Mon Dieu... les bedbugs may have crawled their way to Bedfordshire!
AN invasion of French bedbugs is becoming a serious concern after a council warned about the ‘alarming number’ of calls it has received to tackle the insects.
The local authority in Luton told residents it ‘does not have limitless resources’ to eliminate the ‘obnoxious pests’ and explained that treating properties was not free.
That alert comes amid evidence the creatures are already on the march from Paris – with reports that they are on the London Underground and have reached as far north as Manchester.
The capital’s mayor Sadiq Khan admitted the possibility of bedbugs moving around the Tube network was a ‘real source of concern’ with seats now being cleaned ‘on a nightly basis’.
Awareness to the problem was first raised last week as it emerged Parisians were experiencing a ‘living hell’ fighting off a plague of the insects that feed on the blood of animals and humans.
Streets in some parts of France are strewn with mattresses thrown out by hotels while sniffer dogs are being used to identify hotspots.
Eurostar and Air France have pledged to disinfect trains and planes if they
‘No insecticides are completely safe’
show any sign of bedbugs to prevent them spreading abroad – but there are concerns it may be too late. Luton Council’s website stated: ‘The national problem has not missed Luton. The Pest Control Service is currently receiving an alarming number of bedbug jobs.’
Homeowners in the Bedfordshire town were told if they requested a visit from an exterminator they would need to strip beds and put everything ‘in sealed bin liners, placed in the bath’.
Wardrobes, drawers and bookcases must also be emptied and the contents stored securely. Pictures and posters have to be ‘off the walls and available for inspection’ while furniture must be pulled from walls. People and pets have to evacuate their homes while they are sprayed with insecticide, which ‘can be lengthy’.
The council, which has not released figures about the number of reports received, added: ‘You should be aware that no insecticides are completely safe and it is for this reason that the council expects full cooperation.’
An online video claimed to show a bedbug on a passenger’s leg on the London Underground.
Meanwhile, a passenger on a First Bus in Manchester posted an image showing a bug climbing up the window and called on the firm to ‘do something quickly’.
The company said it was ‘really concerning to see’ and reported it to their managing team.
Hotel chains have also started asking guests at check-in if they have recently been in France. There are particular concerns about rugby fans, who have been there for the World Cup.
Checks are being carried out at Millennium Hotels and Resorts,
which has 18 hotels in the UK. The five-star Renaissance Hotel at St Pancras Station, the London Eurostar terminus where 16 trains arrive from Paris a day, has been training staff to spot the pests.
There has been a 65 per cent increase in bedbug infestations in the year to September, according to data from pest control firm Rentokil. It blames the growth in travel and hotel bookings since the pandemic.
The British Pest Control Association said there were now roughly 12,000 call- outs related to the issue every year.
The sale of second-hand furniture, on sites such as Facebook and eBay, is also suspected to be exacerbating the problem.
Professor James Logan, an insect expert at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: ‘The insecticides we’ve used for decades to fight these bugs can’t always be relied on anymore. We also need to develop new insecticides to avoid infestations becoming commonplace again.’