Part of Greek hotel shuts down due to French bedbugs

It looks like the pesky pests have now decided to try out some international tourism as well

A hotel, located on the so-called Athens Riviera, has shut down one of its wings after an infestation of bedbugs was discovered in its rooms. And yes, according to the Greek Food and Tourism Workers association, there is a direct link to the bedbug epidemic that has gripped Paris recently.

It is obvious that some of our guests, mainly from France, carried the insects, and unfortunately, they also got stuck in the hotel,” stated Giorgos Hotzoglou, president of the association, as quoted by the Greek City Times.

Mr Hotzoglou went on to explain that the critters were found in the mattresses, which were consequently burned. The name of the hotel was kept confidential, but it was also pointed out that the problem does concern only one hotel… so far.

Replacing mattresses on a frequent basis, however, can be too costly for small and medium-sized hotels, the industry body was also quick to emphasize.

Bedbug anxiety gripping Europe?

The current infestation, which began in Paris, has fascinated the media and the public, likely because the French capital is preparing to host the 2024 Olympic Games next year and that has raised questions about how it would affect its reputation and its ability to deal with large tourist inflows.

Even if bedbugs have been the kind of parasite that has always been around for ages, pest control and improved hygiene standards have managed to reduce their proliferation.

However, according to experts, a boom in bedbug cases in the early autumn is actually kind of common because this is when many people have returned to their homes after travelling abroad, and invariably some of them have brought bedbugs as a souvenir from their trip.

A rise in bedbug incidents has also been reported in the UK. While all major cities have bedbugs, an increase in reports of infestations can be worrying because, according to a recent study in the Annual Review of Entomology, these critters have developed a resistance to most pesticides used to control them.