Bedbug panic has swept across Paris and is making its way over the channel to London – after videos of the insects infesting both cities went viral.
But do we actually need to worry about it?
Some experts however are saying that the problem isn’t new and that the amount of bedbugs in London has been growing year on year.
David Cain, a microbiologist who’s been exterminating the bed bugs for two decades, explains they were incredibly common in the early 20th century, but because of powerful insecticide used a lot during and after the second world war, rates of infestations fell dramatically around the world.
For decades, bedbugs were thought to be a thing of the past – they became so rare that people could no longer identify them and pest-control professionals weren’t equipped to fight them.
But since the early 2000s, they have returned – thanks to regular international travel, increasing immunity to insecticides, warmer climates and overcrowded living conditions.
