As Paris struggles with a bed bug infestation, Londoners are concerned about the bugs heading to London.
Bed bugs have taken Paris by storm as viral footage has shown bed bugs crawling around Parisian trains, cinemas, and even airports.
TikTok users have posted footage of finding bed bugs in their hotel rooms, as the French capital scrambles to find a solution ahead of the 2024 Olympics.
After claiming to be bitten at a cinema in August, a victim of the bed bugs told Le Parisien: “My back was full of bites.”
The Deputy Mayor of Paris Emmanuel Grégoire has warned: “No one is safe.”
🫠 Personne n’est à l’abri.
— Emmanuel Grégoire (@egregoire) September 29, 2023
Face à l’infestation de punaises de lit, il faut des mesures coordonnées qui rassemblent les autorités sanitaires, les collectivités et toutes les parties prenantes concernées pour prévenir du risque et agir efficacement. pic.twitter.com/QRms9DSU1Y
Grégoire has also written a letter on behalf of City Hall calling on the French Prime Minister to act on the “scourge”, while the Transport Minister Clément Beaune has announced that he would convene with public transport operators next week.
With Paris Fashion Week ending, people are concerned that those heading back to London will be bringing bed bugs back with them.
Speaking to The Independent, Founder and MD of Bed Bugs LTD and microbiologist David Cain said: “People go on day trips to Paris, not even staying in hotels or other high-risk activities, and come back with them.
“Paris has been a popular link for the last six years.”
Bed bugs are everywhere, they always have been – but the issue is the possibility of them spreading like wildfire from city to city.
We spoke to X user @helloiampoppy who posted footage of a bed bug on a South Western Railway train from London.
Poppy Young said: “I had no idea it was a bedbug – I found it on my jumper when I was on the train,
“Now I’m itching since I realised it was a bedbug, but there’s been no bugs in my home luckily.”
This is not the only sighting of bedbugs in London though, as more X users have taken to the platform to claim sightings of bed bugs.
As concern rises, people are calling for stricter measures to be taken to avoid another health crisis.
A spokesperson from South Western Railway told South West Londoner that they have a vigorous system in place to keep trains clean and tidy for customers with a nightly clean and a thorough deep clean every 30 days, for up to 4 hours per carriage including a steam clean of all of the seats.
Transport for London spoke to The Independent to reassure Londoners that TFL are closely monitoring the situation through rigorous cleaning measures.
Eurostar confirmed that it was also increasing preventative treatments across its network to avoid the bed bugs traveling from Paris to London.
According to research from Merlin Environmental in 2022, London is the capital of bed bugs in the UK, but it tends to fluctuate seasonally with summer being the peak.
The NHS recommends that if you discover bed bugs in your home, you should contact pest control as soon as possible – they also have advice on washing, sealing, and cleaning affected areas.
Main image credit: Benjamin Davies
