Yes, Paris still has bedbugs days before the Olympics. Here's what to know
As millions prepare to attend the 2024 Olympics in Paris, some are concerned about unwanted spectators: bedbugs.
Just nine months ago, in October 2023, a bedbug crisis in the French capital made international headlines and sparked panic after videos of the insects crawling on the Paris metro went viral online. As the outbreak drew widespread media attention, French officials pledged to take action against bedbugs, or "punaises de lit."
Although the panic calmed down, Paris's bedbug scare stoked fears about infestations during the Olympic Games, which begin on Friday, July 26. The boom in tourism and surge in crowds means more hosts for the bloodsucking pests.
The tiny, flat, parasitic insects feed on people’s blood at night while they sleep, per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While bedbugs don’t spread diseases, they can cause itchy bites, sleep issues and psychological distress.
The thought of bedbugs alone is a nightmare for most people, but are the pests still a cause for concern in Paris? Could there be a bedbug crisis during the 2024 Olympics?
Are bedbugs still a problem in Paris?
Bedbugs are found almost anywhere their hosts live. “The situation in Paris is the same as everywhere in the world. Where man goes, the bedbugs go since they move with us, ” Dr. Jean-Michel Bérenger, a medical entomologist and France’s leading bedbug expert, tells TODAY.com.
"They are domesticated and live in our homes," Bérenger adds.
Infestations were common in many households up until the 1950s, when they all but disappeared due to advancements in pesticides, according to the National Pesticide Information Center.
In recent decades, there has been a global resurgence of bedbugs in urban environments, including major cities in the U.S. and Europe, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Factors include increases in travel and resistance to pesticides.
A 2023 study by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) found that 11% of French households were infested with bedbugs between 2017 and 2022 — up from 7% in 2014.
"All large cities where tourism is very developed are more impacted, and Paris is not an exception," says Bérenger, adding that bedbug infestations are growing moderately in France and have yet to peak.
Bérenger says the bedbug scare last fall was largely overblown. "The situation was not more serious, even if it is true that we have not yet reached a plateau of infestations. ... There was a disproportionate media frenzy," he explains.
One French minister said that the bedbug scare was "amplified" by social media accounts linked to Russian disinformation activities, Reuters previously reported.
Although Bérenger says the uproar was "unjustified panic," he points out one positive outcome. "People have learned to recognize the bedbug," he says.
In any case, bedbugs are still in Paris and not going anywhere soon.
Bedbugs often dwell near where people sleep. The apple seed-sized insects hide in bed frames, box springs, the seams of mattresses, headboards, cushions and dark crevices of furniture.
In addition to homes, bedbugs can infest public places such as offices, schools or cinemas, as well as public transport. “You can encounter bedbugs anywhere,” Matt Frye, Ph.D., an entomologist with the New York State Pest Management Program at Cornell University, tells TODAY.com.
Will bedbugs worsen at the Olympics?
The summer is always a busy time for tourism in Paris, and the Olympics will draw an additional surge of attendees from around the world. The French government is anticipating 15 million visitors between late July and early September, NBC News reported.
"Any population movement is favorable to bedbugs since they move with us. The arrival of millions of tourists from all over the planet is a risk in favor of bedbugs,” says Bérenger.
What's more, shared accommodations where people come and go often — such as hotels, hostels, apartments and even the Olympic Village — are risk factor for the spread of bedbugs, per ANSES. Bedbug infestations have been linked to the travel and hospitality industries for decades.
How is Paris preparing for bedbugs?
"Many hotels have anticipated (bedbugs) and inspected their establishment by canine detection to be healthy before the Olympics," says Bérenger. "Pest controllers have also worked in this direction to clean up infested establishments."
Due to their reclusive nature and nocturnal feeding patterns, it can be difficult to detect live bedbugs, TODAY.com previously reported. It can take weeks to discover an infestation and even longer to get rid of one, experts say.
There is no quick fix for exterminating bedbugs, per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the most effective approach is often a combination of chemical and non-chemical methods.
While there is no link between a household income and bedbugs, income is a factor in the persistence of an infestation, which can cost up to thousands of dollars to treat, according to ANSES.
Can bedbugs travel on planes?
Bedbugs can make their way onto airplanes and travel with their hosts. "It is one of the main factors which favored their expansion (in addition to) tourism, international trade, etc.," says Bérenger.
The tiny insects can hitchhike on passengers' luggage or clothing, and may be found in airports, plane seats or overhead storage, TODAY.com previously reported.
In the right conditions, bedbugs can survive for up to several months between blood meals, Frye says. They can also survive at temperatures as low as 46 degrees Fahrenheit, per the EPA.
Bedbugs can also infest trains, buses, taxis and shuttles, says Frye, so it's possible to pick them up on the way to or from the airport.
“While exposure to bedbugs might happen, the ultimate goal is to avoid bringing bedbugs into your home," Frye explains.
Bedbugs can expand to new environments by traveling with their hosts and establishing themselves where a person settles or unpacks, especially if a pregnant female bug happens to hitch a ride.
The good news? "Typically only one or a very small number of bugs make it to new locations," says Frye.
How to find bedbugs
“The first thing is to know how to recognize a bedbug in order to act quickly, guaranteeing better success," says Berenger.
According to the EPA, adult bedbugs are typically:
5–7 millimeters long
Flat and oval-shaped
Brown or reddish-brown
Musty or sweet-smelling
If you can’t see live bugs, you may notice other signs of an infestation, including black, brown or rust-colored stains on fabric, exoskeleton shells, or eggs, TODAY.com previously reported.
Sometimes, the only sign of bedbugs are clusters of itchy, red bites they leave behind on the skin. Bedbug bites may resemble mosquito or flea bites or form a line, per the CDC. Bedbugs often feed on parts of the body that aren’t covered tightly, such as the ankles, legs, arms, back, neck or face.
"Not everyone reacts to bedbug bites, and some people don’t react right away," says Frye, adding that it's often not possible to differentiate bedbug bites from other insect bites from appearance of bites alone.
How to prevent bedbugs while traveling
You can take the following steps to protect yourself from bedbugs while traveling, according to experts:
Upon arrival, check lodging for signs of bedbugs.
Keep personal belongings off of beds.
Consider keeping clothing in luggage or airtight plastic bags.
Upon returning, open luggage in a bathtub, garage, or outside to prevent the bugs from escaping into the bedroom.
Wash all the laundry and dry on high heat (at least 125 degrees Fahrenheit) to kill bugs.
Put anything that cannot be washed in the freezer (at least 0 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least 72 hours.
"If you think you brought bedbugs home, don’t panic. Management is much more difficult if you drastically disturb the area by cleaning and throwing away items," says Frye.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
