The exterminator warned about the danger of bedbugs: “The problem could turn into a global one for the planet”

In Russia, too, there are periodic reports from different regions about the emergence of bedbug outbreaks. Thus, on October 12, patients in one of the Chelyabinsk hospitals complained on social networks about the dominance of bedbugs, because of which people cannot sleep at night. According to patients, the measures taken in the hospital are not enough.

One of the signs of bedbugs is red spots on the body, which can reach 2-3 centimeters in diameter. The spots are most often located in “chains” – one after another, as the insect moves around the body, making several bites in a row. Favorite places for bedbugs are furniture upholstery, mattresses, and folds of sofas. They also willingly settle in cracks, old books, behind paintings and peeling wallpaper. So it would be a good idea to look there if you suspect new tenants.

The first thoughts of everyone who discovers uninvited guests are shock, horror, disgust. Some take radical measures – throw out old sofas and beds.

“There have never been bedbugs in the apartment in my life,” said a Muscovite who became a victim of pests. “And then I find one bedbug every evening on my bed.” Three days later, I threw out the bed and the adjacent carpet. No one in sight yet!

The cleaner, who cleans apartments in Moscow, shared:

– Some of my clients developed bedbugs, not in their beds, but in their baseboards! They’ve already called for sanitation three times, but the bedbugs still haven’t gone away!

How is this possible, is it necessary to throw out your favorite sofa, in which insects have settled, and about many other things, “MK” asked the disinfectant technologist, head of the facility sanitization service, Alexei Menshikov. According to him, the spread of insects in France is associated with an increase in public places, hostels and the number of tourists. When people arrive, and, accordingly, then move out, it is important to timely fill the norms for cleaning the premises and carry out all the necessary disinfection measures.

The difficulty is that bedbugs can go undetected for a long time. While there are few of them, a person may not notice the bites or mistake them for something else.

“When they have already multiplied and infested soft household items, then complaints appear, an expert is called, he studies the number of pests, and then it turns out that it is easier to throw away the furniture,” says Alexey Menshikov. – In this case, the owners of the premises end up with more serious investments related to cosmetic repairs, raising floors and walls. If the French do not solve this problem, then the spread of insects will not only be between cities (via trains), but also between countries. At the same time, pests in one country or another can acquire a certain “immunity” to disinfectants, and then the problem will turn into a global one for the entire planet.

In Moscow, according to the expert, the situation with blood-sucking creatures is much calmer. Unlike France, the risk of catching bedbugs on your clothes while traveling by transport is very low. According to Menshikov, we pay more attention to this area and allocate appropriate budgets.

– Now we even see some tightening of the rules and regulations for working with public catering establishments, with facilities that provide overnight services and temporary housing. If we continue to comply with all standards, we will not get such problems as in the service in France. And this makes us happy,” the specialist reassured.

Meanwhile, the harm from these small creatures to humans is multifaceted. This is also a psychological impact – the situation is especially frightening when they are discovered in children’s rooms. In addition, no one has canceled secondary infections. After close contact of a bug with a sick person, the pest can subsequently transfer some kind of infection, for example, a skin infection, into the blood of the next victim along with the bite. However, the risk of such a development is quite low.

A revelation from the expert was the fact that after the bugs have drank your blood, they will hide for about two weeks and not go out hunting. During this time, they digest what they have eaten.

The expert warned that you cannot cope with the problem on your own; recommendations from the Internet will not help.

“Without knowing certain areas, hidden nesting places, people will not destroy them,” explains the specialist. “They can spray in those places where bedbugs are most active, but at night they will come out and no longer receive the required toxic concentration. And therefore they will not suffer. And disinfectors know all the intricacies.

– If people complain that specialists came, but the bedbugs remained?

– If a company came and simply poured water on it and left, focusing only on the effect of the drug, this is one effect. But, perhaps, before processing it was worth preparing the room – dismantling the sofa, removing baseboards, door frames, window frames, ceilings (especially if they are made of polypropylene, which have air cavities) – it all depends on the qualifications of the company. You need to choose which technologies to use, what concentration of the product, and how often to treat the room. In some cases, you will have to get rid of old, torn, soft household items. If someone feels sorry for the old sofa, there is an option to completely disassemble it and process it or take it to the dry cleaner. But this will cost a pretty penny, so it’s cheaper to buy a new one.

The company must have a license and must provide a guarantee. An agreement is concluded, which stipulates not only the number of treatments, but also the observation history, collection of information, etc.

According to the disinfector, it will not be possible to show a magical result the first time; multiple treatments are required. For example, to ensure that there are no parasites in hotels, all rooms and all sleeping items are treated by specialists four times a year.

– Is it possible to bring small creatures back from travels?

– Certainly. You can bring them home on your clothes even from a city minibus. And even more so if your things hang for some time in hotel wardrobes. Larvae may also be hiding in the carpet in your room. Therefore, I advise you to shake out your clothes upon arrival from other countries. For example, I know that in Cuba bedbugs are the calling card of the country! They have these insects in their most expensive hotels. Now France has already approached Cuba. And from France, as is known, they spread throughout Europe.

We also found out about the “smaller brothers” of bedbugs – fleas. These are insects that lead a parasitic lifestyle, settling on warm-blooded animals – cats, dogs. People also suffer from them. Fleas most often appear from the basements of houses. The fact is that residents like to open their basements and feed cats there. There is garbage, sewerage, open communications nearby… Because of all this, rodents appear, and with them fleas that live on them get into the basement. Rodents are poisoned, but fleas may remain. They can move onto a mechanic or other worker who enters the basement.

It happens that a dog, walking near a garbage dump where a sofa with fleas was thrown out, picks them up on his fur and brings them home. Moreover, fleas can get into the house with a new sofa, which was stored somewhere in a warehouse, and fleas climbed onto it. They actively reproduce on woolen surfaces, carpets, and soft household items. There are many technologies, but it is also not recommended to poison fleas yourself, because if this pest is not treated correctly, it can become immune to extermination agents. But the biggest danger is that an ignorant person can burn his respiratory organs and skin during this procedure.

“Now there are many means to combat fleas on pets: special collars, shampoos, creams, there are liquid insecticides that owners themselves can use to treat their animals,” Menshikov recalled.

Where sanitary standards are met, there will be no fleas. The apartment must be sealed, clean, well ventilated, pets must be treated, and the neighbors must be adequate.