“Chemical pesticides are not recommended if you have children or a pregnant woman.”
On the 9th (local time), CEO Victor Krief, whom I met at Antifest, a quarantine company in the 15th district of Paris, France, gave this guidance to each call about bed bugs that comes in every 10 minutes during the interview. He recommended non-chemical insecticides if there are children or pregnant women, and high-intensity chemical insecticides if not or if the infection is severe. Both companies and consumers are sensitive to the harmful effects of pesticides.
France, which can be seen as the beginning of the domestic bed bug crisis, is fighting bed bugs in various ways. According to the French Food, Environment, Occupational Health and Safety Agency (ANSES), over the past five years (2017-2022), 11% of all households in France have suffered damage from bed bugs. In particular, the spread of bed bugs intensified as the floating population increased around the summer vacation period. According to the French Confederation for Disinfection and Pest Control (CS3D), the number of disinfection cases between June and August of this year jumped 65% compared to the same period last year.
There are various types of pesticides sold by quarantine companies. It can be customized depending on the type of consumer or level of bed bug damage. A representative non-chemical pesticide is cooling spray. Kill bed bugs by freezing them by spraying -40 degrees Celsius liquid.
Youssef Masla, president of Fatal Exper, another quarantine company, explained, “Recently, sprays that are pre-sprayed to prevent bed bugs from approaching humans have become popular.” There are various sizes of bed bug prevention covers that are used to prevent bed bugs from sticking to the bed mattress.
Toxic smoke bombs are high-strength chemical pesticides. When you light a fire, the high-temperature steam that comes out exterminates many bed bugs at once. Because it is highly toxic, experts from quarantine companies have to wear gas masks and disinfect the house while most of the time. When bedbugs have spread in large numbers, spray smoke bombs twice. Smoke bombs are not effective on unhatched larvae, but are used to kill bed bugs that hatch later.
View largerOn the 10th (local time), discarded furniture parts are piled up next to a trash can in a residential area in downtown Paris, France. In Paris, a lot of furniture is being abandoned on the streets following the bed bug outbreak. Paris = To catch bed bugs, the French government has established a Bed Bug Eradication Steering Committee centered around the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Ecological Transition, and the Ministry of Housing, together with private experts, to regularly prepare essential policies. A representative example is the disclosure of the list and addresses of quarantine companies that have certified their expertise and given marks, allowing consumers to easily access them. There are about 480 government-certified quarantine companies disclosed on the CS3D website. Special pesticides can only be used by government-certified companies. President Krief said, “The government checks product safety every five years, checks whether toxic products are used, and whether standardized usage instructions are followed.” Quarantine companies must comply with safety rules and use chemical quarantine only when bed bug damage is severe.
Because it costs a lot of money to get rid of bed bugs, such as purchasing various insecticides and extermination products, disputes arise between landlords and tenants over the cost burden. According to ANSES, the average annual bedbug quarantine cost for all French households over the past five years is about 230 million euros (about 330 billion won). For this reason, the French government states on its website dedicated to bed bugs that landlords must pay for the cost of quarantine for tenants. We also established a window for consultation when disputes arise.
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.