Bedbugs tips

There’s a joke in certain circles, that whenever something goes wrong in Paris, we blame Emily. I think you know of whom I speak.

Fake signs warnings of bedbug infestations are being used to deter tourists in Athens, Greece.

I've never had bedbugs, and I plan to keep it that way.

While bedbugs have grabbed headlines lately, the tiny bloodsuckers are more icky than dangerous. In fact, “the deadliest animal in the world is the mosquito,” says Molly Keck, an entomologist who specializes in pest management at Texas A&M AgriLife. Creepy crawlies—insects, arachnids, worms, and more—are everywhere. 

Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d write: bedbugs have taken over the city of Paris, and we are now faced with the prospect that the outbreak could travel overseas. The infestation began just before Paris Fashion Week (yes, these bugs have good taste), when reports broke of increased sightings of the insects in homes, cinemas, trains and even hospitals. Now, questions are being asked about the safety of traveling to and from Paris; what we can do to prevent the spread, and whether the critters are already settling in our mattresses. Below, we answer all your questions about travel and the bedbug spread.

A “widespread” increase of bedbugs has been reported in the French capital, prompting the government to pledge measures to “reassure and protect” the people. Clement Beaune, the French minister of transport, has said that he will hold a meeting this week to “take additional measures” to safeguard the public from the alleged increase in the number of insects.

After bedbug sightings on trains and cinemas in France, an expert is warning that the blood-sucking parasites could be hitching a ride to the UK on the Eurostar.

The talk of Paris Fashion Week this year has been the little, brown bug — bedbugs. The pests have popped up in trains, airports and movie theaters, fanning fears that they may also be lurking in hotels, an echo of New York City’s mid-2000s bedbug panic. The cities and decades may be different, but the scourge is eternal.

With the Paris Olympics less than a year away, French authorities want to make sure the bedbugs don’t bite during the games and have started a drive to exterminate the pests.

Paris is battling a major bedbug infestation, with reports of the bloodsucking pests being spotted in the French capital's movie theaters, trains, and at Charles-de-Gaulle Airport.

Sightings of bedbugs on French trains have spiked in recent weeks.

If you’re planning on visiting any of these destinations, you should read up on how to spot bedbugs in your hotel room (and what to do about it). Pest control company Orkin just released its list of the top cities for bedbugs, using data from both residential and commercial (i.e., vacation rentals and hotels) calls. Orkin noted which destinations had more bedbug outbreaks (Los Angeles, for example, moved up two spots on the list), and which had fewer (good job, New York, dropping four places).