The city of love isn’t looking so romantic right now.
It’s official: Bed bugs have toppled the city of Paris and are ruling from the abandoned buildings of Versailles.
OK, not exactly — but the feisty little bloodsuckers are reportedly all over the city, crawling across train seats, movie theater floors, and subway stations, if recent reports are to be believed. (Many of those reports include video, which is convincing, but we cannot confirm the insects captured on camera are all indeed bed bugs.) Now, Paris officials are scrambling to get a handle on the extent of the issue, while also trying to soothe the flat-out panic that has erupted from Parisians and tourists alike.
Oh, and to add fire to these extremely upsetting flames, the 2024 Olympics are less than a year away, and are set to take place in…you guessed it, Paris. Sure, it feels far away, but just like any francophile on vacation in the city of lights, bed bugs are not easy to get rid of. It’s hard enough to eradicate them from a single hotel but from an entire city? To quote the best line from the best movie of all time: I think we’re going to need a bigger boat.
Before you cancel your winter visit to the Louvre, though, consider this reminder from The New York Times: we don’t yet have evidence that bed bugs are literally swarming the country of France. Any city will have its fair share of bed bugs at any given moment, which is to say that this sudden outbreak of bed bug fear related to Paris could be the result of a social media trend with major momentum as much as it is a sign of a serious public health emergency.
With that said the Deputy Mayor of Paris has issued a public request to Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, asking her to address the “health issue” with a comprehensive action plan to eliminate the unwelcome visitors. Another set of officials is also planning to do a tour of public transportation this week, in an effort to encourage people that the vehicles are all safe and bed bug-free (a statement which is admirably optimistic, but factually unclear at this moment).
If you’re scheduled to attend the 2024 Olympics, then now might be the time to read the fine print on your travel insurance. Otherwise, here’s a quick breakdown on how to spot bed bugs on your next weekend trip, and what to do if you think you’ve been bitten.
What are the signs of bed bugs? Here’s how to keep an eye out while you travel
Bed bugs can live literally anywhere you can because they live off of you. (Creepy? Yes. An extreme evolutionary marvel? Also yes.)
First things first: Bed bugs are visible to the human eye. Per The Washington Post, the average adult bed bug size is about the same as an apple seed, and can be oval-shaped or circular, depending on how recently they’ve fed (yep, gross). They’re often found in fabric-heavy areas, like on a mattress, in curtains, on public transportation seats, and in clothing — but they can also be found in picture frames, inside of plug sockets, and other hidden-away places.
Since beg bugs nourish themselves solely on animal blood (if you feel faint, by all means, take a seat), they’re only found in areas where animals are or have recently been — hence how common it is for bed bugs to be found in dorm rooms, hotels, and other locations with high foot traffic.
The good news is that they can’t fly or jump, so you’re not going to see them buzzing through the air. The best thing you can do to protect yourself is take a good look at your bed, sheets, curtains, and other areas mentioned above, whenever you check into a new spot. But look thoroughly — they often nest in seams. In addition to adult-sized bugs, you might find small white eggs (yuck) as well as shells and carcasses of dead bugs (also yuck). You can also take a good look at your clothing as you travel from one place to another to ensure that the bed bugs aren’t hitching a ride on the hem of your pants.
It’d be wise to also check your airplane seat — since they don’t have wings, they’ve got to board a plane to travel the world. Bed bugs: They’re just like us.
How to know if you have bed bugs
The silver lining here is, unfortunately, the same exact piece of information that you might consider bad news: If you have bed bugs, you’ll know. That’s because a bed bug bite usually leaves a pink, itchy bump on your skin, like a mosquito bite, and since there are likely many when you see signs of one, you’re likely to get multiple bites.
Per The Cleveland Clinic, you won’t feel a bed bug as it’s actually biting you because it delivers anesthetic at the time of the bite — but when you wake up the next morning and find a constellation of pink bumps all over your arms, legs, face, or neck, you’ve got a good idea of who the culprit may be.
Luckily, bed bugs don’t carry diseases the way ticks or mosquitos do, and they’re relatively harmless, in that the bites usually go away within a few days.
But if the bites happen in your home, you’re facing a major challenge in totally eradicating them, and you’ll likely have to remove some (if not all) of your furniture in the process. In which case, you’ll definitely have to call a pest control professional. A bed bug infestation in your home is not the time nor the place for you to put your DIY home improvement skills to the test.
