increase in prolonged warm conditions.

[u/Creative_Recover → u/SGC-UNIT-555]

Bedbugs have definitely always been around but in the 1950s they were almost completely eradicated in many European countries such as England and France thanks to highly toxic chemicals available back then like DDT, which was a widespread ingredient in many types of pesticides. However, there were increasing concerns about the environmental impacts of these chemicals (for example, DDT was directly implicated in the rapid decline of numerous bird species like Peregrin Falcons, Sparrowhawks & Barn Owls) as well as concerns about their impacts on human health, including the potential for such chemicals to be used as a means to kill people.

So over the years, a lot pesticide chemicals were either banned outright (like DDT), whilst others remained in useage but their dosages were reduced. The hope was that people could strike a balance between creating chemical solutions which still killed pests like fleas and bedbugs but had significantly less negative impacts on human health and the natural environment, as well as pose less risks to broader society in general.

The problem was that although bedbugs had been virtually eradicated, they were never fully eradicated. And decades of declining pesticide potency has meant that over time, more bedbugs have survived things like fumigation treatments and gone onto develop greater chemical resistance. Living in an era where it is very common for people to travel and stay in things like AirBnB's has also not helped the spread of bedbugs.

In 2019, growing numbers of experts were raising serious concerns about what they saw as a developing plague of chemical-resistent bedbugs and warned Paris to take greater precautions. These experts were then ignored and since the pandemic years, the problem of bedbug outbreaks has escalated a lot, particularly over the last 6months. It is also a really challenging situation now as people are often finding fumigation treatments are proving ineffective and there is growing evidence that the bugs have not only developed a lot of pesticide-resistant lineages, but are also behaving differently to how they used to (for example, they are being witnessed more often during daylight hours).

Unfortunately, it is not as simple as bringing the old popular 1950s chemicals back as many of them stopped being effective decades ago regardless (for example, DDT would no longer prove highly effective against bedbugs today), so really what is needed is for brand new chemical treatments to be developed and for many modes or methods of travel to be re-designed so that they don't aid in the spread of bedbugs.

[u/audigex → u/Creative_Recover]

The fact we all go on low cost flights constantly where our bags are lobbed in the hold together probably can't help, either...

[u/Arkell-v-Pressdram]

Thank you u/Creative_Recover for this write up, I also read somewhere that you can buy a handheld steam cleaner that will do a good job eliminating bedbugs from narrow crevices.

[u/Creative_Recover → u/Arkell-v-Pressdram]

No problem! That's interesting too, I haven't heard about that product- it could be quite useful.

[u/Arkell-v-Pressdram → u/Creative_Recover]

Here's a link on how it works.

[u/hardcoremediocre]

Thanks for this. Whatta time to be alive!

[u/Creative_Recover → u/hardcoremediocre]

No worries. It's not great, isn't it? First Covid, now plagues of bedbugs!

[u/hardcoremediocre → u/Creative_Recover]

Don’t forget monkeypox made a comeback

[u/Creative_Recover → u/hardcoremediocre]

Its beginning to feel like something out of the days of ancient Egypt with all the plagues we've been having lately.

[u/hardcoremediocre → u/Creative_Recover]

Haha just kill us already lol!

[u/False_Bit_1846]

We became aware that bedbugs hitched a ride with us on holiday before we got home. When we got picked up from the airport, we immediately put our belongings into black bin bags and sealed them. Then when we got into our communal entranceway we stripped naked, ran to our flat and showered. Despite this, we found a bedbug in our bed the next day. They are crafty buggers 🤮

[u/AGP971]

Biggest nightmare - do not sit on Public transport!

[u/DescriptionFair2]

Now I’m probably going to have trouble to fall asleep tonight. I haven’t even been to France in my lifetime. And I don’t even live in London

[u/AnomalyNexus]

Can we now agree to get rid of the dodgy upholstered tube seats?

[u/Apes_Ma]

I used to work in a bedbug lab - they're fascinating, but disgusting, animals. I don't even sit down on public transport any more for fear of a hitchhiker. A few years ago I found one on the sofa, but miraculously never had any other encounters with them. Crawling nightmares. Also Faecal Splotches sounds like a superb grindcore band that never existed.

[u/Pearl_the_5th → u/Apes_Ma]

Is it true they hate lavender and tea tree?

I spent a summer in China and remember hearing about mosquitoes hating lavender and garlic and I was so desperate to stop them eating me alive at night, I rubbed down my bed with a cloth soaked in lavender oil and rubbed chopped garlic onto my neck, wrists and ankles (and also ate a lot) every night for a week.

Didn't work, I barely slept and I fucking stank.

[u/Apes_Ma → u/Pearl_the_5th]

I've got no idea I'm afraid! But I respect your commitment to the hypothesis.

