the eternal return of bedbugs

Since this summer, concern about these insects has continued to rise: publication of a statistic saying that one in ten French people are victims of these parasites, then observation that bedbugs are present in the metro, theaters, and cinemas. cinema, hotels and, finally, the Paris town hall appeals to the State and the government for an emergency plan. A psychosis is sweeping across France, as the march of bedbugs seems unstoppable.

This is not the first time that we are faced with large proliferations. Because these insects have lived around us since prehistoric times. And when they multiply, it doesn’t take long to worry. After the Revolution, Europe had to be taken back in hand. Travelers’ manuals already gave recipes to combat them: double the sheets and put camphor, put prickly leaves on the ground, earth with lime… And it worked.

But all the great historical dramas saw them return: pDuring the Great War, they were there, with the Poilus, in the company of fleas and cockroaches. We burned the straw mattresses to get rid of them. During the Second World War, with deportations and population movements, they were everywhere. DDT, the powerful insecticide, had to be used en masse to stop them in 1945.

Back every three or four years

Since that time, every three or four years they return, especially when the summers have been hot. In 1964, in Paris there was concern and the municipal services had to mobilize their five intervention cars and the disinfection center to save the bedding. Since 2010, there has been a big comeback of this blood-sucking parasite. In the United States, a new detection technique is being developed: dog training. This helps speed up identification and interventions. Clearly, it’s the small actions that also count against these insects. You must act as soon as you spot bites. But let us not dream: the bug was there at the origin of man and it intends to accompany him for eternity.