Between 2017 and 2022, 11% of French households would have been infested according to a survey. The appearance of these pests often has serious social and economic consequences.
A figure that stings. In the space of five years in France, 11% of households have suffered an infestation of bed bugs, according to an Ipsos survey covering the period 2017-2022, and carried out in July 2022 for a working group set up by the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES). As the agency points out in its 300-page report released on Wednesday July 19, the resurgence of this phenomenon is partly explained “by the rise of travel and a growing resistance of bedbugs to insecticides”.
>> Bed bugs: “Steam” or “freezing” are the best ways to get rid of them, advises entomologist Jean-Michel Bérenger
“While all homes can be affected by bedbugs, we have nevertheless been able to identify a few factors that favor infestations”, says Karine Flores, deputy director of the agency’s social sciences, economy and society department. Among these markers is “travelling or living in shared accommodation, for example”. There is no link between the income level of a household and the fact of being the victim of an infestation, specifies ANSES.
For the less affluent, the infestation usually lasts longer
On the other hand, the level of financial resources matters for the duration of the infestation, “because the fight can be costly: 866 € on average per household”, estimates ANSES. Faced with a bill of this type, the most vulnerable can turn to less expensive, but also less effective measures.
In total, the cost of the fight on a national scale for French households affected “has reached 1.4 billion euros for the period 2017-2022, i.e. 230 million euros per year on average” says the agency. To help victims act more quickly and more effectively, ANSES calls for the establishment of a mandatory reporting mechanism and support for individuals through financial support, especially for low-income households.
Sleepless nights, psychological suffering, or even fear of being stigmatized: the health consequences of this scourge are far from negligible, at an estimated cost of more than 80 million euros in 2019 (including 3 million euros in health care and 1 million euros for work stoppages). For social landlords, interviewed as part of the report, the cost amounted to an average of 74,500 euros in 2021. Student accommodation (Cnous and Crous) estimated that they had devoted 700,000 euros to this fight the same year. .