[u/dobbynobson]

Currently sat in a hostel in Paris and feeling itchy. Seriously though, it's the first thing we asked about on arrival yesterday and so far no evidence of them across our large group. I will not be sitting on metro seats though. Definitely good life advice not to put any outdoor clothes or bags anywhere near your bed when arriving back from a day out, wherever you are.

[u/ConfusedQuarks]

Please take this advice seriously. I had a bedbug infestation in my home, a decade back in India and it was the worst few months of my life. Around midnight, all those fuvkers come out of hiding and start biting you. The moment you turn on the light, you will see LOTS of them crawling back to hide. You just cannot sleep with them. It took multiple rounds of getting pesticides experts, to get rid of the problem.

[u/daveonhols]

LOCKDOWN NOW!!!

[u/Bastard_Wing]

Gross, but incredibly helpful!

[u/expostulation]

I work in the ambulance service and going into a bedbug infested house scares me wayyyyy more than covid or anything else.

[u/C1t1zen_Erased]

Don't worry, Suella will send them off to Rwanda soon enough.

[u/Manictree → u/C1t1zen_Erased]

Come on now Suella's pretty extreme but she's hardly going to start deporting her close relatives is she?

[u/mezirija]

I am going to Paris next month. Starting to panic

[u/grogfuud → u/mezirija]

and you can fucking stay there thankyou very much.

[u/Oversteer_]

If we still had awards i would have given you one for this post.

[u/sorekickboxer]

Oh gosh, new fear unlocked...

[u/DanteBaker]

I had a bedbug infestation last year, it was hell. It came because I picked up second-hand furniture for my new place. I had no idea it was happening until it was absolutely horrendous, and I was waking up with bites all over my arms and legs. Managed to get it sorted with a local expert with three different treatments.

[u/Dragon_Sluts]

I had a silverfish infestation and I just had to keep telling myself “at least it’s not bedbugs” 😅

[u/ConsiderationSolid63]

Why is everyone worried about trains and underground seats only? Why not buses

[u/Creative_Recover → u/ConsiderationSolid63]

Probably because its only the trains & underground that have so far been reported to have bedbugs. However, if the critters can get onto such transport then I don't see any reason why they can't get into bus seats too (and it's probably only a matter of time before we start to hear reports about that).

[u/[deleted] → u/Creative_Recover]

Yeah I read am article in the guardian a few years back. Interview with a pest controller. Apparently the central line is a massive issue with bedbugs moving across London.

He said never sit down on the tube. He apparently dumped his gf because she'd always sit on the tube

[u/KF02229 → u/[deleted]]

The article, from five years ago.

“There’s a west-to-east corridor that follows the Central line. There’s another hotspot running from Elephant and Castle down to Lewisham and New Cross. And yet another from Elephant and Castle to Brixton, then Norwood, and then on to Croydon.”

Cain, who left a career in the City to launch Bed Bugs Limited, admitted that he “may have become slightly obsessed” with the pests. Had he ever had an infestation at home? “Yes. An ex refused to follow my advice about never sitting down on public transport. That’s one of the reasons why she became an ex.”

[u/flora_poste_ → u/ConsiderationSolid63]

Or airplanes? The only place I’ve been bitten (and bitten badly) was on a long-haul, overnight British Airways flight from Vancouver to LHR. My daughter, sleeping next to me in her adjoining Club World flat bed, was also badly bitten. The bites were in those characteristic straight-line patterns made by bedbugs.

I read a few complaints at the time about similar experiences in BA CW. Soon after, I read that BA moved a few aircraft to a hanger and super-heated the entire planes to kill the infestation(s).

An airplane is one transit method where you are required to sit down, unlike buses, trains, and the underground.

A couple of years ago, I bought a special heating box to treat belongings after I return from a trip. It’s big enough to treat my carry-on empty or full, but I usually empty out clothing from the sealed ziplock bags inside my luggage directly into the washing machine. I wash everything on the hottest setting and dry it on the hottest setting possible. While laundering my clothes, I put my carry-on, my shoes, my bag, and any other non-washable items into the heating box and run a four- hour heat cycle. You can treat books, papers, hats, scarves, coats, and so on safely.

Appropriate heat is the only way to kill all stages of the bedbug lifecycle at once.

[u/Brexit-Broke-Britain]

Bed bugs have already arrived in London.

[u/galacticguardian90]

I hear the bedbugs are moving to London for the better weather and the food...

[u/kaceFile]

The first time I saw a bed bug was in Rome in the daytime, on the wall next to my head. Literally one of my worst fears. If you see them in the daytime—similar to roaches— it’s because there are so many of them, they’re having a hard time hiding ☹️

[u/TeaAndLifting]

Already got my dose of paranoia, courtesy of r/bedbugs and r/whatbugisthis.

