“Steaming” or “freezing” are the best ways to get rid of them, advises entomologist Jean-Michel Bérenger

“Steam” or the “freezing” are the best ways to get rid of bed bugs, advises Jean-Michel Bérenger, entomologist at the IHU Méditerranée Infection in Marseille, on franceinfo Wednesday July 19. A report from the National Health Security Agency (Anses), published on Wednesday, estimates that bed bugs have infested more than one in ten homes in France.

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It had almost disappeared in the 1950s, the bed bug reappeared in France in the 1990s and has affected around one in ten households over the past five years, according to a report by ANSES. How can we explain it?

Jean-Michel Berenger: She did not come back only to France, but all over the world. The increase in population and tourism has greatly favored its development, as has the end of powerful insecticides such as DDT. Several factors may explain this return.

Bedbugs affect all social categories, isn’t that linked to a lack of cleanliness?

Bed bugs feed on your blood. That’s the only thing that interests him. So whether you sleep in silk sheets or on a smashed mattress, for this insect it’s the same thing.

Washing doesn’t change anything?

No way. First, because we don’t carry it on us, unlike head lice or body lice. She will hide once she has taken her blood meal. It is aptly named, it is really in our immediate environment, our resting places: the bed, the sofa, the TV chair.

It causes small red pimples that scratch a lot, which are very unpleasant. But is it dangerous?

The only impact on health is indeed the pimples that will more or less appear on the skin depending on the person. The psychological aspect is also very important: our bed is the place where we are supposed to be the safest normally and at the same time the most vulnerable. So knowing that there are insects that will suck your blood is unbearable.

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On the other hand, it is true that we have carried out laboratory tests at the IHU in Marseille and the bedbug cannot transmit disease, not by its bite in any case.

How to eradicate bed bugs?

With a vacuum cleaner or a steam cleaner, especially at the start of an infestation. Steam is 100 degrees, so it burns everything. Afterwards, you have to know how to do things in an orderly way. The washing machine at 60 degrees will allow us to clean our sheets. There is also freezing: with -20 degrees, it will kill bedbugs over several days.

This method is widely used in hospitals in Marseille. When you have a suspected patient, you can put their things in the freezer and return them after three days. We know it’s bedbug free.

You say things have to be done in order. So what is the very first thing to do when you spot bedbugs?

First, be sure that it is indeed bed bugs because there can be many other insects that bite us. I had a lot of false diagnoses. I’ve come to people who had thrown away all their bedding for nothing, because they weren’t bed bugs. So that is very important.

“If the bedbugs have already started to leave throughout the apartment, or even among the neighbors, there, it is better to call in a professional and be accompanied.”

Jean-Michel Berenger

at franceinfo

Then find out if it is the start of an infestation or not. If the bedbugs have already started to leave throughout the apartment, or even among the neighbors, then it is better to call in a professional and be accompanied.

Do you have to throw away your mattress?

No it’s not necessary. The mattress can very well be saved, especially with a steam cleaner. A mattress does not have a lot of hiding places, bed bugs are usually located at the level of the cord. So you will quickly inspect your mattress and you can clean it very well with a steam cleaner.

And for people who can’t afford to buy a steam cleaner or hire professionals?

I help a lot of people who are destitute and we try to get by. For example, I had the case of people who had a saggy mattress. I couldn’t tell them to throw it away or buy a cover because it costs 90 euros. So we wrapped the mattress in plastic. We literally filmed the mattress and put sheets on top. It makes a waterproof cover, almost free, and people have been able to continue to keep their mattress and sleep on it, without getting bitten since bedbugs can no longer get out. They will die under this plastic film.