Health
Paris hotels prepare for bed bugs before the Olympics
Bed bug detection dogs work both preventatively and when there is a specific suspicion of a bed bug infestation. photo
© Frank Molter/dpa
Recently in France there has been a lot of fuss about the spread of bed bugs. Ahead of the Olympic Games in the summer, hotels in Paris are now relying on sniffer dogs to fight the parasites.
A few months ago there was great excitement in France about the spread of Bed bugs, Paris hotels are now preparing to combat the parasites before the Olympic Games in the summer.
Numerous insect controllers in the greater capital area have already received more and more reservations for hotel rooms to be inspected with sniffer dogs, the newspaper “Le Parisien” reported. Hoteliers go to great lengths to ensure that their accommodations are free of bed bugs.
The hotels didn’t want negative advertising with a photo of a bed bug on a booking platform, so they organized a check of the rooms as a preventive measure, said the president of the Syndicate of Experts in the Detection of Bed Bugs by Dogs, Sébastien Pizzocaro, to the newspaper. “This allows early infestations to be detected before the arrival of the large waves of tourists.” Around 30 euros were charged per room examined. If bed bugs were actually found, insect control officers could use steam treatment to eradicate them.
The Summer Games are planned from July 26th to August 11th, 2024, and the Paralympic Games will follow from August 28th to September 8th, 2024.
Bed bug hysteria
Last summer there was a real hysteria about bed bugs in France. People increasingly reported the presence of alleged or actual bed bugs from trains, cinemas and other places – often accompanied by photos of the parasites. As authorities recently announced, the prevalence of bed bugs in France has actually increased in recent years. Between 2017 and 2022, an estimated eleven percent of all French households were affected by bed bugs.
The bedbugs, which virtually disappeared decades ago, are also an issue again in Germany, partly due to the amount of travel. The bugs suck blood and live in inhabited, enclosed spaces. They hide in beds, furniture joints or cracks. Bed bugs are now resistant to virtually all over-the-counter insecticides. Professional help is therefore often necessary to eliminate them.