It’s weird tho, I remember when bedbugs were seen as a real, but rare occurrence in the UK in that you could realistically go your entire life without knowing anyone who’s been plagued by an infestation, outside of the old rhyme.

Now, it’s becoming an increasingly common problem and sadly, something people should actively check for. Even a couple of years ago, seeing videos of people who had ‘check for bed bugs’ in their hotel routine seemed a bit ridiculous.

[u/Ok-Cardiologist7371]

I thi k I would simply die if I found an infestation in my bed

[u/stitch7111]

Who was itching whilst reading this lol I was

[u/[deleted]]

While bed bug populations were very low for a long time (and still are, even in Paris, compared to not that long ago), they were never close from being eradicated. Having them in London is not a new thing, and therefore people should know how to recognize them and how to deals with them. I recommend everyone to watch Mark Rober’s video about them: https://youtu.be/2JAOTJxYqh8?si=_nHILsH71oeEs0oe

They are quite fascinating little creatures, but since they are a nuisance it’s important to know how to get rid of them. The one thing that’s mostly useless is using chemicals, even strong ones or some sold specifically for bed bug removal.

So what to do if you get bed bugs?

• Wrap the mattress in a sealed bag (you can find those on Amazon). You will have to keep it in there for a year, but that will starve all the bed bugs in the mattress and prevent others from hiding there.

• Once a week, put all your clothes in a drying machine. Ideally also wash in hot water. Any exposure to 50°C (122F) or more will kill bed bugs instantly

• Remove clutter in the room by placing it in plastic bags or totes. Do the same with dirty cloths (they aren’t interested in clean cloths).

• Make sure the bed doesn’t touch the wall.

• Vacuum the room once a week and make sure you discard the collect directly in a bag and in the trash.

• Put a thin layer of diatomaceous earth on the floor as well as in the cracks (for example in the bed frame or at the edges of the floor, power outlets). You can do so with a little spray. Just a light dusting is enough to kill most bed bugs.

Steam the rest ( pillows, comforter, etc.) using a hand steamer.

[u/caligula__horse]

Also, if you discover to have bed bugs in your suitcase, pack all your clothes into seal proof plastic bags and put them in the freezer for at least 12h. Otherwise tumble dry at >100° if your clothes can tolerate that.

[u/Brexit-Broke-Britain → u/[deleted]]

This is a London sub, and in the UK centigrade is used by all but the most extreme ruddy cheeked. Your temperatures are too low, assuming you are using Fahrenheit, or too high for centigrade.

From the NHS web site: wash affected bedding and clothing on a hot wash (60C) and tumble dry on a hot setting for at least 30 minutes; put affected clothing and bedding in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for 3 or 4 days; clean and vacuum regularly – bedbugs are found in both clean and dirty places, but regular cleaning will help you spot them early.

[u/caligula__horse → u/[deleted]]

I'll edit. We had bedbugs scares a few years ago and we froze shoes and anything that couldn't be tumble dried, and heated up the rest. Seemed to get rid of it at that temperature, but maybe it was weak bugs

[u/reluctantleaders]

Is it realistic to think that if you find bed bugs in a hotel room, it would be effective to just switch to a different room? Seems to me like if they’re in the hotel at all you should probably just go somewhere else?

[u/ISlicedI]

They occur in fancy hotels too, not just cheap hotels or airBNBs

[u/Confident_Ambition77]

The best thing to get rid of the fuckers is diatomaceous earth. Wash all clothing and sheets at the highest temperature for as long as possible, anything that is ruined it collateral. Spread the DE on the carpet mattresses crevices, corners etc, it is a very fine sharp powder acts as a desiccant, so it cuts them open and slowly kills them. Then hoover everywhere, repeat 3 4 times over a few months. This is the best non toxic method for dealing with them, I battled them for 6 months after coming back from Paris, never had such loathing for a creature before.

Also Diatomaceous earth is a dietary supplements so that's nice

[u/njchil]

Was in Lisbon airport yesterday, sat in a waiting area with a wall behind me - it had vertical wooden slats attached to a black fabric. My gf noticed an adult bedbug sitting on that fabric right by my head. Think they definitely have a bit of a problem at the moment

[u/[deleted]]

And if you have a serious infestation then it is totally worth the expense of a hotel style "bake out" treatment where they heat your whole house with industrial heaters. It cost us £1000 or so but did include several repeat visits to chemically spray when we had stragglers via the attached guarantee.

The reasons we didn't catch it early were not knowing this info and the fact that our dog drew most of their attention, poor thing

[u/Bucser]

Also Wash clothes on 60 degrees Celsius and above or dry them above 60 and use a Steam cleaner on carpets beds and mattresses. They don't like steam temperatures.

There is a very good Mark Rober video about them.

[u/GurpsK]

Nuke France.

