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.

    • darq@kbin.social
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      1 year 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
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        1 year 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

        • WarmSoda@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          I am nice. Bed bugs are not nice.
          The video this person linked to advocates to “simply” wrap your bed and all of your clothes in plastic for a year.
          How is that something that’s not horrible?

          These bugs will ruin your sleep, your health, and your home, along with anyone else’s home they catch a ride on, and do cause PTSD. Downplaying them is stupid.

          • Sanctus@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Anyone whose dealt with a bad bedbug infestation can tell you just how horrible they really are. If you don’t deal with them quickly they infect every non-hard surface in your home. You usually have to vacate your home and leave extreme heaters running for an entire 24-48 hours to get rid of them and even that is not a guarantee. I had drenched my entire room in chemical killer and literal hundreds crawled up onto the walls to get away. Fucking terrifying and disgusting. I don’t let people in my house anymore if I don’t know where you’ve been.

    • GONADS125@lemmy.world
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      1 year 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
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        1 year ago

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

        • GONADS125@lemmy.world
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          1 year 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
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          1 year 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.

    • pimento64@sopuli.xyz
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      1 year ago

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

    • a1studmuffin@aussie.zone
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      1 year 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
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        1 year 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.