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Paris is crawling with bedbugs. They're even riding the trains, and a ferry. (www.cbsnews.com)

submitted 9 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

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Just 10 months before the opening of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, the French capital is battling an invasion of bedbugs.

The tiny pests were first reported in hotels and vacation rental apartments across the city during the summer. Then there were sightings in movie theaters and, in recent days, there have even been reports of bedbugs crawling around on seats in both national high-speed trains and the Paris Metro system.

One metro train driver was dismayed to find some of the unwelcome guests in his driver's cabin.

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[-] nouben@lemmy.ml 49 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Man with bedbugs PTSD here. Let me tell you what will happen if you notice bedbugs at your place :

You will call a company to get rid of it
They will tell you that they can't come in less than 2 weeks and that they will charge you 400€ min. Deal with your itches until then, sleep well.
The company will tell you their prerequisites, usually : get rid of ALL your fabric/clothes and wash it at 60°c or freeze it for 4 days at -20°c

I assure you that you never know how much fabric/clothes you have before you have to wash it ALL of it. My SO and i had forty 100L garbage bag of fucking stuff. The garbage bags are here for storage but also to keep your clothes and fabric sealed, to avoid the fuckers to either get away or get in. It will cost you money, you will lose time and about half your clothes thanks to the hot temp and shrinking.

If the infestation is too big, you will also have to fucking freeze your books if you have some (they can hide between pages), throw away your mattress and eventually your bed.

Also, the company will come at your place at least 2 times, best is 3, with a week interval. So during 2 to 3 weeks you will live among garbage bags, breathe insecticide for weeks, and eventually repeat the process in a few months cause one bedbug escaped and was hosted by your neighbor. Good luck to you ! (be brave)

Ps : if you have animals, you will also have to deal with them during 5h the day the company is at your place. Spoiler : that will cost you days off and about 1000€ in total.

[edit] typos, formatting and adding ps

[-] kale@lemmy.zip 24 points 9 months ago

You mention bedbug PTSD. That's not hyperbole. I think it's about 10% of bedbug infestations cause diagnosable conditions that meet clinical definitions of trauma or anxiety.

[-] nouben@lemmy.ml 6 points 9 months ago

me, with flashbacks, shivers and feeling of swarming while writing my previous comment : not surprised.

I just thought it would be higher

[-] The_Lurk@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

I've dealt with bed bugs three times now. It's been over a year since I've had them, but if I feel something out of the ordinary on my bed the sheets get washed, the bed gets examined and for good measure I bug bomb the room.

[-] agent_flounder@lemmy.one 44 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit

[-] ours@lemmy.film 8 points 9 months ago

New Paris Summer Olympics 2024.

[-] Luftruessel@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

space Olympics ohh

[-] Mantis_Toboggan@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

RIP space luge

[-] TokenBoomer@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago

It’s the only way to be sure!

[+] incendiaryperihelion@lemm.ee 31 points 9 months ago

[deleted]

[-] darq@kbin.social 149 points 9 months ago

I've had bedbugs before, they got into my luggage on an extended trip. And I just have to say screw bedbugs. They're absolutely miserable little things and difficult to get rid of.

At first it's not so bad. Just some itchy bites, nothing serious and they aren't a major disease vector. But they interfere with your sleep. And they mess with your mind after a while. Eventually it feels like they're crawling all over you whenever you're in bed, wherever your skin touches the linen, even if they aren't actually there.

So yeah they aren't the end of the world. But I'd do a lot to avoid them.

[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 59 points 9 months ago

Yeah and if you had an infestation that wasn’t treated probably you wind up paranoid for years.

Also they take the place you should feel safest and make it a place of discomfort and unease

[-] apprehensively_human@lemmy.ca 28 points 9 months ago

I think my mood has been permanently damaged since dealing with my infestation.

[-] LongRedCoat@kbin.social 50 points 9 months ago

The little fuckers have given me PTSD. The toll they take on your mental health is real.

[-] WarmSoda@lemm.ee 61 points 9 months ago

You've obviously never had to deal with bed bugs.
Fuck off.

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[-] GONADS125@lemmy.world 61 points 9 months ago

As someone who worked as a caseworker for adults living in various residential care facilities (RCFs) and assisted living facilities (ALFs), some infestations absolutely require professional intervention....

I've watched some facilities try to tackle them on their own with every home remedy, failing and just allowing more residents to suffer. I've hotlined facilities for their failure to manage and properly treat bed bugs.

I'm not saying it can't be done, but I have yet to see home remedies or heat treating rooms actually solve an infestation. All I saw was one room get marginally better while another room or two had them grow in numbers.

I luckily managed to dodge bringing them home all those years. Some of my team members weren't so lucky, and they had a hell of a time and spent thousands of dollars to eradicate them. One team member brought them to her house twice...

I greatly feared bringing those little bastards home, and that fear was warranted.

[-] Anamnesis@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

Wait, you're saying heat treating isn't effective? I thought that was the most effective method.

[-] GONADS125@lemmy.world 19 points 9 months ago

I'm saying it may not cut it and it can still be a real battle. Those things a pain in the ass to get rid of.. One RCF I worked with literally just shut down one of their facilities because I kept getting them in trouble with DHSS and DMH for not adequately treating the bed bugs. I had a client so covered in bites I raised so much hell... They were using the heat treatment and they just couldn't get rid of them doing it themselves instead of hiring professionals, which are expensive. This sort of situation was all too common in my region.

I'm not an expert on bed bug removal. I'm just saying the fear surrounding bed bug infestations is not unfounded. And I'm just offering skepticism of simple home treatment from what I witnessed at that job. The idea that you don't need to hire professionals just doesn't align with what I witnessed or my team member's home infestations.

[-] Morcyphr@lemmy.one 17 points 9 months ago

With the right equipment, proper preparation, and proper knowledge of use, heat treatment can be the most effective, especially on mass infestations. I've had training and used this method professionally many times effectively. But it's not a DIY home remedy.

[-] a1studmuffin@aussie.zone 19 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

This seems like bad advice. A friend of mine literally developed panic attacks due to bed bugs. His family spent so long trying to get rid of them for good, and during that whole time none of them were getting proper sleep. Once they were gone, any hint of a bite or an itch triggered him. They can take a huge mental toll in addition to physical.

[-] Nheea@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

Encountered bed bugs in an airbnb in Lisbon 2 years ago. It was probably a new infestation, there weren't too many and I wasn't affected cause I took all the precautions to not take them home with me, but I still have small panic attacks when I see a small red spot on me.

They even freaking bit my scalp. They are horrible.

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[-] incendiaryperihelion@lemm.ee 5 points 9 months ago

good bot

[-] pimento64@sopuli.xyz 12 points 9 months ago

Are you really trying to do an end run around anti-immigrant xenophobia by downplaying bedbugs?

[-] three@lemm.ee 7 points 9 months ago

nobody knows your a bed bug on the internet

[-] can@sh.itjust.works 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Sleep tight, don't let @incendiaryperihelion@lemm.ee bite

[-] ace_garp@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

16:20 timestamp - For just the effective remedies.

[-] Treczoks@lemmy.world 14 points 9 months ago

So after charging outrageous prices and general rudeness to people who happen not to speak Fench (while still bringing in loads of money), they now try bed bugs as a tourist repellent strategy. Maybe it works this time.

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[-] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 12 points 9 months ago

Public transport so good, even the insects are using it.

[-] CookieJarObserver@sh.itjust.works 6 points 9 months ago

Formaldehyd the entire city!

[-] hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 9 months ago

Do they have tickets?

[-] RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

The New Puce.

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this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2023

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