17 October 2023 , 09:49
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Skin crawling stories of bed bugs have been shared across England, with several people sharing their own horror stories of the pests .
The pests , with data released by Rentokil last month finding there had been a 65% increase in infestations from 2022 to 2023. They are believed to have spread from Paris, which has seen plagues of the insects - which hide in mattresses and emerge at night to feed on human blood - being reported in schools, and cinemas. Those attending the Rugby World Cup have shared itchy stories of encounters with the bugs which are small, brown insects close in size to apple seeds.
The cities worst affected by bedbugs in the UK (Merlin Environmental)
People have shared their own grim encounters with the bugs (@lassogold/TikTok)Now people across England are doing the same, with people throwing out furniture from their homes to avoid infestations. Already, some children have been bitten by the mites.
Luton Council in Bedfordshire said it was carrying out an ‘alarming’ number of jobs to get rid of bedbugs, while in London they have been found in offices and cars as well as homes. Tony King, owner of Pied Piper Pest Control based in the capital, said: "We’ve been inundated with calls about bedbugs - we’ve been flat out for at least the last eight or nine months with them.”
And David Cain, founder of London-based pest controllers BedBugs Limited, said the problem was out of control, saying he is called out to around 15 to 20 cases a week compared to four a week in 2007. He added: “The problem is worse now than it’s been since probably the 1930s and 1940s”.
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Antonia Selby, who lives with her partner and their three children in Swindon, Wiltshire, was horrified to discover an infestation after turning over the sofa. She initially believed her eldest, Odin, was suffering an allergy when she noticed red spots covering his body. The 28-year-old told : "The council sent a pest control company who sprayed the room and we had to stay out for five hours. It’s been done twice now but they come back after a couple of days. Some neighbours have had worse infestations and even thrown their mattress out with a sign warning people not to take it."
Dozens of flats in the town have been affected by the outbreak, according to the paper. Meanwhile, the north west is also said to have seen a surge in enquiries about the pests in recent weeks. Abbie Glover, of Pest Control Manchester, said: "We have seen an increase in the number of reports in the last few weeks from 30 to 40%. A lot more companies have been calling up such as hotels to find out about the proper procedures to deal with them. are one of the worst pests as they are so hard to get rid of and they can multiply with themselves.”
After a skin-crawling video of a suspected bed bug crawling up the trouser leg of somebody sitting on the London Underground has been viewed almost two million times on Tik Tok, Mayor of London vowed to tackle the problem and said TFL disinfected seats every day. He said: “We are speaking to our friends in Paris to see if there are any lessons to be learned but for a variety of reasons we don’t think those issues will arise in London; but there is no complacency from TfL."