Sleepless in Paris: Bedbugs Wreak Havoc in the City of Love.
The dazzling City of Love has become the city of bites, as Paris suffers through a bedbug epidemic that leaves residents wide awake and covered in itchy welts.
“I thought bedbugs were a thing of the past, like lice,” said Léa Dubois, a schoolteacher who lives in central Paris. “But now my apartment is infested. I have bites everywhere!”
Dubois isn’t alone in her misery. Reports of bedbugs have skyrocketed over 200% in Paris since 2020, according to pest control companies. The creeping pests seem to have rebounded with a vengeance after their populations dwindled decades ago.
Experts say international travel may be partly responsible for spreading bedbugs outside their tropical origins. The blood-sucking insects also thrive in dense, urban environments like apartments. And bedbugs are developing resistance to common insecticides.
No neighborhood in Paris appears safe—the bugs have infested posh Saint Germain just as much as working-class Belleville.
“It’s an epidemic, truly. We are overwhelmed with calls to eliminate bedbugs,” said Antoine Renard, owner of Avance Pest Control. “We fumigate homes from top to bottom, but often the bugs come back.”
Bedbug bites can leave clusters of maddeningly itchy welts. But beyond being a nuisance, the pests also extract mental and financial tolls. Chronic infestations can cause anxiety, insomnia, and even depression.
“I can’t remember the last time I had a proper night’s sleep. It’s ruining my health,” said Marc Dubosc, an accountant struggling with bedbugs. “And I’ve spent thousands of euros replacing furniture and fumigating my apartment multiple times.”
As bedbugs spread, frustrated Parisians are pointing fingers. Travelers get blamed for transporting the pests. Landlords face shade for not maintaining buildings. Government officials are criticized for not doing enough.
The city has responded by rolling out bedbug sniffing dogs and establishing a telephone hotline to report infestations. But eradicating the resilient insects remains an uphill battle.
“Many people are too embarrassed to admit they have bedbugs. That stigma needs to end,” said Elise Mercier of Paris Public Health. “This is a city-wide problem that we need to tackle together.”
In the meantime, beleaguered residents are left to fend off the biting bugs themselves. Hardware stores have waitlists for encasements to trap bedbugs. Home remedy sites share DIY treatments. The parasites seem to have the upper hand—for now.
But Parisians are resilient, having endured revolutions, wars, and unrest over the centuries. The City of Light’s enduring spirit may just outlast this latest modern menace. As one fed-up resident on Reddit proclaimed: “The bedbugs may bite our skin, but they will never bite our freedom!”
