People not being able to afford exterminators is part of the rise of bed bugs in Paris

In 10 years, Alexandre Woog has never seen anything like it.

The Paris-based pest exterminator is getting more calls than ever.

He says inquiries were up 10-fold in September, when compared with data from 2022.

"It's so crazy that we have to engage new employees and we [our books] are full," he said.

"It's a really crazy situation."

Videos and pictures of bed bugs in the French capital have swamped social media.

While autumn is typically the worst time for infestations, anecdotal evidence suggests there's something different about this year.

Pictures of the pests on public transport and in cinemas, schools and offices have prompted officials to step in.

Transport Minister Clément Beaune announced on social media he was summoning industry powerbrokers in a bid to "reassure and protect" travellers.

Paris, an international tourist mecca set to host the Olympics and Paralympics next year, is consistently ranked among the world's most expensive cities to live in by various metrics.

A 2021 report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which compared the costs of more than 200 goods and services in 173 cities, rated Paris the second priciest.

Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire told TV station LCI that while "no one is safe" from the insects, low-income households couldn't afford to pay exterminators.

"It's hell when someone finds themselves confronted with this," he said.

That's something assistant professor Zachary DeVries, from the University of Kentucky's entomology department, agrees with.

"People who have lots of money can pay people to get rid of them but people in disadvantaged communities find that more difficult," he said.

"We have yet to find an over-the-counter product that you can buy from a store that has any efficacy against bed bugs."

Mr Woog said while his company's prices were competitive, there were many people who couldn't afford professionals to cleanse their home.

"They have to live with the bugs. So that's a problem because they can bring it into everywhere [else]," he said.

According to government data, about 10 per cent of households in the country reported bed bugs — or punaises, in French — between 2017 and 2022.

The critters are adept at hiding in small, enclosed spaces including mattresses, clothing, drawers and luggage.

While they are not considered dangerous to humans, they rely on blood to survive, and their bites can be painful.

Dr DeVries said while bed bugs had been documented in early cave paintings, the pests largely disappeared from the 1950s to the late 90s.

"There's a good deal of evidence that suggests that pesticide resistance is a major factor in their resurgence," he said.

Found in new locations across Paris

Berlin-based TikToker Jihoon Kim found out the hard way after a recent trip on the Paris underground train network.

"It's so freaking itchy," she told her 2 million followers in a video this week, showing dozens of bites on her arms and legs.

"I've been checking all my bags to make sure I don't carry any of them home.

"Be careful on the metro. I took the metro once, I was in jorts [jean shorts], and look at my legs."

Dr DeVries said posts like Ms Jihoon's were unusual.

"I've seen a couple of the videos, and I don't know how representative those are, but some of them with the public transportation are pretty amazing with how many bugs are on there," he said.

"You just don't you don't normally see multiple bugs crawling around on the back of a seat on a train or taxi or a bus."

Mr Woog, the founder of extermination company ERADIQ, said his business was taking calls from corporate clients for the first time.

"That's very new because usually we don't have to treat them there [in offices]," he said.

"It's something we've seen on social [media] network for example you see the videos from the train or the cinema in Paris.

"We have had many people call us because they brought bed bugs home from the cinema. That's very new.

"Also, we have had many schools that we have had to treat because of the bed bugs."

Quantifying any potential rise in bed bugs in Paris this year is difficult, however, according to Dr DeVries, people are often not only dealing with an infestation but a "deep-rooted fear" of this particular pest.

"There's just something about a thing that gets into your bed and feeds on you while you sleep, and that's very difficult to get rid of, that really gets under people's skin," he said.

"Getting rid of them is not always the most challenging thing that I have to do, it's dealing with people after I've gotten rid of them, and getting them to truly believe that the problem has been solved.

"Dealing with the psychological aspects of it can be a lot more challenging than dealing with the bugs themselves."

Story by Riley Stuart

Original story link https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-05/paris-bed-bugs-prompt-politicians-to-step-in/102936052?fbclid=IwAR2pNDR7tjII6r6B5qiZYFxJ_wOf0bu7khWVTGm7229UEFUh_-_XEgf5QTg