Bed bug infestation

An invasion of bed bugs has different cities in France, triggering a new outbreak of insectophobia.

Cimex lectularius known as 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐠𝐬 are reddish-brown insects, about 5-7 mm long, that 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦-𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬. They are most active at night and tend to hide during daytime in tiny cracks, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝. Bed bugs are notorious for their ability to infest hotels and homes. Although, they cannot diseases, their bites can cause itching, discomfort, and sometimes allergic reactions. Female bed bugs are likely to 𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐬 over a lifetime, which can live for about 𝟏𝟎 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫.

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐠𝐬 to new locations in clothing or luggages. This propagation is facilitated by the pest’s ability to 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝. Usually, at the end of summer, there is a significant increase in the number of bed bugs due to vacation travels. Bed bugs are making a 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞-𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. Due to their elusive nature, dealing with a bed bug infestation can be difficult and time-consuming.

There are ways to stop prevent bad bugs or to get rid of them by taking steps at home, such as 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 or putting them in a bag and 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬. However, for a 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝.