Trains, cinemas, hotels... These are all the places where you can find bed bugs, so watch out!

Published on October 2, 2023 at 7:00 PM by Sharleen McAleavy

Over the past few weeks, bedbugs have been reported to have contaminated a number of places and public transport systems in the UK. But where are they really hiding?

Watch out, these are all the place where you can find bed bugs

Trains, subways, cinemas... Mostly found in apartments, bedbugs are now attacking public spaces. But are these fears really justified?

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In the UK, the presence of bedbugs has been reported in recent weeks in cinemas, trains, tubes and even the waiting area at some airports. Beware, however, as most of these reports come from social networks, and wrongly feed the psychosis.

Cinemas hit in Paris

As far as cinemas are concerned, there have been confirmed cases of contamination in Paris cinemas. These include two cinemas in the south of the capital managed by UGC. According to an employee quoted by BFM Paris:

The director (of the cinema, editor's note) asked employees to lie to customers who asked about the presence of bedbugs. We had to tell them there weren't any, when in fact there were.

The RATP has also been affected by the psychosis of the moment. On Wednesday October 28, a driver on line 8 of the Paris metro allegedly came into contact with insects in his passenger compartment. As a result, the company withdrew the metro train from circulation for analysis. No trace of the pest was found.

Two trains out of 600

The scene was the same for the SNCF. A student who claims to have come across bedbugs on the train told TF1:

It was an anxiety-inducing atmosphere. A lot of passengers were scrutinizing every millimeter of their seats, inspecting their skin to see if they'd been bitten (...)

Following this event, the transport company reassured its customers that only two trains out of 600 were subject to such reports.

Then it finally assured us that 'after inspection, no confirmed cases of bedbugs have been confirmed in recent days on board TGVs'.

Vigilance in hotels and Airbnb

To date, no cases have been identified in hotels. But according to an expert quoted by BFM, the threat is very real.

Right now, demand is enormous. The more migratory flows you have, the more bedbugs disperse.

So be on the lookout, because, according to the expert, the little insects are just as likely to hide in 3,000-euro palaces as they are in low-end hotels.

And maximum caution when it comes to Airbnb rentals.