Since the 2000s, bed bugs have made a big comeback in France. An infestation that poisons the lives of thousands of people.
Their name alone makes you chills and itches. Bedbugs, these insects sucking human blood, have set down their small paws in France. Finally, more precisely, in the bed of thousands of French people.
Although no statistical study has noted the number of victims of this pest, professionals in the sector are categorical: infestations have exploded since the 2000s. The Chambre Syndicale Disinfection, Disinsection, Rattisation (CS3D) has reported at least 200,000 infested sites.
On the way to Compostela
“In fact, bedbugs have returned since the ban on products dangerous to humans such as DDT”, explains Stéphane Bras, spokesperson for the CS3D. In fact, this scourge was eradicated in the 1950s with this neurotoxic product. But this poison, proven for the environment, was banned in the 1970s.
Since then, the bugs have proliferated all over the world, “taking advantage of international trade in food and people,” explains Stéphane Bras. Today, they are found everywhere. Hotels, cinemas, transport, retirement homes… All the places where people will be able to rest ”. They are also very present in tourist places such as the Camino de Santiago. The phenomenon is such that sites provide advice to pilgrims and publish testimonies.
Two years without feeding
In addition to the red, aligned pimples that appear when you wake up on the back, arms or legs, their presence is noticeable by small spots of blood on the sheet. At the foot of the bed, small black marks, similar to ink stains, may indicate their presence. “The latter testify to the digestion of their blood meal”, explains the professional. On the other hand, bed bugs do not rhyme with dirt. They are not the sign of unsanitary conditions.
If the box spring or the mattress are their privileged home, their small size – between 4 and 7 mm – allows them to hide in the sofa, the parquet baseboards, the wallpaper, the electrical outlets… Either all the dark places where they will be protected from light.
And they can stay there for a long time. “Females can survive without feeding for 2 years,” says Stéphane Bras. And unlike mosquitoes that disturb summer nights, bedbugs are active all year round.
Extermination
An unwanted presence that can drive you crazy. Especially since some people think they can do it alone. “Above all, do not believe that the problem will go away on its own. Or that it will work with off-the-shelf products. These will especially promote the dispersal of bedbugs, ”warns the specialist.
The exterminator then becomes your best ally. With insecticides and / or smoke, the professional will intervene twice. “The products have no effect on the eggs, so you have to spend a second time three weeks after their first passage to destroy the larvae”, describes the specialist, who advises to be wary of companies that promise optimal efficiency. Between these passages, vacuuming several times a week becomes essential. And each time, you have to throw away the bag.
Heat and cold can also be very effective. In particular, it is advisable to store clothes in the freezer at -18 ° C for at least 72 hours to destroy these critters. Bed linen and clothing should also be machine washed at 60 ° C. Above 47 ° C, these insects die. Some exterminators also use these thermal techniques to overcome them.
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