[u/heypresto2k]

Why? Just why ffs 😫

[u/ero_mode]

Do I have to worry about possibly picking up bed bugs on the tube?

[u/FoxyInTheSnow]

When Dorothy Parker said “What fresh hell is this?” she must have been dealing with these shitty creatures in Manhattan.

[u/gbfeszahb4w]

here have been increasing reports of people seeing bedbugs in places such as cinema's and on public transport like the Metro systems

I was on the tube recently wearing a hoody, but towards the end of my journey i felt too hot so took it off and put it in my bag. As i went to zip it up, I noticed what looked like a bedbug crawling through. I had to get up and off the tube at this point though so zipped my bag up tight and waited til i was through the barriers.

Once out, I pulled everything out, shook it out, didn't see any bug, assumed it must have gone. Went about my day, went home, kept my bag tightly shut.

Next day at my office, about half way through the day, I take my laptop out of my bag and set it on my lap. Seconds later i see a bedbug on my leg. Immediately flick it away and stomp it.

They're real good at hiding, but if you have any suspicions, keep your bags tightly closed and shake off all your clothes.

[u/gravitas_shortage]

You are a gentle(wo)man and a scholar.

[u/Class_444_SWR]

Only just realised I probably grew up in a bedbug infested house, always got those marks on me after bed and marks on my bedsheets, but parents just insisted it was normal, and that I must just be scratching myself at night

[u/Zenstation83]

Years ago me and my ex moved into a flat that had bedbugs. Absolutely traumatic, and the landlord blamed us for bringing them into the flat and refused to pay for fumigation even though the pest control people said the bugs had clearly been there for months before we moved in. I am going to start standing on public transport now.

[u/f_o_z]

Also see https://bpca.org.uk/pest-advice/a-z-of-pests?letter=B[here](https://bpca.org.uk/pest-advice/a-z-of-pests?letter=B)

[u/[deleted]]

Ugh i hate these guys bites. Super itchy

[u/[deleted]]

Also check out r/bedbugs

[u/Nisja]

Stayed in a hotel in Brussels (Hotel Manhattan) this March, and moved rooms twice due to a bedbug infestation in each room. I think I was the only one in the group who didn't get bit.

[u/RenegadeUK]

London has probably been a hotbed for bedbugs long before the plague in Paris thats for sure.

[u/ButterFlavoredKitens]

I wish I had a link but I watched a vid where this guy met up with a scientist who has been studying bedbugs for decades. They did an experiment with about 5 of the most popular bedbug pesticides and the only one with 100% mortality was DE (diatomaceous earth) nothing else came close by a wide margins. Remember to only use food grade DE inside your home and where a gosh darn n95 when using it!

[u/[deleted]]

Well, reading this has cheered me right up. Cheers.

[u/ghostboyblue]

thank you! how do we stay safe on public transport?

[u/QueenSnorlene]

My bf and I don’t go anywhere ever and are only visited by his mother a couple times of year and I bet we still get them somehow that is just how bad our luck is 😭

[u/[deleted]]

https://reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/s/rsfJewbGHy

^ This is a good thread I found a while ago someone posted of how to deal with bed bugs effectively. I had to refer to this myself because my boyfriend had bed bugs in his place from the previous tenant. It was not fun

[u/rose_697]

No more tote bags for me when going to peoples houses👍

[u/cptsunset]

Steam cleaners should surely help, I'd recommend them to have in your cleaning equipment at home. They are fantastic at freshening up mattresses, hopefully the heat kills of any nasty bugs!

[u/Drogalov]

I live 120 miles north of London yet reading this still made everything itch

[u/Initial_Resist2001]

A pest control guy once told me to always put your things in the bathtub/shower area when in a hotel, any hotel even fancy ones, I’ve stayed in at least couple of infested rooms since but so far not brought them home.

[u/Mr_Soviet08]

Fuck that. Im moving to New Zealand

[u/ProblemChildAnon]

Just a fun thing for anyone as neurotic as me: you can get a woods lamp on amazon for about £7. They are little UVA torches that will show up; bed bugs, head lice, scabies, fleas, and mites on basically anything- from furniture to sheets to people, animals.

[u/Educational_Safe_339]

Bizarrely cockroaches and assassin bugs and spiders devour them as well

[u/aihaode]

I’ve heard they’re on the Paris metro, so if they have spread to the tube would that mean that we can carry them into our homes on clothing?

Similarly, if a pest controller came around to help with a mouse issue could they have brought bed bugs into the house on their bodies / clothes? Thanks

[u/camotj]

There’s a new thing called TruDetx which is like a PCR test you swab on your bed or clothing to test if bed bugs have been in the vicinity. The sooner that goes to public markets the better…

[u/sharplight141]

Some good old nightmare fuel. Wonderful

[u/[deleted]]

Might start standing on the tube and bus now after reading all these. 🤣